Latest news with #NSWInquiry
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Staff front 'kangaroo court' probe after arrest threat
Senior government staff have faced terse questions over the passage of anti-protest and hate speech laws after threats they could be arrested for refusing to front an inquiry. NSW Premier Chris Minns' chief of staff James Cullen, his deputies and two senior staff for Police Minister Yasmin Catley showed up on Friday after being summoned to appear earlier in June. The parliamentary inquiry is probing the swift introduction of laws in February after the discovery of a caravan at Dural, on Sydney's outskirts, containing explosives and a list of Jewish sites. Mr Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially labelled the caravan incident a thwarted terror attack in late January when a media leak disclosed the earlier caravan find. But inquiry chair Rod Roberts on Friday criticised the terrorism label, saying it would have led to fear and consternation in the community. "I can't see how the premier standing in front of a press conference saying there is no other alternative to terrorism provided any calm to anybody," the independent MP said. It later emerged the caravan was thought to be part of what investigators labelled a "criminal con job" that was staged in an attempt to gain leverage with police. Senior NSW police told the inquiry in April they believed it was a ruse virtually from the outset. Controversial laws that passed parliament included curbs on the right to demonstrate near places of worship. But Mr Cullen, appearing frustrated and occasionally interrupting questions, repeatedly defended the premier's language about the caravan find. "This was not a line dreamt up by the premier," he told the committee inquiry in a tense exchange with Mr Roberts. "It was not a term thrown around lightly at all. "There's a very convenient rewriting of history and squashing of time and concepts." The three pieces of legislation were drafted during a 12-18 month period when there was a marked rise in anti-Semitic incidents, Mr Cullen said. "The relationship that's been constructed by some between the Dural caravan event and those three pieces of legislation is extremely ... unfair." They included graffiti and arson attacks on a synagogue, a preschool's fire-bombing and other incidents in areas with large Jewish populations, all of which had drawn widespread condemnation, he said. Mr Minns - who, along with the police minister, cannot be compelled to appear before the upper house - told reporters his perspective had been "well ventilated". Following news the staffers could face arrest, Mr Minns on Wednesday said they had been summoned to an inquiry that was "close to a kangaroo court". Mr Roberts had addressed five empty chairs a week earlier when the government staffers did not appear, prompting the drastic but legal step of threatening to arrest them. Mr Minns criticised parliamentary "shenanigans" on Friday and said his focus was on supporting the people of NSW.
ABC News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Tensions flare as senior NSW political staffers who risked arrest grilled at Dural caravan inquiry
Tensions have flared between the NSW premier's top adviser and an opposition MP in a highly anticipated appearance before an inquiry into the Dural caravan plot and the criminalisation of hate speech. Five New South Wales political staffers began giving evidence on Friday morning, one week after they risked arrest for failing to appear. The staffers include the premier's chief-of-staff James Cullen, deputy chief-of-staff Edward Ovadia and his director of media and communications Sarah Michael. The police minister's chief-of-staff Ross Neilson and deputy chief-of-staff Tilly South are also appearing. The inquiry is examining what the senior political staffers knew about the "terror" plot, which police later determined to be a criminal hoax, when the government was introducing legislation to combat antisemitism. Liberal committee member Susan Carter questioning Mr Cullen about what support his boss had offered in relation to the inquiry. A tense exchange ensued between the MP and the staffer, with both talking over each other. "Look, you can fight with the question or your can answer it. What would you like to do?" Ms Carter said to Mr Cullen. Mr Cullen said he first learnt the caravan bomb was no longer being pursued as an act of terrorism in late February — but it is unclear whether that was before hate speech legislation passed the parliament. "Effectively there was a finalised view from police … when the AFP source was discredited on the 21st of February," Mr Cullen said. "I recall after — I think it would have been NSW Police — got legal advice confirming that at that point they couldn't pursue terrorism charges … not long after that getting — might have been Mr Neilson — letting me know that police had contacted the minister or the minister's office, that that had been the case." A bill criminalising the incitement of racial hatred passed the parliament on February 21, having been introduced three days earlier. "I suppose then the next step was … the press conference with the AFP and NSW Police on the tenth of March outlining the results of their investigation." The staffers were summonsed to appear at the inquiry last Friday but failed to do so, arguing "it is ministers, rather than their staff, who are accountable to the parliament". Benjamin Franklin, the president of the Legislative Council, threatened to exercise powers under the Parliamentary Evidence Act to have the staffers arrested and brought before the inquiry. The staffers argued the summonses were not validly issued and that they had "important reasons" for not appearing. They also claimed the powers of arrest under the 124-year-old law, which have never been used, were unconstitutional. Mr Franklin sought legal advice from eminent barrister Bret Walker SC, who gave an opinion rejecting these arguments, prompting the staffers to change their minds. Ms Michael denied breaking the law when she and her colleagues failed to appear last week. "You were untroubled by breaking the law?" Ms Carter asked. "It wasn't that we were breaking the law here. It's just we needed to get more advice about what our rights were," Ms Michael said. "Do you always get advice about whether a law is valid or not before you follow it?" Ms Carter said. "In this particular instance — I like to think of myself a law-abiding citizen — so in this instance, yes," Ms Michael replied. Mr Neilson said the staffers believed their non-attendance was not illegal. "We had advice that we had just cause and reasonable excuse not to attend, and therefore we wouldn't be breaking the law," Mr Neilson said. Earlier Premier Chris Minns said he had let his staff "speak for themselves". "My position on it is very well ventilated," he said at a press conference on Friday. "I couldn't be clearer about the government and my perspective, but we are where we are. "I guess my main message is that there may well be shenanigans in the New South Wales legislative council but myself, my ministers and even my staff, when they're not appearing in front of parliament committees, are actually focused on the people of New South Wales." The premier added that he understood "some people, as part of their job, will try and divert us from that".
ABC News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Dural caravan inquiry committee explore arrest warrants for NSW staffers over failure to give evidence
Five New South Wales government staffers face possible arrest warrants after defying a summons and not appearing before an Upper House inquiry into the Sydney Dural caravan plot. The five staffers asked to be excused from Friday's hearing in a letter, after being summonsed to give evidence about what and when the state government knew about the plot, after the caravan was found laden with explosives in January amid a spate of antisemitic vandalism. The ABC understands the committee will go to the president of the Legislative Council Ben Franklin to ask if he could request arrest warrants in the NSW Supreme Court. NSW Premier Minns had flagged the staffers — some of who worked for him — would not give evidence on Thursday, calling the inquiry into what the state government did or did not know about the alleged plot a "star chamber". At the state parliament's Macquarie Room on Friday morning, committee members waited to see if the five staffers would turn up, with their empty chairs carefully labelled. Inquiry chair and independent MP Rod Roberts said he was disappointed the witnesses had not turned up, describing it as a "very serious matter" and saying further action will be considered. "I am disappointed in the government's continued efforts to hinder and frustrate the work of this committee and ultimately the role of the legislative council to scrutinise the actions of government." Mr Roberts concluded the hearing with a short statement about the intention behind the staffers being summonsed to appear. "This committee was established to determine whether members of parliament debated and passed hate speech and protest laws through parliament based on misleading or incomplete information." During the committee, Mr Roberts revealed a letter dated June 19 undersigned by staffers and asking to be excused from appearing was received on Thursday. In the letter, the staffers said their giving evidence before the select committee would "be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability and comity between the House of Parliament". The letter also stated that a separate parliamentary inquiry could also consider the compulsion of ministerial staff to give evidence, suggesting it infringed parliamentary privileged "or otherwise offends principles of our Westminster system of government". The letter ends with the request to be excused from the hearing. Mr Roberts told the hearing he objected to the arguments made in the letter. "It is a fundamental role of the Upper House to hold the government of the day to account." Before concluding the hearing, Mr Roberts said the witnesses scheduled to appear had failed to comply with the summons. The committee is believed to be considering its next step.
News.com.au
20-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Arrest warrants considered as Minns staffers skip explosives inquiry
The threat of arrest now hangs over five of NSW Premier Chris Minns' top advisers after they refused to front a parliamentary inquiry investigating a suspected terror plot. The five senior ministerial staffers failed to appear before a NSW parliamentary inquiry this morning, prompting the chair of the committee to flag 'further action' in what is fast becoming a major constitutional standoff over executive accountability. The Legislative Council inquiry, chaired by independent MLC Rod Roberts, commenced at 10.45am on Friday but was forced to adjourn for 30 minutes after none of the five summoned witnesses, senior advisers to Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley, arrived. The hearing was ultimately abandoned without a vote, after Chair Roberts formally acknowledged the no-show and delivered a lengthy statement criticising the government's ongoing resistance to the inquiry. 'I am disappointed in the government's continued efforts to hinder and frustrate the work of this committee, and ultimately, the role of the Legislative Council to scrutinise the actions of government,' Mr Roberts said. 'The committee will now consider further action in relation to these witnesses under section 7 through 9 of the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901.' Those summoned included Mr Minns' chief of staff, James Cullen; two senior advisers from the Premier's office, Edward Ovadia and Sarah Michael; and two staffers from Minister Catley's office, Dr Tilly South and Ross Neilson. Their appearance was meant to shed light on who in government knew what, and when, regarding the discovery of an explosives-laden caravan in Sydney's northwest in January. The Premier had previously described the incident as a potential 'mass casualty event'. Although the Australian Federal Police later determined it was part of a criminal conspiracy. The circumstances surrounding the government's response, and whether MPs passed sweeping anti-hate laws in February based on incomplete information, remain under intense scrutiny. A letter sent to the committee chair on Thursday and signed by the five staffers outlined their refusal to appear. They argued that attending would breach 'the principles of ministerial accountability and comity between the Houses of Parliament,' particularly while a separate privileges inquiry by the Legislative Assembly is ongoing. The group also took aim at Mr Roberts' earlier media comments, writing: 'Given your comments on breakfast radio yesterday as to the motivation for issuing the summonses, – which make it clear we are 'proxies' because our respective Ministers cannot be compelled as witnesses to the Select Committee – we also consider that they have not been properly issued,' the letter read. 'In light of the above, we invite you not to press for our attendance at the hearing tomorrow.' Mr Roberts rejected those arguments in his closing statement, asserting the inquiry is properly constituted and that ministerial staff are not exempt from appearing. 'The inquiry seeks to examine the actions of the executive, not members of the Legislative Assembly,' he said. 'The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed lights on the events in the lead-up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament. 'The power of committees to summon witnesses and compel them to attend and give evidence is in black and white in the Parliamentary Evidence Act. It is not in doubt.' Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig has previously condemned the inquiry as 'an incursion upon the privilege' of the Legislative Assembly. 'It expressly seeks to scrutinise the discourse of the House, the conduct of its members, be it backbencher or a member of the executive government, while undertaking the primary function entrusted upon them by their constituents which is to legislate,' Mr Hoenig said during Question Time in May. He argued the Legislative Council had overstepped its bounds by summoning ministerial staff and attempting to examine lower house proceedings. Despite the controversy, the Legislative Assembly passed a motion 47 to 27 to refer the inquiry's terms to the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics. In response, Mr Roberts amended the inquiry's terms to narrow its focus to the passage of relevant bills through the upper house. Mr Hoenig, however, insisted the changes 'did not go far enough'. Opposition MP Alister Henskens said the amendments were sufficient to avoid breaching privilege and labelled the referral motion 'a transparent attempt to frustrate and delay the upper house inquiry'. Greens MP Jenny Leong said it was 'critical' that the Legislative Council was not prevented from doing its work, warning that any 'unreasonable delay' would raise concerns about the Premier and executive trying to 'subvert' the inquiry. Speaker Greg Piper defended the committee's progression, saying the changes were not intended to obstruct but instead 'an opportunity to actually examine the issue, the rights and privilege, the exclusive cognisance of the Legislative Assembly'. The committee has previously heard from senior police officials, including NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Deputy Commissioner David Hudson. With Friday's hearing abandoned and potential legal action looming, the inquiry is now at a crossroads.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Chris Minns blasts inquiry into Dural caravan plot as a 'giant conspiracy' as senior staffers are hit with arrest threat
NSW Premier Chris Minns has fiercely rebuffed calls for three of his senior staffers to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the Dural caravan plot. Independent Upper House MP and inquiry chair, Rod Roberts, will on Tuesday sign summonses urging Mr Minns' chief of staff James Cullen and his two deputies – Sarah Michael and Edward Ovadia - to give evidence, the Daily Telegraph reports. Should they refuse, the Upper House could instruct its president, Ben Franklin, to request that a Supreme Court judge issue arrest warrants. But the premier made it clear he and his staffers would not cooperate, dismissing the inquiry as nothing more than a partisan attack. 'This is a giant conspiracy being pushed by the Opposition, Greens, and Independents,' Minns told 2GB radio on Tuesday. 'It's a conspiracy based on the false claim that we knew everything from the beginning and used it to push through laws to counter antisemitism.' In February, NSW introduced tougher hate speech laws following a series of antisemitic incidents across Sydney. One of the main triggers was a reported terror plot involving antisemitic threats and a caravan in Dural, a claim that was later revealed to be a hoax. Roberts said the inquiry would examine whether parliament was 'morally bullied' into passing the laws without knowing the full facts. The showdown follows refusals by both Minns and NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley to appear before the inquiry. However, under parliamentary rules, Upper House inquiries cannot compel Lower House members such as Minns and Catley, to testify. Minns said Opposition and crossbench MPs had had opportunities to question him about the caravan plot during Question Time and biannual Upper House estimates. The premier said that claims he knew about the circumstances of the Dural caravan being a hoax from the very beginning were not true. He also denied claims that the incident was used to push through the anti-vilification laws passed earlier this year. 'My sense is that Mr Roberts made this outlandish conspiracy claim early on, and is trying to find some back fill evidence to justify it, and there is none there,' he said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Roberts for comment. NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman told this publication that the inquiry was simply trying to get to the bottom of what happened. 'This isn't about targeting staff but getting to the truth,' he said in a statement. 'If the Premier and Police Minister won't front up, the committee has a duty to ask those who might know the facts, as the former opposition have done when we were in government. 'Staffers aren't the decision makers, but they might hold key evidence. The Jewish community deserves answers and NSW deserves a government that's honest and accountable.' Liberterian MP John Ruddick, who is a member of the inquiry, told Daily Mail Australia that the cross party group was holding the government accountable. 'The modus operandi of governments is to whip up fear and then rush in more laws to curb freedom so they appear to have done something,' he said. 'This needed to be reviewed by the parliament because if we just swept this under the carpet they'll do it again. 'There must be accountability and the inquiry is doing just that.' In 2023, the NSW Upper House invoked the Parliamentary Evidence Act in an attempt to compel the brothers of then Premier Dominic Perrottet to give evidence to an inquiry regarding the Hills Shire Council, a move then backed by the Labor Party.
