Latest news with #YasminCatley
Daily Mail
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former Greens candidate horrifically injured during arrest at pro-Palestine protest hits out at NSW Premier from her hospital bed
A former Greens candidate, who was left with a serious eye injury after being arrested by police at a pro-Palestine rally has unleashed at NSW Premier Chris Minns. Hannah Thomas has undergone surgery following the injury suffered during the protest in Sydney's south-west, outside Lakemba business, SEC Plating, which the Greens have accused of supplying materials used by the Israeli military. Ms Thomas, who challenged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the last election, is at risk of losing vision in her right eye, following the clash with police. She has since issued with a court attendance notice by police and charged with hinder/resist police and refuse/fail to comply with direction to disperse. She is expected to appear in Bankstown Local Court on August 12. 'I just wanted to say thanks so much for the overwhelming support I've received... I've been lucky to be looked after so well by the staff at the hospital,' she said from her hospital bed on Sunday. 'I don't want to go into too much detail about the traumatic events on Friday, but, I'm 5'1' and I weigh 45kg. I was engaged in a peaceful protest and the actions of NSW Police have left me potentially without vision in my right eye permanently. 'This is because of Chris Minns and (police minister) Yasmin Catley and their draconian anti-protest laws. 'The anti-protest laws aren't just a threat to people protesting for Palestine, but for any person who wants a safer world for all of us.' Police issued a move-on direction to the group of around 50 protestors at about 5.35am on Friday to disrupt the alleged unauthorised protest. The NSW Greens claimed Lakemba business was involved in the supply chain to make Israeli fighter jets. Ms Thomas allegedly refused to comply with the order and sustained facial injuries when she was arrested before being taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment. A photo of Ms Thomas on Saturday showed the severity of her injuries, with her entire right eye closed, swollen and bloody, while she sat in the back of an ambulance. The right side of her face was also covered in blood while her eye was black. NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson wrote to NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Police Minister Yasmin Catley to complain about the actions of the officers at the rally. 'I am writing to you to express my deep concern that no critical incident has been declared following the (alleged) assault by NSW Police against a community member at a public assembly in Belmore,' Ms Higginson wrote. 'As you know, a critical incident is an incident involving a NSW police officer that results in the death or serious injury of a person. 'Having witnessed the grievous injuries (allegedly) caused by the police to Hannah Thomas, spoken to on ground witnesses who witnessed what occurred and with the knowledge that Hannah has experienced serious injuries and hospitalisation, I am calling for a critical incident to be declared urgently.' Four others were arrested and charged during the protest, including a 24-year-old man who was allegedly found in possession of a stolen police body-worn camera. Police said the camera was stolen by an unknown protester during a scuffle and was tracked to the 24-year-old's location. It is not clear exactly what caused Ms Thomas' injuries but doctors are reportedly fearing she may not regain sight in her right eye. The Greens meanwhile have said they have spoken with lawyers to potentially represent Ms Thomas and the other protesters who were arrested during the incident. Ms Thomas has attended anti-Israel protests in the past, having called on Australia to impose sanctions on Israel, whose government she accused of genocide. She was among dozens of demonstrators who descended on Albanese's electorate office to demand action after Greta Thunberg's 'Freedom Flotilla' was seized by Israeli defence forces earlier this month. A spokesperson for NSW Police previously told Daily Mail Australia: '[Ms Thomas] sustained facial injuries while being arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a police direction and the arrest was discontinued and (she) was taken to Bankstown hospital for treatment.'
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.'
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Dangerous': Premier slams arrest threat
NSW Premier Chris Minns has slammed the threat of arrest for five political staffers as a 'dangerous precedent' after he refused to front an inquiry into the Dural caravan bomb plot. Five staffers for Mr Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley risked the possibility that a warrant would be issued for their arrest after they failed to attend the third hearing of the inquiry last Friday into the relationship between the caravan plot in Sydney's northwest and the passing of strict anti-hate laws. Independent MLC and inquiry chairman Rod Roberts confirmed the staffers had since agreed to attend a special hearing of the committee on Friday during an interview with 2GB's Ben Fordham on Wednesday morning. 'As a result of the (Legislative Council) president Ben Franklin seeking legal advice from Bret Walker, one of the eminent silks in relation to constitutional law, he has ruled that the Legislative Council is in their rights … to seek arrest warrants for these people that didn't comply with the summonses,' he said. 'But, the government has capitulated now overnight (and) waved the white flag and we're going to make arrangements for a committee hearing on Friday for these five to attend.' Mr Roberts said he had received an 'undertaking' from the five staffers that they would attend the inquiry 'at this stage'. He described it is a 'very big backdown' from Mr Minns and that it was 'unprecedented that a Premier would take it to that level'. 'I don't know where he got his advice from – his legal advice – but, it's been reaffirmed by the leading constitutional lawyer in Australia that we are within our rights,' Mr Roberts said. Asked about the reversal, Mr Minns said he was 'disappointed about the circumstances' that led to his staff being summoned. 'Don't take my word for it. Listen to the chair of the committee who said the reason they're being called in is because I won't appear before the committee. 'So, in a punitive way, pulling in staffers to this upper house inquiry. 'I think that the very troubling information that staff would be arrested and held potentially overnight via police custody is a massive overreach.' Mr Minns said staff would 'make up their own minds' about whether to attend, and he was offering them support as their employer. He went on to slam the committee as 'unleashing extraordinary powers of police or the courts' on what was 'close to a kangaroo court'. 'That's a breach or a step that no one has taken in the parliament's history, and there's very good reason for that,' he said. 'Does anyone truly believe that the members of that committee, given everything that they've said prior to the committee's opening hearing, are going to be soberly assessing the information before them and making a non-political decision? 'I think they've already shown inherent bias in their approach to all of these inquiries, and they don't follow due process. 'So, I think it's a dangerous precedent for the state, but at the end of the day, we are where we are.' Mr Minns went on to accuse the committee of pushing the 'common understanding' that all anti-Semitic incidents in Sydney were related to the Dural caravan plot. Appearing later on 2GB, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said he was 'glad' about the reversal. 'It shouldn't have come to this,' he said. 'There shouldn't have been the threat of warrants and arrests, but this is a premier and a government (that) think they're above the law. 'Just imagine if witnesses subpoenaed to court gave the bird sign to the court.' After receiving a letter on Friday afternoon regarding the staffers, Mr Franklin instructed the clerk to seek legal advice. 'This morning, I have met with Mr Brent Walker SC who has given me the benefit of his verbal advice on the matter,' he said on Tuesday. 'On the receipt of his advice in written form, I intend to table it in the House given the significance of this issue. 'In the meantime, I am considering his advice and its implications, as I tend to make a statement to the House later this week on my intended action.' The inquiry was established to determine who not what and when about the explosives-laden caravan, which police later claimed was not a terrorism plot and instead part of a criminal conspiracy. It has so far heard evidence from leading figures in NSW Police as well as government staff.
The Advertiser
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Premier's staff do an about-face after arrest threat
The NSW premier's right-hand man will be spared arrest after he and fellow staffers gave in to demands to face up to a hate crimes inquiry centred on an explosive-laden caravan. Empty chairs at an otherwise routine inquiry into the passage of religious hate laws led upper house MPs to call for the arrest of five staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley. While the premier defended his staff's position over the weekend, chief-of-staff James Cullen and his four colleagues did an about-face on Wednesday. That followed legal advice to upper house president Ben Franklin, confirming he could seek the staffers' arrest. "I was intending to advise the house that I would be certifying to a judge of the Supreme Court ... that the witnesses have failed to appear before the committee without a just and reasonable excuse," Mr Franklin told the parliament on Wednesday morning. "I have subsequently been advised that the five witnesses have reconsidered their position and have agreed to attend a hearing to provide evidence voluntarily." Mr Franklin sought legal advice from eminent barrister Bret Walker SC, which affirmed the president was within his rights to seek arrest warrants for the staffers failing to appear. The premier and minister, as members of parliament's lower house, cannot be compelled to appear. Mr Cullen, his two deputies and two senior staff in Ms Catley's office are due to appear at a new hearing on Friday morning. The inquiry was formed to probe the passage of protest and speech laws rushed through parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside a caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest in January. Investigators later revealed the discovery was part of a "criminal con job". Committee member Sue Higginson said the inquiry expected new evidence to come to light as a result of the staffers' appearance. "People's evidence brings a different perspective which helps to ascertain a fuller picture of what did happen and who knew what at what point in time," she told AAP. Mr Minns was scathing of the committee's actions in pursuing the appearance of his staff on Wednesday morning. His office also pointed to numerous statements by the committee chair Rod Roberts, calling for stronger hate crime laws ahead of their passage in February. "We've really got to scrutinise whether this is the right chamber for this," Mr Minns said. "There's just gross hypocrisy and political bias." The NSW premier's right-hand man will be spared arrest after he and fellow staffers gave in to demands to face up to a hate crimes inquiry centred on an explosive-laden caravan. Empty chairs at an otherwise routine inquiry into the passage of religious hate laws led upper house MPs to call for the arrest of five staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley. While the premier defended his staff's position over the weekend, chief-of-staff James Cullen and his four colleagues did an about-face on Wednesday. That followed legal advice to upper house president Ben Franklin, confirming he could seek the staffers' arrest. "I was intending to advise the house that I would be certifying to a judge of the Supreme Court ... that the witnesses have failed to appear before the committee without a just and reasonable excuse," Mr Franklin told the parliament on Wednesday morning. "I have subsequently been advised that the five witnesses have reconsidered their position and have agreed to attend a hearing to provide evidence voluntarily." Mr Franklin sought legal advice from eminent barrister Bret Walker SC, which affirmed the president was within his rights to seek arrest warrants for the staffers failing to appear. The premier and minister, as members of parliament's lower house, cannot be compelled to appear. Mr Cullen, his two deputies and two senior staff in Ms Catley's office are due to appear at a new hearing on Friday morning. The inquiry was formed to probe the passage of protest and speech laws rushed through parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside a caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest in January. Investigators later revealed the discovery was part of a "criminal con job". Committee member Sue Higginson said the inquiry expected new evidence to come to light as a result of the staffers' appearance. "People's evidence brings a different perspective which helps to ascertain a fuller picture of what did happen and who knew what at what point in time," she told AAP. Mr Minns was scathing of the committee's actions in pursuing the appearance of his staff on Wednesday morning. His office also pointed to numerous statements by the committee chair Rod Roberts, calling for stronger hate crime laws ahead of their passage in February. "We've really got to scrutinise whether this is the right chamber for this," Mr Minns said. "There's just gross hypocrisy and political bias." The NSW premier's right-hand man will be spared arrest after he and fellow staffers gave in to demands to face up to a hate crimes inquiry centred on an explosive-laden caravan. Empty chairs at an otherwise routine inquiry into the passage of religious hate laws led upper house MPs to call for the arrest of five staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley. While the premier defended his staff's position over the weekend, chief-of-staff James Cullen and his four colleagues did an about-face on Wednesday. That followed legal advice to upper house president Ben Franklin, confirming he could seek the staffers' arrest. "I was intending to advise the house that I would be certifying to a judge of the Supreme Court ... that the witnesses have failed to appear before the committee without a just and reasonable excuse," Mr Franklin told the parliament on Wednesday morning. "I have subsequently been advised that the five witnesses have reconsidered their position and have agreed to attend a hearing to provide evidence voluntarily." Mr Franklin sought legal advice from eminent barrister Bret Walker SC, which affirmed the president was within his rights to seek arrest warrants for the staffers failing to appear. The premier and minister, as members of parliament's lower house, cannot be compelled to appear. Mr Cullen, his two deputies and two senior staff in Ms Catley's office are due to appear at a new hearing on Friday morning. The inquiry was formed to probe the passage of protest and speech laws rushed through parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside a caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest in January. Investigators later revealed the discovery was part of a "criminal con job". Committee member Sue Higginson said the inquiry expected new evidence to come to light as a result of the staffers' appearance. "People's evidence brings a different perspective which helps to ascertain a fuller picture of what did happen and who knew what at what point in time," she told AAP. Mr Minns was scathing of the committee's actions in pursuing the appearance of his staff on Wednesday morning. His office also pointed to numerous statements by the committee chair Rod Roberts, calling for stronger hate crime laws ahead of their passage in February. "We've really got to scrutinise whether this is the right chamber for this," Mr Minns said. "There's just gross hypocrisy and political bias." The NSW premier's right-hand man will be spared arrest after he and fellow staffers gave in to demands to face up to a hate crimes inquiry centred on an explosive-laden caravan. Empty chairs at an otherwise routine inquiry into the passage of religious hate laws led upper house MPs to call for the arrest of five staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley. While the premier defended his staff's position over the weekend, chief-of-staff James Cullen and his four colleagues did an about-face on Wednesday. That followed legal advice to upper house president Ben Franklin, confirming he could seek the staffers' arrest. "I was intending to advise the house that I would be certifying to a judge of the Supreme Court ... that the witnesses have failed to appear before the committee without a just and reasonable excuse," Mr Franklin told the parliament on Wednesday morning. "I have subsequently been advised that the five witnesses have reconsidered their position and have agreed to attend a hearing to provide evidence voluntarily." Mr Franklin sought legal advice from eminent barrister Bret Walker SC, which affirmed the president was within his rights to seek arrest warrants for the staffers failing to appear. The premier and minister, as members of parliament's lower house, cannot be compelled to appear. Mr Cullen, his two deputies and two senior staff in Ms Catley's office are due to appear at a new hearing on Friday morning. The inquiry was formed to probe the passage of protest and speech laws rushed through parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside a caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest in January. Investigators later revealed the discovery was part of a "criminal con job". Committee member Sue Higginson said the inquiry expected new evidence to come to light as a result of the staffers' appearance. "People's evidence brings a different perspective which helps to ascertain a fuller picture of what did happen and who knew what at what point in time," she told AAP. Mr Minns was scathing of the committee's actions in pursuing the appearance of his staff on Wednesday morning. His office also pointed to numerous statements by the committee chair Rod Roberts, calling for stronger hate crime laws ahead of their passage in February. "We've really got to scrutinise whether this is the right chamber for this," Mr Minns said. "There's just gross hypocrisy and political bias."
