NSW Arts Minister resigns
Don Harwin resigns after breaching the ban on non-essential travel due to coronavirus.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
NSW Minister for the Arts Don Harwin has resigned after being fined $1,000 for breaching the ban on non-essential travel due to coronavirus.
Harwin was photographed at his Central Coast holiday home.
“Today I have offered my resignation to the Premier as a Minister in her government,” he said in a statement.
“There is nothing more important than the work of the government in fighting the coronavirus crisis.
“I will not allow my circumstances to be a distraction from that work and I very much regret that my residential arrangements have become an issue during this time.
“At all times I have sought to act in accordance with public health orders and I sought advice that my living arrangements complied with those orders.
“I remain confident that I have acted in accordance with those orders.
“I know however that perception is just as important during these times.
“The Premier and her team are doing an outstanding job during the biggest crisis our state and nation have faced during our lifetimes.
“It is absolutely vital they should be able to focus entirely on the health and economic issues facing our community.”
Harwin has been NSW Minister for the Arts since 2017.
6 Responses
The NSW Premier should have sacked him immediately when it happened.
In NSW but I have never heard of this person. What an absolute waste of our money. Anyway, guess he’ll be enjoying his pension-for-life now.
Firstly, I must acknowledge that I never heard of him before this scandal (I’m actually from Victoria)
A long time ago, a pension-for-life was appropriate, but it is no longer needed, especially when politicians gets a well-paid job in lobbying (most politicians move into lobbying for the industry in the department in which they were the former minister for, which is itself a conflict of interest). And of course, this is not unique to Australia, as throughout the world, there is a revolving door between politics and lobbying, most notably in Europe and the United States of America, but worse in the latter (even though an EU Commission was ousted because of this revolving door back in the 1990s).
So I think he’ll become a lobbyist while collecting the pension-for-life.
He has resigned as a minister. I have seen nothing to suggest he is actually leaving his seat.
I stand corrected.
One begs believe how this person ever makes it to the end of a day!