‘The answer is no’: Kathleen Folbigg ghosted by Chris Minns as compensation stalls
Kathleen Folbigg has been repeatedly brushed off by Premier Chris Minns about compensation for her wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Now upper house MPs are calling for an inquiry.
NSW
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Kathleen Folbigg has been ghosted by Premier Chris Minns after making multiple requests to meet with him, as the NSW government continues to remain silent on her compensation bid.
It has been more than two years since Ms Folbigg was released from prison where she spent 20 years for the deaths of her four children before being acquitted in 2023.
Yet despite receiving a pardon, Attorney-General Michael Daley has refused to meet with Ms Folbigg and the Premier’s office has not responded to her communications sent back in August last year.
In response to the silence around Ms Folbigg’s compensation case, an unlikely coalition of NSW upper house MPs will move to establish an inquiry into the Minns government’s handling of the matter.
Nationals MP Wes Fang said he would move for the inquiry when parliament resumes in August, saying the government had “failed to provide the most basic assistance” to Ms Folbigg.
“Kathleen’s pain is now being compounded by a Premier and Attorney-General with so little compassion, they refuse to meet with her, let alone provide her with any assistance which will allow her to get on with her life,” he said.
“What we’ve seen is not only a continued attempt to stall and delay any payment to Kathleen, but a cold and calculated freezing out of her legal team, which has only compounded the pain felt by Ms Folbigg.”
The inquiry will also have the support of the Greens and the Shooters and Fishers party.
On Monday, speaking at a media conference, Premier Chris Minns smacked down any suggestion of a meeting with Kathleen Folbigg, saying he didn’t think it would be “appropriate”.
When asked if he would meet Ms Folbigg, Mr Minns said an emphatic “no”.
“The answer is no,” he said.
“She’s in the process of demanding money from the NSW government.”
“That is being independently assessed by the Attorney-General and I don’t think it’s appropriate to have meetings before he makes his decision.”
The Premier said he was “not sure” why his office failed to provide any response to Ms Folbigg’s meeting requests and would not comment on why the decision around her compensation was taking so long.
“Its unusual circumstances … I’m not going to insert myself in (the Attorney-General’s) deliberations,” he said
“Like any citizen in NSW (Ms Folbigg) is absolutely entitled to launch legal action of her own. She’s not asking for that, she’s asking for an ex gratia payment.
“You rarely ever have examples of that taking place outside of negotiated civil court action and as a result it’s a difficult one for the Attorney-General.”
Earlier Ms Folbigg’s lawyer Rhanee Rego said the state government had still refused to give a timeline for the compensation decision or give her any information about the process, calling the lack of information “ludicrous”.
“Despite repeated requests, I’ve received no substantive information – there is a pattern of avoidance that is becoming increasingly indefensible,” she said.
“Kathleen’s case is one of the most significant wrongful convictions in recent Australian history. The fact that no one in government is willing to meet with her speaks volumes.
“She hasn’t even been given the courtesy of knowing when this chapter of this life can be closed.”
Ms Folbigg told The Daily Telegraph the delay in a decision on the compensation meant her life was “still on hold”.
“I’m not asking to be treated differently than anyone else who has been put through what I have,” she said.
“I just need this to be resolved so I can begin to rebuild and move forward.”
Ms Folbigg has received no support from the NSW government since her release and has been living in Newcastle, trying to rent and struggling with cost of living while being unable to work.
“Adjusting to 2025 prices has been confronting. Even basics like groceries, power bills and public transport are so much higher than they were in 2003,” she said.
The NSW government has refused to give any information on the compensation process, which experts estimate could be upwards of $10 million, with the decision to award Ms Folbigg compensation lying solely with the Attorney-General.
Most recently, in response to detailed questions from upper house independent MP Robert Borsak as to the timeline of the decision, Mr Daley said he would not divulge any information.
“Ms Folbigg’s application is under active consideration. It is important that the matters raised in Ms Folbigg’s application are carefully considered. Until such consideration has concluded it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further,” he said in response.
Mr Daley’s office gave a similar response to questions posed by this masthead, adding the Attorney-General had refused to meet her as he did not feel it was “appropriate”.
“The NSW Government acknowledges concerns about the time taken to consider Ms Folbigg’s application which contains complex material,” a spokesperson for the Attorney-General said.
“Ms Folbigg’s legal representation has been advised it would not be appropriate for the
Attorney-General to meet her while the ex-gratia payment remains under consideration.“
Premier Chris Minns’s office did not respond to questions as to why he had not responded to Ms Folbigg’s requests for a meeting.
Ms Folbigg was sentenced to 30 years in prison over the deaths of her children, Caleb, Patrick, Laura and Sarah Folbigg, between 1989 and 1999.
She served 20 of those years before a landmark Special Commission of Inquiry found reasonable doubt over her guilt.
New scientific and medical evidence surrounding a rare genetic condition was presented to the inquiry, and Ms Folbigg walked free in 2023.
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