Latest news with #Dural
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Terrible virus': Anti-Semitism hearing told of rise in incidents in 2025
An inquiry into anti-Semitism across Australia has been told the 'terrible virus' is spreading across the country. Last July the Federal Government appointed Australia's first Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism (ASECA), following a rise in apparent anti-Semitic attacks. Jillian Segal AO told a hearing at NSW parliament on Friday a spate of anti-Semitic acts in NSW over the past summer have contributed to 'anxiety and unease' in the Jewish community. 'Anti-Semitism is such a terrible virus that eats away at our fundamental Australian values,' she said. Since her appointment to the envoy nearly 12 months ago, Ms Segal told the parliamentary hearing she has met with many political and civil leaders across the country. Anti-Semitic acts that Ms Segal referenced included the caravan full of explosives found in Dural, NSW in January which appeared to target the Jewish community. 'The Dural caravan contained explosives and it deliberately targeted the Jewish community and created a sense of vulnerability among the Jewish community,' she said. Ms Segal said the assertion that the Dural caravan was 'merely a harmless hoax' and 'did not in fact terrorise the Jewish community' was false. 'Whether or not the caravan was ultimately intended to be used in a terror attack, it had the effect of causing a great deal of fear and anxiety in the Jewish community, which was already on edge following the succession of arson and graffiti attacks, as well as the terror attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne,' she said. Ms Segal was asked about the impacts of a violent pro-Palestinian rally at the Sydney Opera House, on October 9, 2023, following Hamas attacks, and if those events 'set the tone for everything that has happened following that incident.' 'I think it was a terrible incident that did indicate to people who were underlying anti-Semitic that they could continue behaving that way,' she said. 'Anti-Semitism is a hatred and behaving that way in that community is shaped by leadership. 'Leadership is incredibly important and leader's condemning certain attitudes and behaviours sets the tone. 'I don't think everything that has happened has been a result of that … but it was an opportunity for it to be stamped out.' Ms Segal said Jewish Australians should not have to live in fear. 'No Jewish person should be told it's not safe to visit the opera house, or to visit a NSW hospital. Or worry about the safety of their children at a Jewish school,' she said. Rising anti-Semitism is being seen 'everywhere', Ms Segal said, which requires a range of approaches. 'We need a whole host of responses not only individual leadership but we need legislation, condemnation and education,' she said. 'We need to make sure it doesn't in any way send the message that it is acceptable.' Deputy Commissioner David Hudson NSW Police Force told the hearing 33 per cent of reports of hate crimes to his team have been of an anti-Semitic nature. NSW Police have received a total of 1,121 reports of anti-Semitic acts so far in 2025, the inquiry was told. 'This type of behaviour and offending is not going away,' Mr Hudson said. Strike force Pearl formed to investigate anti-Semitic acts, has seen 14 incidents which were on the 'higher end of the spectrum' of offending, Mr Hudson said, which included attacks and firebombing of Jewish centres and synagogues. 'We certainly believe they were anti-Semitic in nature … the Jewish community was targeted, they were putting lives in danger and ultimately I don't think we would consider it anything but anti-Semitic in nature,' he said. Those 14 attacks were allegedly conducted by criminal networks, Mr Hudson said, with one 'individual of interest' seen as a catalyst for those incidents, who had allegedly made social media posts that were anti-Semitic in nature.
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.
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
NSW premier was guided by police when he characterised explosive-laden caravan as terrorism, Minns' team says
The New South Wales premier characterised a caravan found laden with explosives as a terrorism event because that was the briefing provided by police, his chief of staff has told an inquiry, despite the police telling the public at the same time there were 'alternative lines' of inquiry. On Friday, five staffers from the offices of the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and the police minister, Yasmin Catley, appeared before the inquiry after they were threatened with arrest for failing to attend last week. The inquiry – launched with the support of the Coalition, the Greens and crossbench MLCs – is examining the handling of information about the caravan plot amid concerns parliament may have been 'misled' before controversial laws aimed at curbing antisemitism were rushed through parliament. After police announced in January that a caravan had been found laden with explosives at a residential property in Dural, in greater Sydney, Minns said it had the potential to be a 'mass casualty event', and that 'there is only one way of calling it out, and that is terrorism'. But in March, the Australian federal police revealed they believed it was a 'con job' by organised crime figures seeking to divert police resources and influence prosecutions. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Minns' chief of staff, James Cullen, appeared alongside two of Minns' deputy chiefs of staff, Edward Ovadia and Sarah Michael. The police minister's chief of staff, Ross Neilson, and deputy chief of staff, Tilly South, also appeared. But it was mainly Cullen who came under intense questioning by the committee. Cullen told the hearing that the premier characterised the incident as a terrorist attack during a press conference on 29 January, shortly after the incident was leaked to the media, because that was 'the language and the briefing the police provided the premier'. He said the same was true for Minns labelling it a 'potentially mass casualty event'. 'The language 'potential mass casualty event', was not a line dreamed up by the premier. It was in briefings from New South Wales police provided to the government, provided to the premier,' he said. Cullen then reminded the inquiry that the deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, had made it clear during the same press conference, and also during an appearance on 2GB the following day, that there were alternative lines of inquiry. Independent MP and chair of the inquiry, Rod Roberts, responded to this by asking why the premier did not tell the public there were other possibilities, saying: 'Now I watched that news, and I believed what the premier told me. I believed it right. He says there's no alternative to terrorism at that stage.' He also pointed out that neither Hudson, nor the then police commissioner Karen Webb used the word terrorism when describing the event. Cullen asserted the premier's comments were 'based on the latest advice from police, and which was... there was a [joint counter-terrorism team] investigation looking at a potential mass casualty event, and there was lines of inquiry in relation to that'. 'I just think there's a very convenient rewriting of history here and squashing of time and of concepts.' Cullen did not directly answer multiple follow-up questions about what the premier was briefed in regards to alternative lines of investigation, saying it involves a 'delicate investigation'. 'Put it this way, there were … alternative lines of investigation that were clearly being explored, early on, and really didn't, for want of a better term, get shaken out until the 21st of February,' he said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The inquiry heard in earlier evidence during a hearing in May that the briefings between police and cabinet ministers about the incident was 'pens down'. Cullen, after questioning from Nationals MP Wes Fang, said he wouldn't characterise it as such and that no one instructed for it to be so. Fang later asked how a meeting where the premier was being briefed 'on a potential terrorism episode' in which his office did not keep notes was responsive to the State Records Act. Cullen asserted that Minns' office didn't breach the act because it wasn't a decision-making meeting. Following questions by Labor MP Bob Nanva, Cullen agreed it would have been 'irresponsible' to not treat the caravan incident as a 'potentially mass casualty' event given that it was being investigated by the joint counter-terrorism investigation. Cullen told the hearing that the legislation aimed at curbing antisemitism – which was passed on 21 February, the day police said they ruled out the Dural caravan as a terrorism event although they had not yet made this public – did not relate to the alleged terrorism event. 'There were a lot of things going on for an extended period of time. I mean, these conversations didn't start on the 19th of January, the 20th of January or the 29th of January,' he told the hearing. Cullen was also grilled by Greens MP Sue Higginson on whether the premier had instructed the five staffers to not attend the inquiry. Last Tuesday, days before the staffers did not appear and were then threatened with arrest, Minns told 2GB 'we've had extensive discussions with them about it, but I don't want them to'. Cullen said: 'There was absolutely no formal [or] informal direction from the premier. I must be really clear about that.'
Daily Telegraph
02-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
AFP places caveat on alleged fraudster's $6m+ home
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce registered a restraining caveat last week over the title of the Dural abode of pharmacist Ben Huynh. It lobbed just days after the seven bedroom, five bathroom house with tennis court and pool was briefly listed by McGrath West agents Peter Pokorny and Elise Lau for June auction. Their marketing, which has now been removed from listing sites, advised it was 'an excellent opportunity to buy an expansive two-hectare estate in a tightly held enclave.' The AFP caveat arose from orders made May 22 by the NSW Supreme Court. MORE: Wild reason Aussie has 300 homes It was the first time the AFP had lodged a caveat since the late 2023 arrest of the veteran pharmacist arising from allegations he had engaged in fraud since 2014 relating to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Police allege the pharmacist submitted false claims for medications. Huynh, who for 26 years operated the Cabramatta East Day and Night Pharmacy, was released on bail after his arrest and is scheduled to next appear before court on June 6. Huynh is yet to enter pleas. His wife, Le Thach, is not accused of any wrongdoing. MORE: Neighbours become $200m richer overnight The title of his Dural abode, Stonelea Manor is no longer in his name, being transferred last November from joint ownership to the sole ownership of his wife. Documents from the NSW Land Registry show it was transferred 'without monetary consideration and as regards a court order'. Huynh and Thach had briefly mortgaged the property in March last year with a $5.87m N1 Holdings mortgage facility for a one-year period, at a rate of 12.5 per cent. MORE: Kmart set to change everything in Temu war The mortgage was discharged as she took sole ownership, with the property refinanced through Orde Mortgage Custodian. It cost $1.91m in 2001. The Saturday Telegraph's Shannon Tonkin reported last week that Huynh had lost a legal bid to have federal police return his multimillion-dollar collection of eight supercars seized during the police raid in November 2023. MORE: Price of car spot proves Australia has lost it
News.com.au
01-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
AFP places caveat on alleged fraudster's $6m+ home
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce registered a restraining caveat last week over the title of the Dural abode of pharmacist Ben Huynh. It lobbed just days after the seven bedroom, five bathroom house with tennis court and pool was briefly listed by McGrath West agents Peter Pokorny and Elise Lau for June auction. Their marketing, which has now been removed from listing sites, advised it was 'an excellent opportunity to buy an expansive two-hectare estate in a tightly held enclave.' The AFP caveat arose from orders made May 22 by the NSW Supreme Court. It was the first time the AFP had lodged a caveat since the late 2023 arrest of the veteran pharmacist arising from allegations he had engaged in fraud since 2014 relating to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Police allege the pharmacist submitted false claims for medications. Huynh, who for 26 years operated the Cabramatta East Day and Night Pharmacy, was released on bail after his arrest and is scheduled to next appear before court on June 6. Huynh is yet to enter pleas. His wife, Le Thach, is not accused of any wrongdoing. The title of his Dural abode, Stonelea Manor is no longer in his name, being transferred last November from joint ownership to the sole ownership of his wife. Documents from the NSW Land Registry show it was transferred 'without monetary consideration and as regards a court order'. Huynh and Thach had briefly mortgaged the property in March last year with a $5.87m N1 Holdings mortgage facility for a one-year period, at a rate of 12.5 per cent. The mortgage was discharged as she took sole ownership, with the property refinanced through Orde Mortgage Custodian. It cost $1.91m in 2001. The Saturday Telegraph's Shannon Tonkin reported last week that Huynh had lost a legal bid to have federal police return his multimillion-dollar collection of eight supercars seized during the police raid in November 2023.
