Chris Minns. Picture: AAP Image

 

JOURNALIST: One of your own MPs made some fairly inflammatory comments in Parliament [on June 22] in regards to the Palestinian Israeli conflict, is there some sort of change in policy within Labor? Are you now favouring the Palestinians?

MINNS: No, not at all and just in relation to those comments, I want to make something very clear, I think it’s inappropriate to use a motion to do with Israel’s Independence Day to in effect launch inflammatory rhetoric against that same nation. We’ve got a responsibility in the NSW parliament to come together to back the community, to pull the community together, and each and every opportunity to ease tensions if they exist within the broader community in NSW. And I urge my colleagues, I’d say this very simply, you’re not a member of the United Nations, you’re in the NSW Parliament when we’ve fixed everything in this state, and you can start focusing on the Middle East.

JOURNALIST: Have you spoken to Mr. D’Adam or have you disciplined him, will you be disciplining him?

MINNS: I haven’t spoken to him yet but I will speak to him and I’ll remind him that he’s not a delegate of the United Nations, he’s a member of the NSW parliament, his obligations and responsibilities to the people who live in this state and his obligations in my view, are to focus on NSW first, as I said, when we’ve fixed everything in NSW then you can focus on the Middle East.