‘Not cleaned up its act’: MP Tania Mihailuk quits Labor Party

Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk will quit Labor, declaring the party has “not cleaned up its act” after it endorsed Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour as an upper house candidate.

Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk has announced she will quit the Labor Party, declaring NSW Labor has “not cleaned up its act” and “is not ready to govern.”

In an excoriating speech to parliament, Ms Mihailuk labelled Labor upper house candidate Khal Asfour an “Obeid acolyte” and slammed leader Chris Minns over his handling of corruption concerns she raised under parliamentary privilege last month.

Mr Minns sacked Ms Mihailuk from the frontbench live on radio after she raised concerns about Mr Asfour.

On Thursday Ms Mihailuk said she had “no choice” but to quit the party after Mr Asfour was endorsed as an Upper House candidate at Labor’s state conference on Sunday.

In an explosive speech, Ms Mihailuk doubled down on claims first raised in September, telling parliament that certain sites in Canterbury-Bankstown had been given favourable planning treatment under Mr Asfour as mayor.

Bankstown Labor MP Tania Mihailuk has quit the NSW Labor Party after it endorsed Khal Asfour as an upper house candidate. Picture: Tim Hunter

She linked one of those sites to corrupt former minister Eddie Obeid.

“What exactly is so special about the Bellevue site other than the identities of its owners and their special relationship with Asfour?” she told parliament.

Ms Mihailuk, in parliament, labelled Canterbury-Bankstown mayor and Labor upper house candidate Khal Asfour an “Obeid acolyte”.

“Our party has been plagued by the Obeid factor for way too long,” she said.

“Asfour is an Obeid acolyte and should have never, never been allowed to be endorsed on the upper house like ticket,” she said.

“I’m disappointed that Labor has not learned from Nathan Rees’ past warning, and I quote, ‘that NSW Labor must never again allow the circumstances to develop in which a small cabal of self-interested individuals can control the fate of a great party’,” she said.

“Clearly the NSW Labor Party has not cleaned up its act. It is not ready to govern and as a consequence I will now be resigning from the Labor Party,” she said.

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns says Ms Mihailuk refused to refer her accusations to ICAC. Picture: David Swift

Mr Asfour, in a statement after the speech, labelled it “as nothing but a headline grabbing stunt’.

“She has repeated the same baseless claims without producing one shred of evidence,” he said.

“Again I challenge her to come forward with any information she has and present it to the relevant judicial bodies.”

“To impugn the integrity of hardworking staff is a low act and she must be held to account. She must apologise immediately.”

Mr Asfour added he did not vote on the Bankstown master plan.

The mayor said an independent investigation into Ms Mihailuk’s comments headed by Arthur Moses SC was nearing completion.

Ms Mihailuk first raised corruption concerns about Mr Asfour under parliamentary privilege in September.

Days after that speech, Mr Minns sacked her from Labor’s frontbench live on radio.

He said he had given the Bankstown MP an ultimatum that she could stay in the shadow cabinet if she agreed to refer allegations about Mr Asfour to ICAC.

He also demanded that she not use parliamentary privilege to attack Labor colleagues.

Ms Mihailuk refused to do both.

A Labor spokesman said Ms Mihailuk had been sacked after refusing to take her allegations to the police or ICAC.

“Labor Leader Chris Minns told Tania Mihailuk that she could stay in the shadow cabinet and stay a member of the team provided she took allegations of impropriety to the police or the ICAC with any evidence that she had, rather than further using parliamentary privilege to launch unsubstantiated attacks on Labor colleagues,” they said.

“In the end Ms Mihailuk was not prepared to do that.”

Mr Asfour previously accused Ms Mihailuk of a “cowardly” and “gutless” attack against him.