Probe ‘compromised'

Premier, Police Commissioner defend keeping caravan investigation under wraps

'If the police believe covert means are the best way of locking up people who are responsible for these actions, that's what needs to happen'

NSW Premier Chris Minns and NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb. The police are being criticised for not taking action on an alleged antisemitic assault at a Sydney hotel. Photo: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
NSW Premier Chris Minns and NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb. The police are being criticised for not taking action on an alleged antisemitic assault at a Sydney hotel. Photo: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

NSW Premier Chris Minns has hit back at criticism over police keeping an investigation into a caravan found with explosives and a hit list of Jewish targets secret.

The caravan was found abandoned in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Dural on January 19, the Daily Telegraph said. Alongside the explosives and the list was a message that read “F**k the Jews”.

Media reports have indicated The Great Synagogue and Sydney Jewish Museum were among the targets on the list.

Addressing reporters at Sydney Police Centre on Thursday morning, Minns said “if the police believe covert means are the best way of locking up people who are responsible for these actions, that’s what needs to happen.

“They’ve foiled terrorist attempt after terrorist attempt over and over again, often completely unheralded, and their tactics and methods have worked,” he said.

The Premier said a “comprehensive police investigation” was being undertaken. “The public should have every confidence that the largest police force in the country, with the most experienced commanders when it comes to counter terrorism, are focused on precisely this issue, and they won’t stop until the people who are responsible for it are caught,” he said.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the investigation was being conducted covertly to avoid it being compromised. “The fact that this information is now in the public domain has compromised our investigation, and it’s been detrimental to some of the strategies we may have used,” she said.

It comes after Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim told reporters on Thursday evening that the roof body had heard about the caravan “when we read about it in the media”.

“My organisation is an umbrella body for 200 major Jewish organisations across Australia. These are all of the bodies that have regular engagement with government and police on matters of relevance to us, for our community,” he said. “I’ve checked. None of us were aware of this beforehand.”

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called the finding of the caravan “a grave and sinister escalation in this insidious rise of unchecked antisemitism in our country”.

“It is incumbent on the Federal Government and its national security ministers to say when they knew about this sickening incident, who is behind it, and what steps they took to protect Australia’s Jewish community,” he said.

“The Government must commit additional resources – including heightened security at Jewish synagogues and schools – for reassurance and deterrence.”

Senator Dave Sharma said the discovery showed that antisemitism in Australia “has reached crisis proportions”.

“For over 15 months, many – myself included – have been warning that weak leadership, moral equivocation, violent rhetoric, and unchecked incitement and protests were enabling an environment for extremism and terrorism to flourish,” he said.

Member for Wentworth Allegra Spender said the discovery of the caravan was “deeply concerning”.

In a joint statement, NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper, Multicultural NSW CEO Joseph La Posta and Multicultural NSW Advisory Board chair Nick Kaldas said “when you attack one part of our Australian community, you attack the very fibre of our Australian society”.

“We are united by our common commitment to each other as Australians. We stand united as a multicultural community with our Jewish brothers and sisters,” they said. “We will continue to support our Jewish community, and we call on community leaders from all cultures and faiths to explicitly denounce these actions.”

State Member for Coogee Marjorie O’Neill said, “It is imperative that we stand together, in solidarity with the Jewish community, unequivocally condemn these actions, and work collectively to combat antisemitism in all its forms.”

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) president David Ossip realised an additional statement last night saying the matter was of the “gravest possible consequence”.

“We have been saying for weeks now that the Jewish community is the target of an ongoing campaign of domestic terrorism. This is now beyond dispute,” Ossip said. “We are engaging closely with law enforcement and the Government in relation to this matter and the ongoing security of the Jewish community. We will have more to say in due course.”

Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon noted the story broke “just days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day”.

“Jews fled to Australia to escape the same hatred that fuels these attacks,” he said. “I have spoken with Premier Chris Minns and the NSW Deputy Police Commissioner who have assured me that every measure is being taken to protect the community. They have made it clear that those responsible for this heinous act will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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