NSW Premier Chris Minns would be ‘very concerned’ if Labor smear claim true
NSW Premier Chris Minns says he would be very concerned if a government staffer had backgrounded MPs suggesting Transport for NSW executive Rochelle Hicks was mentally unstable.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says he would be very concerned if a government staffer had backgrounded MPs suggesting Transport for NSW executive Rochelle Hicks was mentally unstable, but he was limited by the “small amount of information that had been released”.
The Weekend Australian reported that the attempt to smear Ms Hicks came as the government sought to lobby crossbenchers in the NSW upper house to vote against the release of documents related to death threats made against her by Indigenous adviser Ian Brown.
Mr Minns said on Sunday that he had contacted Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison, who had “sought assurances from her staff that no one was defamed in that manner during negotiations”.
Ms Aitchison “insists, having spoken to her staff, that that wasn’t the case”, the Premier said.
Nationals MP Sam Farraway brought the motion to release the documents in November last year, after The Australian revealed Mr Brown was allowed to stay in his contracted role despite the death threat “because he is Aboriginal and a cultural knowledge holder”.
Mr Farraway raised the bid to discredit Ms Hicks in his address to parliament, saying he had been told “certain staffers of government ministers” had referred to her as being unstable.
The Australian confirmed that a ministerial official suggested to at least one crossbench MP’s staffer that Ms Hicks was mentally unstable, with the subtext being that it would be damaging for her to have material placed on the public record. Ms Aitchison said she rejected the assertion.
Ms Hicks told The Australian she was “extremely distressed that Transport for NSW and the minister are resorting to undermining me. I’ve never received feedback during my time in Transport that I’m unstable, and formal reviews of my performance over the years consistently exceed expectations,” she said.
Mr Minns said he was at a disadvantage because the identity of the staff and the crossbenchers briefed had not been revealed.
“So it’s very difficult for us to launch an inquiry when there’s been such a paucity of information. But I do take it seriously because the reports would cause distress for the person involved and I do want to make sure that we get to the bottom of it.
“If there’s more information, of course we will investigate. I understand that would cause distress and it would be something that I would be very concerned about if it were true.”
An examination of the documents last week by The Australian revealed that after Mr Brown threatened to kill Ms Hicks, Transport for NSW officials tried to have her removed from her job, instead of sacking him.
Internal department emails also showed that a second female Transport for NSW executive was in fear of Mr Brown and believed she was being “punished” for reporting his threat to kill Ms Hicks.
The government’s bid to suppress the documents ultimately failed when several crossbenchers voted in favour of the call for papers, with the motion passing by a single vote.
Labor and the Greens voted against the motion, but an alliance of independents, including former One Nation MP Mark Latham, the Animal Justice Party’s Emma Hurst and Legalise Cannabis Party’s Jeremy Buckingham joined with Liberal and National Party members to pass the order.
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