New Premier a ‘staunch friend’ of the NSW Jewish community
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip and CEO Darren Bark are looking forward to working with Chris Minns and his team.
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has warmly congratulated Chris Minns and NSW Labor on its success in the state election, describing the newly elected Premier as a “staunch supporter and friend of the NSW Jewish community throughout his time in public life”.
Minns was officially sworn in by NSW Governor Margaret Beazley on Tuesday after leading Labor to power following 12 years in opposition.
NSW JBD president David Ossip and CEO Darren Bark said they are looking forward to working with Minns and his team and wished the incoming Labor government well.
“In recent weeks, he [Minns] has committed $15 million towards safety and security at faith institutions; a range of measures to combat rising antisemitism in our schools, pledged to enhance Holocaust education in our classrooms; and committed $5 million to expand the Sydney Jewish Museum,” said Ossip and Bark.
“He has also strongly denounced the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, declaring that Labor would not support BDS in government.”
Following his election win, Minns acknowledged “the challenges are huge, the responsibilities are awesome but NSW Labor is back and ready to govern in this great state of NSW”.
“We started effectively two years ago with a promise to the people of NSW that we would run an election campaign asking people to vote a positive vote for NSW Labor and not just a negative vote against the government,” Minns said.
The NSW JBD also paid tribute to outgoing NSW premier Dominic Perrottet for his “loyal and unwavering support of the NSW Jewish community and of Israel during his time in Parliament”.
“We thank Mr Perrottet for his friendship and for always listening to our community’s concerns, and wish him and his family all the best for the future.”
In his concession speech, Perrottet announced he would be standing down as Liberal leader after taking “full responsibility for the loss”.
“But we as a party, we as a government should be very proud of what we have achieved together,” he said. “Make no mistake, we’ve made history of being in government for the longest time since our party was formed. And our government has achieved so much in so many ways. We’ve kept NSW strong, free and fair.
“It is a time to reflect. It is a time to rethink and ultimately to renew.”
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