James O’Doherty: Chris Minns is ‘the glue holding the Government together’

Following several gaffes by his ministers, it was left to Chris Minns to salvage some credibility for the Government this week, writes James O’Doherty.

Like the proverbial one-man band, Chris Minns is holding his government together like a street performer laden with an increasingly absurd array of jerry-rigged musical instruments.

The way the Premier is managing to run the state almost single-handedly would be comical, if the ramifications were not so serious.

Minns managed to clean up his government’s shambolic handling of violent protests this week but only after senior members of his frontbench gave embarrassing demonstrations of inadequacy.

On Monday, less than 48 hours after militants from the Hamas terrorist organisation launched its abhorrent attacks on innocent civilians in Israel, Minns was (notionally) on leave.

How did that go for him?

At 8.45am, Prue Car fronted the media as acting premier to welcome students back to Term 4 and mark the beginning of a high school phone ban.

Asked about the attacks, and the plan to light the Opera House in Israel’s colours, Car said the scenes from Gaza were “horrific” and urged “all sides” to limit the cost on civilian lives. “The Premier has decided to light the sails of the opera house to stand with members of the Australian community who are affected by what has happened,” she said. She went on to say that pro-Palestinian celebrations in Western Sydney were “generally well behaved”.

Remember that Car was talking about celebrations — in the wake of a horrific terror attack — where fireworks were shot into the air from the back of a moving car and a preacher declared his joy at the scenes overseas.

Premier Chris Minns during Question Time. Picture: Monique Harmer

Car largely got away with those ill-advised remarks but only because she was upstaged in the ineptitude stakes by her bumbling colleagues.

First, Police Minister Yasmin Catley failed to ensure that her agency — NSW Police — made the Opera House a safe place for the Jewish community to gather to grieve. Lighting the sails of the Opera House in the Israeli flag’s colours always risked making the landmark a powder keg.

Minns made the call despite bureaucrats opposing it.

Officials would have known the risk of violence on the steps; police told the Jewish community that they should stay away for their own safety because of the volatile situation.

If the Premier had his time again, he would have surely stepped in to tell police to keep protesters away from the Opera House so the Jewish community could commemorate.

So why couldn’t his minister?

She rebuffed pleas from the Jewish Board of Deputies to keep protesters away from the Opera House, saying there was nothing she could do to stop a pro-Palestinian rally marching to the landmark where an Israeli flag was burnt, flares were lit and chants of “f..k the Jews” were yelled.

The Minister initially refused to apologise, leaving it up to the premier. In a thoughtful speech at Wednesday night’s vigil, he said he was “deeply, deeply sorry” that the Jewish community copped anti-Semitic hatred in their own city. “I don’t want to live in a world where that happens and I won’t live in a state where that is allowed to happen,” he said.

Minns was right to send a strong message to the Jewish community after a mediocre showing from some of his colleagues.

Prue Car, deputy premier and minister for education, at a press conference this week. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Catley insists that managing Monday’s rally was an operational matter for Police. She maintains she could not do anything at all to “interfere” with Police operations.

The separation of powers between the police and executive government is one thing but Catley’s defence is becoming increasingly incredulous.

The police minister would have us believe she cannot do anything at all to influence police operations.

“My role as police minister is to set the policy framework to ensure that our community is safe, to work with the police and to make sure they are resourced correctly. I will not be giving directions on matters that relate to the police’s role in keeping our streets safe,” she told parliament on Thursday.

But in the very next question, lobbed by a friendly government MP, Catley was happy to update the house on the work NSW Police will do to prevent further protests on Sunday and praise officers for charging a man in relation to an alleged anti-Semitic incident in Bellevue Hill.

Catley’s approach to her portfolio appears to increasingly be one of “little care, no responsibility”.

There are increasing murmurs inside government of how long she can last in her current role and where she might be moved.

Then, there was Attorney-General Michael Daley’s gobsmacking performance on Tuesday morning.

Just after 7am, Daley told 2GB Radio that he was “not really across” one of the most explosive protests in Sydney in recent memory because he was working late.

Then Daley suggested that everyone, including Jewish-Australians, should have stayed at home. “What everyone needs to do is show restraint and respect and calm down,” he said.

The Attorney-General copped a public lashing from his boss over those remarks hours later. “I don’t support those comments. And I want to make it really clear that there’s a false equivalence there,” Mr Minns said. You can only imagine what the Premier said to Daley behind closed doors.

Minns cannot keep micromanaging his frontbench forever. There are too few cabinet ministers that he can trust to be steady hands on the ship of state without assistance. As one Labor source put it to me, Minns is not “just the glue holding the show together: he is the foundation on which the whole government is built”.

“And that’s not fair on him,” the source said.

With the summer break fast approaching, bumbling ministers need to be put on notice. If they aren’t up to the job, they may find they will be replaced sooner rather than later.