Premier Chris Minns victim-blaming of Kathleen Folbigg is callous and cruel
Greens MP, spokesperson for justice and solicitor Sue Higginson has condemned the comments from Premier Chris Minns after he refused to meet with Kathleen Folbigg on Monday.
The Premier told a press conference he would refuse Ms Folbigg’s request for a meeting, saying:
“There's a lot of difficult calls for me to make as Premier. This isn't one of them.”
“... like every citizen in the state, she's entitled to take her matter to the courts and sue the NSW government, but this is a complex issue given she won't do that.”
Ms Higginson has recommended that the Premier undertake trauma-informed communication training to avoid further hurtful comments being made toward victims of injustice and school himself in the functions of the justice system.
NSW Greens Justice Spokesperson and solicitor Sue Higginson MLC said, “I’m shocked at the disparaging language Labor Premier Chris Minns is using when talking in public to Kathleen Folbigg and I am concerned about his lack of understanding of our justice system,
“The Premier Chris Minns has essentially engaged in victim-blaming, and he should be more mindful when talking through the powerful media to a woman who has lost four children to a rare genetic disease and who was wrongfully imprisoned for decades by the State he represents.
“Ms Folbigg is owed some form of compensation by the NSW Government and a request to meet with the Premier is literally the bare minimum. Instead, the Premier has criticised Ms Folbigg for requesting a meeting and seeking an accepted method of compensation rather than engaging in drawn out expensive civil litigation against the State of NSW
“Saying, as Premier, that you make hard decisions but “this isn’t one of them” - it’s incredibly callous and cruel particularly in the circumstances while Ms Folbigg is simply exercising her rights to access justice and has in fact spared the State protracted legal proceedings.
“Ms Folbigg has chosen not to sue the NSW Government after being wrongfully convicted. Chris Minns is repaying her grace and her choice with ghosting, accusations and dismissals. The Premier and his advisors need further training in trauma-informed communication, basic compassion, how to respect human dignity and the justice system.
“Misogynistic and dismissive tone is not what people expect from the Premier and it is retraumatizing for a woman who has been the victim of an historic miscarriage of justice.
“The Premier should apologise to Ms Folbigg, and the public and he should meet with her. There is no conflict of interest here. It’s a serious case of justice delayed, is justice denied. Ms Folbigg has waited too long. I am now in discussions with the opposition and other members of the cross bench in the Parliament about what further steps we can take to end this drawn out denial of justice.”