Chris Minns admits NSW Labor needs to 'climb Everest' to stay in power as protesters interrupt state conference
NSW Premier Chris Minns says Labor must make huge efforts to retain power amid rising One Nation threat; conference disrupted by Gaza protesters.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns admitted on Saturday that the Labor party needs to “climb Everest” to stay in power amid growing threats from One Nation. Addressing the NSW Labor conference at Sydney’s town hall, Minns received a standing ovation but did not avoid protests over the conflict in Gaza that have marked party conferences in previous years. As the premier made his way to the stage, two men unfurled a Palestinian flag from the balcony; they were quickly removed by NSW police.
Taking to the podium, Minns told delegates: “I’m not here to do a victory lap. The economy is nowhere near where we need it to be for working families, so today I want to speak about the next chapter in our plan to invest in workers, to grow the economy and to build the kind of industry that makes NSW strong.” Minns announced plans to extend the state’s apprenticeship program and bring train manufacturing back to the Hunter region. The government has identified potential sites for a state-owned, privately operated facility in Teralba or Broadmeadow. Labor says the $12bn commitment over 15 years will provide 780 jobs in site construction and 550 in manufacturing. The announcement was met with cheers and applause inside the chamber.
Outside, protesters including members of Labor Friends of Palestine were kept well away from the conference itself by security fencing and lines of police officers on the site of a now-infamous protest against Israeli president Isaac Herzog in February. Fifty-six Labor branches have passed motions to the conference calling for controversial anti-protest laws to be repealed or reviewed, backed by the entire left faction. Labor members are concerned they will not get to debate the protest laws, gambling reform, and the Aukus nuclear agreement after the social justice and global affairs platforms were placed second last and last on the weekend’s agenda.
In his speech, the premier acknowledged “the protest group out the front of the town hall today. They are not the first to try and disrupt our democratic conference and they probably won’t be the last – we’ve seen it all before.” A potential fight over the eight-person upper house Labor ticket at next year’s election was resolved ahead of time, avoiding a conference-wide ballot on Sunday. After an 11th-hour resolution, the seven named candidates signed onto the order on Friday night, Labor sources confirmed. The ticket is led by right faction member and treasurer Daniel Mookhey, followed by left faction member and leader in the upper house Penny Sharpe. Left faction member Anthony D’Adam MLC, a vocal critic of Labor’s protest laws, Aukus and stance on the Middle East conflict, is fourth. The minister for agriculture, Tara Moriarty, seventh on the ticket, faces a tough contest to retain her seat amid rising support for One Nation.
Minns addressed the rising threat posed by Pauline Hanson’s party in NSW, referenced in several earlier speeches by delegates. He criticised “leaders who are insisting that millions of people reject pride in their grandparents and ancestors and instead conform to One Nation’s version of an Australian monoculture. And it means we stand up and defend Australian families of the Islamic faith when a political leader declares that there are ‘No good Muslims’.”
Labor is ahead in recent polling in NSW, with its primary vote at 32%, the Coalition on 26% and One Nation on 22% according to The Sydney Morning Herald in May, but Minns hit back against Labor complacency, saying it was important to “beat back that darkness at the ballot box. Now I know based on my 29 years in the Labor Party you already believe we’re going to win. But the truth is — with politics changing so quickly, we need to climb Everest just to stay where we are. This campaign will throw everything at us, we’re up against many parties, not a single opposition. And it will test us like never before.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to address the conference on Sunday.
