A top state minister has defied her leader and thrown support behind police in a disagreement over arming Jewish security groups.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has said given members of the Community Security Group, an organisation that oversees security at Jewish sites and events, were already armed, he was considering allowing them to remain armed while operating in public places.
But Police Minister Yasmin Catley pushed the importance of law enforcement when grilled on the premier's proposal at an estimates hearing on Friday.
A week prior, Mr Minns told estimates arming the private security firm in public places needed to be considered.
"Many people in the Jewish community will not go to public places unless there's someone there who's armed who can protect them," he said.
That put him at odds with Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson, who rejected the move and said he had reservations about the proposal, including that it would show favouritism.
"Allowing certain areas of society, no matter what those areas are, to have special privileges in relation to their security, would further fracture situations, which are fairly tenuous and relationships that are fairly tenuous between different groups," Mr Hudson told a royal commission.
On Friday, Ms Catley was asked by Greens MP Sue Higginson about Mr Hudson's concerns and whether she backed the premier or the police.
The minister rejected the idea she had to only back one or the other, and highlighted existing law enforcement efforts, including a newly established rapid response task force.
"The premier has made it clear it’s under consideration but we’re actually doing this ... as we speak, and that is what’s important," Ms Catley said of the rapid response unit, which will contain 250 dedicated police officers.
Questioned by Ms Higginson as to whether she would tell the premier about her reservations surrounding expanding CSG's access to guns, the police minister's response was simple.
“The premier’s very aware I back the NSW police 100 per cent,” she said.
When asked if she was aware of purported links between CSG and Israeli spy agency Mossad, Ms Catley doubled down on her support for NSW police.
“NSW Police are our law enforcement. They are who I’m the minister of, they are who I fight for funding for, they are who we make sure they’ve got what they need to keep this community safe," she said.
