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News.com.au
29-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Bombshell inquiry into Dural ‘terror' caravan referred to ethics committee
An inquiry into the relationship between the Dural 'terror' caravan incident and the passing of controversial anti-hate laws in NSW is an 'incursion upon the privilege' of parliament that 'breaches one of the fundamental bedrocks of parliamentary democracy', a Labor MP has claimed. Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig slammed the Legislative Council inquiry during question time on Thursday morning as the government seeks to refer the terms of reference of the inquiry, established in March, to the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics. The Legislative Council inquiry, chaired by independent MLC Rod Roberts, was established earlier this year following criticism over the passage of sweeping anti-hate and anti-protest laws in February after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Greater Sydney over the summer. In January, police discovered an explosives-laden caravan in Sydney's northwest that Premier Chris Minns claimed could have resulted in a 'mass casualty event'. The Australian Federal Police later determined it to be part of a criminal conspiracy, sparking questions about who knew what and when. Mr Minns last week expressed concerns that the parliamentary privilege of the Legislative Assembly, where he spoke about the caravan on March 18, might be infringed, including by the calling of key staffers as well as the 'observance of comity' between the two houses. In his address, Mr Hoenig claimed the probe – launched by the Legislative Council, not the Legislative Assembly – 'breaches one of the bedrock of parliamentary democracy', which was the ability of either house of parliament to have exclusive control over its own members and debate. 'Broadly, what happens within parliament is a matter for control by parliament alone,' Mr Hoenig said. 'The prerogative of this House to set out the rules, conduct, and regulate its own affairs – its exclusive cognisance has not been disputed. 'That is why the resolution of the Legislative Council was so egregious. '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 also warned that 'courts will never sit by idly and allow powers to be unconstrained if abused' but admitted 'certain principles have become diminished over time' that 'may well be as a result of the disagreements we have with the other place (Legislative Council)'. The motion to refer the inquiry passed following a division 47 to 27. Inquiry changes 'don't go far enough': Labor On Wednesday night, Mr Roberts, moved amendments to the inquiry to 'narrow the focus on the passage of bills concerned through the Legislative Council', which Mr Hoenig said 'dismisses the very fundamental issue I have raised'. Noting the amendments, Mr Hoenig said it was the House of Representatives 'and this House alone that will be arbiter of its actions and that of its members, whether they also be members of the executive or not' and Mr Roberts' amendments 'did not go far enough'. Wahroonga Liberal MP Alister Henskens said the opposition was concerned about issues of privilege but would not support the motion following the amendments and instead claimed it was 'a transparent attempt to frustrate and delay the upper house inquiry'. Mr Henskens also noted that the only remaining witnesses were executive employees, including ministerial staff. 'The terms of reference were intentionally changed to exclude any infringement upon the privileges of this House by reason of the terms of reference, and I think that's a very important matter which was not highlighted to members of this place in the address,' Mr Henskens said. 'So, the inquiry in the other place is essentially directed towards a very narrow scope. There's been no public submissions invited, and the scope of the inquiry is simply whom knew that the Dural caravan incident was not a mass casualty event and when did they not?' Greens MP Jenny Leong did not say whether the party would support the referral but noted that if they did it would be 'critical' that the Legislative Council was not 'prevented from doing their work' and that the issues of privilege were 'probably dealt with by the amendments'. If there was an 'unreasonable delay' to the inquiry, Ms Leong warned that 'it would raise further concerns and questions about whether this is being used as a way for the Premier and the executive to avoid and subvert the ability of the council to inquire into these matters'. Speaker Greg Piper said the change of the terms of reference was 'not done on the basis of a change of view' but to advance an 'important inquiry' and agreed with the Greens that the inquiry would not be referred as a way of obstructing its progression. 'I say to the members of this House, this is an opportunity for us to actually examine the issue, the rights and privilege, the exclusive cognisance of the Legislative Assembly. And if we do not do it now, then we will no doubt be doing it again,' Mr Piper said. 'This is an opportunity to actually examine this and to make a stand as to the rights and privilege of the assembly.' Mr Piper said he stood by his advice to Mr Minns when he was advised about the potential breach. Last week, the inquiry heard evidence from key staffers behind the scenes at Mr Minns' office and at cabinet.
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Sydney Dural caravan-anti hate inquiry to be referred to NSW parliamentary ethics committee
The NSW government will refer an inquiry into the relationship between the Dural caravan terror plot hoax and debate on controversial new anti-hate laws to an ethics committee amid fears parliamentary privilege could be infringed. Emails tendered during the second hearing of the NSW Legislative Council inquiry on Thursday reveal NSW Premier Chris Minns wrote to Legislative Assembly Speaker Greg Piper on May 15 with concerns about the inquiry's terms of reference. Mr Minns expressed concerns that the parliamentary privilege of the Legislative Assembly, where he spoke about the caravan on March 18, might be infringed as well as the 'observance of comity' between the two houses. Mr Minns said the state government would introduce a motion 'at the earliest available opportunity' to refer the select committee's terms of reference to the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics for inquiry. The revelations come after leading figures behind the scenes at the Premier's office and at the Legislative Council appeared before the inquiry to give evidence, including in relation to the earliest briefings Mr Minns received from police about the caravan. The discovery of the explosive-laden caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest was made public after it was leaked to the media on January 29, having been found earlier on January 19 by police, who Mr Minns later said had stopped 'a potential mass casualty event'. It wasn't until March that the Australian Federal Police, working with NSW Police, revealed that it now alleged that the caravan, which included a note referencing Sydney Great Synagogue, was instead part of an elaborate criminal con job. That revelation came after the NSW parliament passed a suite of new anti-hate and anti-protest laws in February that outlawed most protests outside places of worship among other measures and critics claimed were rammed through. The inquiry was subsequently set up to investigate the relationship between the caravan and the proposed laws, including what Mr Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley knew and when and any reference to the van in briefings for the proposed laws. The inquiry will also examine any statements made during debate of the proposed laws by members of the executive government, as well as the provision of information to parliament and the impact of any decision to withhold or release information. Mr Piper wrote back to Mr Minns on May 16, noting that the motion would not be heard before Thursday's inquiry and it would be 'inappropriate' for the Assembly to accede requests from the Council for the witnesses to appear at the hearing. That was 'without the House first having the opportunity to consider any implications for exclusive cognisance and other rights and privileges of the Legislative Assembly, arising from the notice of the motion of referral' to the ethics panel. Informed of the correspondence, Legislative Council General Counsel deputy secretary Matt Richards wrote to the inquiry's chair, independent MLC Rod Roberts, on May 19 to say that the witnesses from the government would not be attending. 'In light of the Speaker's concerns, staff of the Premier's Department and The Cabinet Office would prefer that their appearance before the Committee be postponed until after these serious issues have been resolved by the parliament,' Mr Richards said. 'Accordingly, staff of the Premier's Department and The Cabinet Office do not propose to attend the hearing on May 22, 2025. 'On behalf of these staff, I respectfully request that the Committee refrain from pressing the invitation for them to appear before the Committee until there has been time for the matters referred to in the Speaker's letter to be addressed.' Ultimately, Premier's Department secretary Simon Draper and deputy secretary Kate Meagher and The Cabinet Office secretary Kate Boyd did appear before the committee, with Nationals MLC Wes Fang tabling the email exchange. Of the email from Mr Richards, Ms Boyd told the inquiry: 'I don't think we were seeking not to appear. 'I think the letter makes clear that we were happy to postpone or delay our appearance pending the resolution of these serious matters between the houses, so I think that's how I would paraphrase it.'
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Grave concern' over witnesses attempting to avoid Dural caravan inquiry
Independent MLC Rod Roberts has told an inquiry into the Dural caravan incident and the passage of controversial new laws that he has 'serious and grave concern' that witnesses are trying to avoid appearing. The second hearing of the select committee inquiry into the relationship between the Dural caravan hoax and debate on the NSW government's controversial anti-hate laws began on Thursday. The inquiry seeks to establish who knew what and when about the caravan filled with explosives in Sydney's northwest, including NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley, and any reference to it in briefings for the new laws. The controversial suite of laws, introduced and passed by NSW parliament within two weeks in February, outlaw most protest activities outside places of worship, among other measures. Mr Roberts told the committee that he 'held serious and grave concerns about the attempts of some witnesses to avoid appearing before this committee'. 'This committee has determined that it wishes, and in fact needs, to hear and take evidence from certain individuals,' he said. 'It is apparent there has been attempts by some to hinder and frustrate the work of this committee by declining to attend, using spurious and tenuous arguments. 'It is the duty of the Legislative Council, and therefore its committees, to hold the government of the day to account. It is our role to review process and executive activities. 'A strong house of review is fundamental for maintaining democracy. 'One would think that an accountable government would willingly co-operate with alleged council committee and not proper, weak and insubstantial assertions as reasons not to attend and co-operate.' Three leading figures working behind the scenes at Mr Minns' office gave evidence, including Premier's Department secretary Simon Draper, deputy secretary Kate Meagher, and Cabinet Office secretary Kate Boyd. During the proceedings, Nationals MLC Wes Fang produced a letter he said was sent from the Cabinet Office General Counsel deputy secretary Matt Richards on May 19, indicating the trio were 'seeking not to appear'. In response, Ms Boyd told the inquiry: 'I don't think we were seeking not to appear. 'I think the letter makes clear that we were happy to postpone or delay our appearance pending the resolution of these serious matters between the houses, so I think that's how I would paraphrase it.' The inquiry was told the Speaker had 'appealed to the Premier that the executive not accede to any requests from this committee until they'd had a chance to have a look at the issues'. 'So we were all aware that that was coming,' Ms Boyd said. The inquiry was further told the Speaker had received a response from the Premier, and that Ms Boyd had 'advised the (Premier's office) that we intended to write to the committee in these terms'. The timing of initial discussions into the anti-hate laws was also raised during Thursday's session, with Ms Boyd stating the state government requested and was provided advice in December, 2024. Asked if she would describe the Dural caravan incident having 'accelerated' discussions about the laws, Ms Boyd said 'I would' and that advice was asked for after the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. 'To the best of my recollection, we were asked for advice following October 7 and in the context of an escalating spate of anti-Semitic incidents around the law reform response to help address this issue, and that occurred in late-2024. 'The caravan incident was not a feature of that request.' Who knew what and when The three leading figures working behind the scenes in Mr Minns' office and in cabinet were grilled on Thursday by the committee over what was said by who, and when, following the caravan's discovery. Of particular focus were Mr Minns' briefings with the NSW Police Force. Department secretary Simon Draper, who returned from leave the day the caravan discovery was leaked, told the inquiry that it was regular practice for minutes not to be taken of 'every discussion that happens'. No one who gave evidence to the inquiry on Thursday could recall if, or what, Mr Minns asked during his briefings with NSW Police, in particular a briefing on January 23. Deputy secretary Kate Meagher told the inquiry that she could not recall if NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson had given the impression that the explosives-laden caravan could be the subject of a criminal conspiracy. 'But, I do recall that it was definitely presented in that meeting as something that could have had the potential to cause a mass casualty event, and where we were sitting looking at the number of incidents that had been escalating, that was definitely my takeout,' Ms Meagher said. Mr Draper said of a subsequent briefing on February 3 that while it 'may have been hoped by those in attendance that we could get more conclusive information', the information provided by Mr Hudson was mostly the procedure of the case and reassures 'the Premier and the minister that they were being diligent, that the investigation was progressing given the high level of public interest in the investigation'. 'I don't recall there were any conclusions or views put about at that stage about the nature of the event, but what I took away from it was they (police) were trying hard to keep an open mind. 'Albeit that there were a number of possibilities, including that it was a premeditated terrorist-type incident but also a possibility that it was, I think the terms that they would have used were sort of an attempt to manipulate the justice system to get some benefits in the justice system. 'The police have a lot of experience with that, and so it seemed to me very wise that they would keep an open mind about that.' Mr Draper told the committee there was 'no question' the attacks over the past summer were anti-Semitic and 'any attempt to allay fears in the community would have been premature'. The explosives-laden caravan was discovered by police on January 19 – which was later leaked to the press – with the inquiry previously told a note was found inside the caravan referencing the Great Synagogue. Mr Minns later said police may have prevented a 'mass casualty event'. It's those comments, and the response by police and political leaders, that sparked controversy, especially after the laws passed and the revelation that the van was an alleged conspiracy. The Greens and members of the crossbench joined civil society groups such as the NSW Council for Civil Liberties in calling for the inquiry, with the latter slamming the laws as being repressive. The first hearing in April heard evidence from senior police, including NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Mr Hudson, about their briefings on the Dural caravan. Mr Hudson told the inquiry the source behind the terrorism plot theory was not discredited until February 21, the day after the laws were passed.
