Premier's cold shoulder sparks fears of bigger snub for Kathleen Folbigg
NSW Premier Chris Minns has raised the spectre of another legal battle for Ms Folbigg, who was jailed for 20 years for crimes she did not commit.
The premier has come under attack over what Ms Folbigg's supporters and legal team say has been an onerous delay in determining her application for an ex gratia payment by way of compensation for the jail term she served after being wrongfully convicted of murdering her four children.
Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was "entitled to take her matter to the courts" and sue the NSW government.
Ms Folbigg's life has been consumed by police investigations, court appearances and jail terms since the death of her daughter, Laura, on February 27, 1999, which followed on from the deaths of her first three children.
Twenty five years later, during a budget estimates hearing in August, 2024, the Premier conceded there'd been a delay.
He said the matter was in the hands of Attorney General Michael Daley, but that he himself would look into the circumstances that "have resulted in a delay" in determining Ms Folbigg's application.
In February this year, Mr Daley said it was complicated, but that it would "be weeks, rather than months" before Ms Folbigg would have an answer.
"That would be my expectation," Mr Daley said.
"This is a complex and in some ways unprecedented matter for me to consider, (with) very important considerations both for Ms Folbigg, for the expenditure of public money and for precedent value that the government's decision at the end of the day in relation to quantum will create," he said.
He also referred to her application as voluminous.
On Monday this week, Mr Minns publicly refused to meet with Ms Folbigg.
"There's a lot of difficult calls for me to make as Premier," he said about his refusal to meet with her. "This isn't one of them."
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice, solicitor Sue Higginson, has condemned his comments.
On Tuesday she went a step further saying he needs to explain himself given that he seemed to have potentially paved the way for the application's refusal.
"Is there some other motivation behind those comments, should we all, including Kathleen, be taking this as a sign that they're not going to be honouring an ex-gratia payment of sorts," Ms Higginson said.
"That's the real concern."
The question of an ex gratia payment was "wholly discretionary territory", Ms Higginson said, which meant the government could, if it was minded to do so, pay Ms Folbigg some compensation before ultimately settling on any final amount.
"There are some guidelines ... but it's entirely at the discretion of the government and what we would say is, it's absolutely appropriate that an ex gratia payment of some sort would be the way to provide Kath Folbigg some form of compensation so she can get on with her life," she said.
"They could be providing her some compassion, some security, some assurance and some dignity right now and that's why I've come out very strongly on this."
Mr Minns, in saying Ms Folbigg had every right to sue the government, was completely tone deaf, Ms Higginson said.
"With my lawyer hat on, I find it unfathomable," she said.
"It was void of all genuine understanding of the history. He represents the state and thus the system that wrongfully jailed Kathleen Folbigg ... and that had her jailed for 20 years of her life.
"It's hard to imagine anything worse than wrongful conviction. The time, the taxation on her being, the cost, to then go and commence a civil case, just tells me that he needs some lessons in the legal system of NSW and he needs to go and undertake some trauma-informed training."
Ms Folbigg has refused requests for an interview after coming out on Monday saying she feels as though her life is "still on hold".
Ms Folbigg, who lived in Newcastle as a child and went on to live variously in Georgetown, Thornton, Cardiff, and Singleton, was issued an unconditional pardon by NSW Governor Margaret Beazely and released from prison on June 5, 2023.
Six months later, on December 14, her convictions were quashed in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Her legal team submitted a claim for an ex gratia payment in July, 2024.
Experts have said that Ms Folbigg may receive the state's largest ever compensation payout of up to $10 million, but so far the 58-year-old hasn't seen a cent.
It is understood that Ms Folbigg, who is renting in Newcastle, is struggling to manage financially.
"Adjusting to 2025 prices has been confronting," Ms Folbigg said. "Even basics like groceries, power bills, and public transport are so much higher than they were in 2003. The world has changed so much while I was away."
SERIOUS questions are being asked about the NSW state government's commitment to compensation for wrongly convicted Hunter woman Kathleen Folbigg.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has raised the spectre of another legal battle for Ms Folbigg, who was jailed for 20 years for crimes she did not commit.
The premier has come under attack over what Ms Folbigg's supporters and legal team say has been an onerous delay in determining her application for an ex gratia payment by way of compensation for the jail term she served after being wrongfully convicted of murdering her four children.
Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was "entitled to take her matter to the courts" and sue the NSW government.
Ms Folbigg's life has been consumed by police investigations, court appearances and jail terms since the death of her daughter, Laura, on February 27, 1999, which followed on from the deaths of her first three children.
Twenty five years later, during a budget estimates hearing in August, 2024, the Premier conceded there'd been a delay.
He said the matter was in the hands of Attorney General Michael Daley, but that he himself would look into the circumstances that "have resulted in a delay" in determining Ms Folbigg's application.
In February this year, Mr Daley said it was complicated, but that it would "be weeks, rather than months" before Ms Folbigg would have an answer.
"That would be my expectation," Mr Daley said.
"This is a complex and in some ways unprecedented matter for me to consider, (with) very important considerations both for Ms Folbigg, for the expenditure of public money and for precedent value that the government's decision at the end of the day in relation to quantum will create," he said.
He also referred to her application as voluminous.
On Monday this week, Mr Minns publicly refused to meet with Ms Folbigg.
"There's a lot of difficult calls for me to make as Premier," he said about his refusal to meet with her. "This isn't one of them."
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice, solicitor Sue Higginson, has condemned his comments.
On Tuesday she went a step further saying he needs to explain himself given that he seemed to have potentially paved the way for the application's refusal.
"Is there some other motivation behind those comments, should we all, including Kathleen, be taking this as a sign that they're not going to be honouring an ex-gratia payment of sorts," Ms Higginson said.
"That's the real concern."
The question of an ex gratia payment was "wholly discretionary territory", Ms Higginson said, which meant the government could, if it was minded to do so, pay Ms Folbigg some compensation before ultimately settling on any final amount.
"There are some guidelines ... but it's entirely at the discretion of the government and what we would say is, it's absolutely appropriate that an ex gratia payment of some sort would be the way to provide Kath Folbigg some form of compensation so she can get on with her life," she said.
"They could be providing her some compassion, some security, some assurance and some dignity right now and that's why I've come out very strongly on this."
Mr Minns, in saying Ms Folbigg had every right to sue the government, was completely tone deaf, Ms Higginson said.
"With my lawyer hat on, I find it unfathomable," she said.
"It was void of all genuine understanding of the history. He represents the state and thus the system that wrongfully jailed Kathleen Folbigg ... and that had her jailed for 20 years of her life.
"It's hard to imagine anything worse than wrongful conviction. The time, the taxation on her being, the cost, to then go and commence a civil case, just tells me that he needs some lessons in the legal system of NSW and he needs to go and undertake some trauma-informed training."
Ms Folbigg has refused requests for an interview after coming out on Monday saying she feels as though her life is "still on hold".
Ms Folbigg, who lived in Newcastle as a child and went on to live variously in Georgetown, Thornton, Cardiff, and Singleton, was issued an unconditional pardon by NSW Governor Margaret Beazely and released from prison on June 5, 2023.
Six months later, on December 14, her convictions were quashed in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Her legal team submitted a claim for an ex gratia payment in July, 2024.
Experts have said that Ms Folbigg may receive the state's largest ever compensation payout of up to $10 million, but so far the 58-year-old hasn't seen a cent.
It is understood that Ms Folbigg, who is renting in Newcastle, is struggling to manage financially.
"Adjusting to 2025 prices has been confronting," Ms Folbigg said. "Even basics like groceries, power bills, and public transport are so much higher than they were in 2003. The world has changed so much while I was away."
SERIOUS questions are being asked about the NSW state government's commitment to compensation for wrongly convicted Hunter woman Kathleen Folbigg.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has raised the spectre of another legal battle for Ms Folbigg, who was jailed for 20 years for crimes she did not commit.
The premier has come under attack over what Ms Folbigg's supporters and legal team say has been an onerous delay in determining her application for an ex gratia payment by way of compensation for the jail term she served after being wrongfully convicted of murdering her four children.
Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was "entitled to take her matter to the courts" and sue the NSW government.
Ms Folbigg's life has been consumed by police investigations, court appearances and jail terms since the death of her daughter, Laura, on February 27, 1999, which followed on from the deaths of her first three children.
Twenty five years later, during a budget estimates hearing in August, 2024, the Premier conceded there'd been a delay.
He said the matter was in the hands of Attorney General Michael Daley, but that he himself would look into the circumstances that "have resulted in a delay" in determining Ms Folbigg's application.
In February this year, Mr Daley said it was complicated, but that it would "be weeks, rather than months" before Ms Folbigg would have an answer.
"That would be my expectation," Mr Daley said.
"This is a complex and in some ways unprecedented matter for me to consider, (with) very important considerations both for Ms Folbigg, for the expenditure of public money and for precedent value that the government's decision at the end of the day in relation to quantum will create," he said.
He also referred to her application as voluminous.
On Monday this week, Mr Minns publicly refused to meet with Ms Folbigg.
"There's a lot of difficult calls for me to make as Premier," he said about his refusal to meet with her. "This isn't one of them."
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice, solicitor Sue Higginson, has condemned his comments.
On Tuesday she went a step further saying he needs to explain himself given that he seemed to have potentially paved the way for the application's refusal.
"Is there some other motivation behind those comments, should we all, including Kathleen, be taking this as a sign that they're not going to be honouring an ex-gratia payment of sorts," Ms Higginson said.
"That's the real concern."
The question of an ex gratia payment was "wholly discretionary territory", Ms Higginson said, which meant the government could, if it was minded to do so, pay Ms Folbigg some compensation before ultimately settling on any final amount.
"There are some guidelines ... but it's entirely at the discretion of the government and what we would say is, it's absolutely appropriate that an ex gratia payment of some sort would be the way to provide Kath Folbigg some form of compensation so she can get on with her life," she said.
"They could be providing her some compassion, some security, some assurance and some dignity right now and that's why I've come out very strongly on this."
Mr Minns, in saying Ms Folbigg had every right to sue the government, was completely tone deaf, Ms Higginson said.
"With my lawyer hat on, I find it unfathomable," she said.
"It was void of all genuine understanding of the history. He represents the state and thus the system that wrongfully jailed Kathleen Folbigg ... and that had her jailed for 20 years of her life.
"It's hard to imagine anything worse than wrongful conviction. The time, the taxation on her being, the cost, to then go and commence a civil case, just tells me that he needs some lessons in the legal system of NSW and he needs to go and undertake some trauma-informed training."
Ms Folbigg has refused requests for an interview after coming out on Monday saying she feels as though her life is "still on hold".
Ms Folbigg, who lived in Newcastle as a child and went on to live variously in Georgetown, Thornton, Cardiff, and Singleton, was issued an unconditional pardon by NSW Governor Margaret Beazely and released from prison on June 5, 2023.
Six months later, on December 14, her convictions were quashed in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Her legal team submitted a claim for an ex gratia payment in July, 2024.
Experts have said that Ms Folbigg may receive the state's largest ever compensation payout of up to $10 million, but so far the 58-year-old hasn't seen a cent.
It is understood that Ms Folbigg, who is renting in Newcastle, is struggling to manage financially.
"Adjusting to 2025 prices has been confronting," Ms Folbigg said. "Even basics like groceries, power bills, and public transport are so much higher than they were in 2003. The world has changed so much while I was away."
SERIOUS questions are being asked about the NSW state government's commitment to compensation for wrongly convicted Hunter woman Kathleen Folbigg.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has raised the spectre of another legal battle for Ms Folbigg, who was jailed for 20 years for crimes she did not commit.
The premier has come under attack over what Ms Folbigg's supporters and legal team say has been an onerous delay in determining her application for an ex gratia payment by way of compensation for the jail term she served after being wrongfully convicted of murdering her four children.
Mr Minns said Ms Folbigg was "entitled to take her matter to the courts" and sue the NSW government.
Ms Folbigg's life has been consumed by police investigations, court appearances and jail terms since the death of her daughter, Laura, on February 27, 1999, which followed on from the deaths of her first three children.
Twenty five years later, during a budget estimates hearing in August, 2024, the Premier conceded there'd been a delay.
He said the matter was in the hands of Attorney General Michael Daley, but that he himself would look into the circumstances that "have resulted in a delay" in determining Ms Folbigg's application.
In February this year, Mr Daley said it was complicated, but that it would "be weeks, rather than months" before Ms Folbigg would have an answer.
"That would be my expectation," Mr Daley said.
"This is a complex and in some ways unprecedented matter for me to consider, (with) very important considerations both for Ms Folbigg, for the expenditure of public money and for precedent value that the government's decision at the end of the day in relation to quantum will create," he said.
He also referred to her application as voluminous.
On Monday this week, Mr Minns publicly refused to meet with Ms Folbigg.
"There's a lot of difficult calls for me to make as Premier," he said about his refusal to meet with her. "This isn't one of them."
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice, solicitor Sue Higginson, has condemned his comments.
On Tuesday she went a step further saying he needs to explain himself given that he seemed to have potentially paved the way for the application's refusal.
"Is there some other motivation behind those comments, should we all, including Kathleen, be taking this as a sign that they're not going to be honouring an ex-gratia payment of sorts," Ms Higginson said.
"That's the real concern."
The question of an ex gratia payment was "wholly discretionary territory", Ms Higginson said, which meant the government could, if it was minded to do so, pay Ms Folbigg some compensation before ultimately settling on any final amount.
"There are some guidelines ... but it's entirely at the discretion of the government and what we would say is, it's absolutely appropriate that an ex gratia payment of some sort would be the way to provide Kath Folbigg some form of compensation so she can get on with her life," she said.
"They could be providing her some compassion, some security, some assurance and some dignity right now and that's why I've come out very strongly on this."
Mr Minns, in saying Ms Folbigg had every right to sue the government, was completely tone deaf, Ms Higginson said.
"With my lawyer hat on, I find it unfathomable," she said.
"It was void of all genuine understanding of the history. He represents the state and thus the system that wrongfully jailed Kathleen Folbigg ... and that had her jailed for 20 years of her life.
"It's hard to imagine anything worse than wrongful conviction. The time, the taxation on her being, the cost, to then go and commence a civil case, just tells me that he needs some lessons in the legal system of NSW and he needs to go and undertake some trauma-informed training."
Ms Folbigg has refused requests for an interview after coming out on Monday saying she feels as though her life is "still on hold".
Ms Folbigg, who lived in Newcastle as a child and went on to live variously in Georgetown, Thornton, Cardiff, and Singleton, was issued an unconditional pardon by NSW Governor Margaret Beazely and released from prison on June 5, 2023.
Six months later, on December 14, her convictions were quashed in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Her legal team submitted a claim for an ex gratia payment in July, 2024.
Experts have said that Ms Folbigg may receive the state's largest ever compensation payout of up to $10 million, but so far the 58-year-old hasn't seen a cent.
It is understood that Ms Folbigg, who is renting in Newcastle, is struggling to manage financially.
"Adjusting to 2025 prices has been confronting," Ms Folbigg said. "Even basics like groceries, power bills, and public transport are so much higher than they were in 2003. The world has changed so much while I was away."
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- News.com.au
Greens demand Prime Minister act as South Australian algae bloom nears ‘disaster', fisheries shut down
Anthony Albanese is being pressed to declare a toxic algae bloom, which has crippled South Australia's coastline and plunged seafood industries into peril, a 'national disaster'. The naturally-occurring but harmful algal bloom has plagued the state's beaches for months, killing marine life and plunging the seafood industry into crisis. Reports have emerged of dead fish, rays and sharks washing up along the metropolitan coastline – including North Haven between the river mouth and marina breakwater, Tennyson Beach, north of Grange jetty, and south of Christies Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Several mussel farming sites around the Port Lincoln area have also been shut after shellfish toxins were detected in the area. Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young has says the bloom is a 'national disaster' and therefore required a 'national response'. While algal blooms are not covered under natural or national disaster declarations, which are activated to better co-ordinate assistance between state and Commonwealth governments, work is ongoing to discern whether the event qualifies under other federal arrangements. She called on the Prime Minister and federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to visit Adelaide and 'take some action'. 'If this was happening in Bondi, or on the North Shore in Sydney, the Prime Minister would have already been on the beach, talking to concerned locals and the affected industries,' Senator Hanson-Young said on Wednesday. 'But today, we've had virtually nothing from the federal government.' Following a meeting between Senator Watt and the state government, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's Head of International Environment, Reef and Oceans has been sent to the state. Senator Watt said the government was 'deeply concerned by the widespread marine species mortalities caused by this extreme event,' and said he had been kept up to date by the Malinauskas government. 'While the science has made clear that there is no quick fix for the bloom, by having senior federal representatives on the ground we are supporting the SA government's efforts with manpower, and ramping up our ongoing monitoring efforts,' he said. 'We will give careful consideration to any request for assistance we receive from the state government.' South Australia's flagship fisheries patrol vessel Southern Ranger has been deployed to inspect the bloom and help authorities understand its impact. Senator Hanson-Young, the Greens' environment and water spokeswoman, said this should have been happening 'weeks and weeks ago' – pointing out SA's fishing and tourism industries were being 'smashed'. 'Our environment is dying, and our community is alarmed,' she said. 'This is the climate crisis unfolding before our very eyes, and South Australia can't handle it on our own.' Senator Hanson-Young said she would be moving for a federal inquiry into the crisis when parliament resumes. In their latest update on Wednesday, the SA Department of Environment and Water said the algae – known as Karenia mikimotoi – had been detected in the Port River. Elevated levels were found by authorities along the metropolitan coastline, while 'very high' levels were at the Garden Island and Outer Harbor boat ramps. It was first detected on the Fleurieu Peninsula in March. 'State government agencies are taking weekly water samples at 17 sites across West Lakes, the Port River, the Patawalonga River and the end of four jetties at Largs Bay, Grange, Glenelg and Port Noarlunga,' the department said in their update. The South Australian opposition has already called for a royal commission to explore the origin and consequences of the algae and what could have been done to manage the situation, the ABC reports. Authorities believe a marine heatwave in September last year could have contributed to the bloom. Flooding in the Murray River over 2022 and 2023 washing extra nutrients into the sea, or an unprecedented cold-water upwelling over the summer of 2023-24, may also have contributed. The last large event of this type of algae recorded in SA was at Coffin Bay in 2014. Karenia mikimotoi is not known to cause long-term harmful effects in humans but exposure to discoloured or foamy water can cause short-term skin or eye irritation and respiratory symptoms.
Perth Now
9 hours ago
- Perth Now
Greens demand PM act on toxic bloom
Anthony Albanese is being pressed to declare a toxic algae bloom, which has crippled South Australia's coastline and plunged seafood industries into peril, a 'national disaster'. The naturally-occurring but harmful algal bloom has plagued the state's beaches for months, killing marine life and plunging the seafood industry into crisis. Reports have emerged of dead fish, rays and sharks washing up along the metropolitan coastline – including North Haven between the river mouth and marina breakwater, Tennyson Beach, north of Grange jetty, and south of Christies Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Several mussel farming sites around the Port Lincoln area have also been shut after shellfish toxins were detected in the area. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called on the Prime Minister to respond to the growing algae bloom 'disaster' in South Australia. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young has says the bloom is a 'national disaster' and therefore required a 'national response'. She called on the Prime Minister and federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to visit Adelaide and 'take some action'. 'If this was happening in Bondi, or on the North Shore in Sydney, the Prime Minister would have already been on the beach, talking to concerned locals and the affected industries,' Senator Hanson-Young said on Wednesday. Reports have emerged of dead marine life washing up along areas of SA's metropolitan coastline. Stefan Andrews / Great Southern Reef Foundation Credit: Supplied More than 200 marine species have been recorded as dead due to a toxic algae bloom in South Australia. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia 'But today, we've had virtually nothing from the federal government.' South Australia's flagship fisheries patrol vessel Southern Ranger has been deployed to inspect the bloom and help authorities understand its impact. Senator Hanson-Young, the Greens' environment and water spokeswoman, said this should have been happening 'weeks and weeks ago' – pointing out SA's fishing and tourism industries were being 'smashed'. 'Our environment is dying, and our community is alarmed,' she said. The algae bloom was first detected in March. Supplied / Great Southern Reef Credit: Supplied 'This is the climate crisis unfolding before our very eyes, and South Australia can't handle it on our own.' Senator Hanson-Young said she would be moving for a federal inquiry into the crisis when parliament resumes. In their latest update on Wednesday, the SA Department of Environment and Water said the algae – known as Karenia mikimotoi – had been detected in the Port River. Elevated levels were found by authorities along the metropolitan coastline, while 'very high' levels were at the Garden Island and Outer Harbor boat ramps. It was first detected on the Fleurieu Peninsula in March. The bloom quickly spread to other waterways after it was detected in the Fleurieu Peninsula four months ago. Stefan Andrews / Great Southern Reef Foundation Credit: Supplied 'State government agencies are taking weekly water samples at 17 sites across West Lakes, the Port River, the Patawalonga River and the end of four jetties at Largs Bay, Grange, Glenelg and Port Noarlunga,' the department said in their update. The South Australian opposition has already called for a royal commission to explore the origin and consequences of the algae and what could have been done to manage the situation, the ABC reports. Authorities believe a marine heatwave in September last year could have contributed to the bloom. Flooding in the Murray River over 2022 and 2023 washing extra nutrients into the sea, or an unprecedented cold-water upwelling over the summer of 2023-24, may also have contributed. The last large event of this type of algae recorded in SA was at Coffin Bay in 2014. Karenia mikimotoi is not known to cause long-term harmful effects in humans but exposure to discoloured or foamy water can cause short-term skin or eye irritation and respiratory symptoms.
