NSW premier defends not telling PM about caravan explosives discovery

“In this set of circumstances, that should be done uniform to uniform with experienced police officers.”

Minns said he was “not sure of the timeline of our federal counterparts”, and for “understandable reasons” Albanese was “not commenting about it”.

“The prime minister has said that discussions between him and his intelligence agencies will remain confidential, and I accept that,” he said. “National security briefings between federal agencies and the prime minister are important. I assume he has many of them, and in order not to establish a precedent, I assume he’s not going to speculate on it now.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said it would be without precedent if the prime minister wasn’t notified of the threat before the public was.

“I honestly think there should be an independent assessment of what has gone wrong here,” he said.

“We can’t have what could have been the most catastrophic terrorist event in our country’s history, and the prime minister doesn’t know about it until the public does.”

Webb speaks to interstate top cops

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the probe into the caravan was “very much a live investigation” and officers had “a lot of avenues to pursue”.

Asked whether the caravan had travelled interstate before its discovery, Webb said she would not comment on operational matters.

“I won’t confirm or deny it … when we’ve got something to update, we’ll update,” she said.

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“There are people before the court and there’s still other people to identify. We don’t know how many [or] how few that is.”

In response to a question about whether Queensland Police were assisting, Webb said it was part of the joint national counter-terrorism arrangement.

“I’ve spoken to the commissioner in VicPol [Victoria Police] and we’ve been talking to Queensland and others,” she said.

Arrest made over ‘Nazi symbols’

On Friday afternoon, police patrolling Sydney’s eastern suburbs arrested a 37-year-old man after he allegedly defaced a wall with a marker pen on Anzac Parade in Kingsford “with a number of drawings and writings, including a Nazi symbol and a swastika”.

He was taken to Maroubra police station and charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol without excuse.

The man’s case came before Parramatta Local Court on Saturday. Court records indicate he will be detained in a mental health facility for assessment.

Webb, who acknowledged the case was now before the courts, said there was “very little to suggest he’s acting out of his own actions”.

Asked on Saturday about any copycat incidents, Webb said it was a “low act if people just think, ‘I’ll ride the wave of what’s happening’” and allegedly commit such crimes.

Meanwhile, police are investigating graffiti discovered this week on an electrical box outside the Diamond Bay Bowling Club on Old South Head Road, Vaucluse, reading, “You wanna buy a caravan?”

With Ashleigh McMillan

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