NSW premier was guided by police when he characterised explosive-laden caravan as terrorism, Minns’ team says | New South Wales politics

The new South Wales Premier characterized a caravan that was loaded with explosives as an incident of terrorism, because the briefing, the Chief of General Staff provided by the police said an investigation, although the police also said that the police were “alternative query lines”.

On Friday, five employees from NSW Premier offices, Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley appeared before the investigation after being threatened to be arrested last week.

The investigation initiated with the support of the coalition, greens and Crossbench MLCs examines the discussion of information about the caravan plan before the controversial laws to prevent anti -Semitism are rushed through parliament.

In January, after explaining that a caravan was full of explosives on a residential property in Dural, Minns said that he had the potential to become a “mass wounded event, and that it was only a way to call it and that terrorism is terrorism”. In March, however, the Australian Federal Police announced that they believe that this was a “con job” by organized crime figures who want to direct police resources and influence prosecution.

Minns Chief of General Staff James Cullen, Minns’s two staff assistant Edward Ovadia and Sarah Michael took part. Police Minister Ross Neilson, Chief of General Staff and Tilly South, Deputy Chief of General Staff, also appeared.

But mostly, it was Cullen, who was under intense intense by the committee.

Cullen said that the hearing described the premiere as a terrorist attack at a press conference shortly after the event leaked to the media on January 29th, because it was the “language and briefing of the police by the police. He said that the same is true for Minns to label “potentially mass wounded incident”.

“The ‘Potential Mass Wounded Event’ language was not a line that was imagined by the Premier. It was the briefings of the new South Wales Police provided to the Premier’s government.”

Cullen later recalled the investigation that the police commissioner David Hudson announced this at the same press conference and the next day there were alternative interrogation lines during a 2GB view.

Independent MP and President of the investigation, Rod Roberts replied, asking why the Premier was not saying that there were other possibilities to the public: “Now I watched this news and believed that the Prime Minister said to me. I believed it right. He says that there was no alternative to terrorism at that stage.”

He also pointed out that neither Hudson nor the police commissioner Karen Webb did not use the word terrorism when describing the activity.

Cullen, Premier’s comments, “The police are based on the latest advice and that … [joint counter-terrorism team] The investigation had a potential audience and there were lines of investigation by looking at the wounded incident. ”

“I just think that history is the rewriting of history very appropriate and the crushing of time and concepts.”

Cullen did not respond directly to the question of what was informed about what Premier was informed about the alternative investigation lines of the Premier, saying that he had a “sensitive investigation” regarding alternative investigation lines.

“In this way, there were alternative investigation lines that were clearly discovered, not shaken by February 21st to ask for an early and better term,” he said.

During a hearing in May, he heard that the briefings about the incident between the police and cabinet ministers were “pencils .. Cullen, after questioning the Nationals Deputy Wes Fang, said he would not characterize him like this and that no one instructed to be like this.

Fang then asked how Premier’s office was informed in a “potential terrorism department ğı, where he did not hold grades.

Cullen claimed that the Minns office did not violate the action because it was not a decision -making meeting.

Following the questions of Workers Deputy Bob Nanva, Cullen, considering that he was investigated by a joint terrorist investigation, accepted that the caravan incident would be “irresponsible olmayan not to treat it as a potentially mass wounded” event.

Cullen said that the legislation, which aims to prevent anti -Semitism adopted on February 21st, said that the police said that despite the fact that the police had not made this public, they excluded Dural Karavan as a terrorist event.

“Many things happened for a long time. So, these conversations did not start on January 19th, January 20 or January 29,” he said.

Cullen also grilled by Greens Deputy Sue Higginson about whether the Prime Minister had instructed five personnel to participate in the investigation.

Last Tuesday, days before the emergence of employees and then threatened to be arrested, Minns said to 2GB, “We had a comprehensive discussion with them, but I don’t want them.”

Cullen said: “Absolutely not a picture [or] Informal direction from Premier. I have to be really clear about it. “