NSW ALP MPs condemn leader Chris Minns’s work rate

NSW Labor MPs say Chris Minns’ work ethic before he ­became leader was ‘shocking’, as figures reveal he has completed less than half the work of his colleagues.

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

NSW Labor MPs say Chris Minns’ work ethic before he ­became leader was “shocking”, with his own side questioning his attention to detail, poor attendance and parliamentary record, as figures reveal he has completed less than half the work of his colleagues.

Analysis by The Australian of Mr Minns’ record in the Legislative Assembly shows he has fallen well short of the bar set by his peers since he was elected in 2015.

In his first five years in Macquarie St, Mr Minns gave 172 speeches, compared to his Labor colleagues Yasmin Catley and Jo Haylen, who have completed 401 and 363 respectively. Jodi McKay, the Labor leader’s predecessor, delivered 212 more speeches to parliament than Mr Minns during the same period.

Mr Minns’ record is unfavourable compared to MPs on the other side of the aisle. Mr Minns made just over a quarter of Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke’s 698 speeches between 2017 and 2022. Trade Minister ­Alister Henskens’ 330 speeches almost double Mr Minns’ amount.

Mr Minns has also sat on just one committee in his two terms of parliament – the Legislative Assembly Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, between 2019 and 2021 – and he attended only 55 per cent of the meetings held.

Mr Minns was paid more than $800,000 by the taxpayer during that five-year period. He declined to comment.

Mr Minns’ parliamentary work ethic markedly picked up last year, as murmurings of a leadership tilt against Ms McKay gathered pace.

One former Labor MP said of Mr Minns’ work rate: “As an MP, he was shocking. He was just biding his time to become leader.”

The former MP said engagement and performance in Macquarie St was imperative for parliamentarians, showing they could identify the issues that were important to the state and to their electorate.

One Labor MP said when Mr Minns was opposition transport spokesman, it became apparent he hardly read any of the briefings given to him by shadow cabinet.

“He was not across the detail. He didn’t seem to be doing too much,” said the MP, suggesting the lack of enthusiasm was partially an effort to undermine Ms McKay and partially because he was “happy to not do anything”.

A Labor MP also pointed to his time as opposition transport spokesman, saying Mr Minns failed to sufficiently prosecute the party’s case in such a prominent portfolio: “I and a lot of other ­people did not think he worked hard enough.”

But others defended his ­record, saying criticisms were unfounded.

“I’ve heard the criticism, but I don’t give it much credence,” the Labor source said, noting Mr Minns body language could partially be blamed for the perception of laziness.

It has not just been in Macquarie St where Labor MPs have questioned Mr Minns’ work rate. Several MPs noted he almost lost his safe seat of Kogarah at the 2019 state election, despite a 2.5 per cent swing towards Labor.

One Labor MP pointed to neighbouring Rockdale, in which Steve Kamper – a close ally and friend of Mr Minns – had a 4.8 per cent swing towards him at the last election, pushing the electorate to an almost 10 per cent margin.

Given the 6.9 per cent margin, senior Liberal sources said they had given little thought to actually winning the seat, saying minimal resources were provided to the party’s candidate Scott Yung. Despite this, Mr Yung came within 1500 votes of snatching a stunning victory.

But one Labor MP said former leader Michael Daley’s comments about Asian university students taking white Australians’s jobs was a significant factor, ­accounting for more than half of Mr Minns’ losses – noting Hurstville has the most Chinese residents of any suburb in NSW.