Coronavirus: NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin resigns after breaking rules

NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin, who was fined $1000 for allegedly breaching a public health order, resigned from cabinet on Friday.

NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin at his central coast home on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin, who was fined $1000 for allegedly breaching a public health order set by his own government, resigned from cabinet on Friday, days after being photographed at his holiday house on the NSW central coast.

Mr Harwin issued a statement just before 6pm defending his ­actions, but conceding that the scandal would become a distraction for the government as it ­battles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A loyal ally of Premier Gladys Berejiklian, the 55-year-old was photographed at his Pearl Beach holiday retreat on Wednesday, more than an hour’s drive from his primary residence in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at ­Elizabeth Bay.

Since March 30, the NSW government has ordered residents to remain self-isolated in their homes unless they have an essential purpose for being outdoors.

Over Easter, these warnings were reaffirmed, with potential holidaymakers urged to stay out of the regions.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Mr Harwin maintained that he had abided by these rules but that him remaining in his position would create a distraction for the government.

The Weekend Australian understands Mr Harwin sought advice on whether he was allowed to travel up the coast from the ­bureaucrat who wrote the public health order. “At all times I have sought to act in accordance with public health orders and I sought advice that my living arrangements complied with those orders,” he said. “I know, however, that perception is just as important during these times.”

Ms Berejiklian said she had ­accepted Mr Harwin’s resignation, noting that police had fined him $1000 for allegedly breaching the public health order and that he had “appropriately” resigned.

“Whilst Minister Harwin has served the people of NSW well, and he continues to assure me that he did not break the rules, the ­orders in place apply equally to everyone,” she said.

Defenders of Mr Harwin told The Weekend Australian that he had been residing at the Pearl Beach address since March 13, two weeks before the public health order was made, a decision he took, they said, based on a litany of underlying health issues and ­advice from his doctor.

A photograph of Mr Harwin with a house guest on Wednesday morning complicated this ­account; the man in question, Geoffrey Winters, a former Liberal Party candidate, had been living at the home after arriving in Sydney on a flight from London on March 17. Mr Winters stayed at the home under mandatory self-isolation, but Mr Harwin drove to Sydney that week for a cabinet meeting and other tasks.

The Weekend Australian understands Mr Winters will be ­interviewed by police next week.

On Thursday, Mr Harwin returned to his Elizabeth Bay apartment where police served him with a public infringement notice. The Weekend Australian has been told the penalty notice will be reviewed, and Mr Harwin had not received it as of Friday night.

Queried about the matter, Ms Berejiklian said on Thursday morning that she had been unaware of Mr Harwin’s stay at his Pearl Beach property until earlier this week.

Mr Harwin is the first minister to resign from cabinet under Ms Berejiklian’s leadership; he was promoted to cabinet in 2017 when she came to power.