The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has been accused of “fuelling division” and “dog-whistling”, after residents of a Lismore street were allegedly attacked and terrorised in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The alleged incidents were labelled “vigilante attacks” by a NSW state MP, who has urged the premier to “call for calm and walk back from his threats to demolish homes”.
NSW police confirmed they had been called out to Pine Street, Lismore at 2.15am on Saturday after reports of malicious damage and were investigating reports that “unknown people had performed burnouts, harassed residents and damaged vehicles on the street, before leaving in a black four-wheel drive”.
In videos of the alleged incidents seen by the Guardian, an individual can be seen trying to smash a car windscreen while someone is inside the vehicle; a person appears to throw a metal object out of a moving car while yelling abuse; in another, fireworks appear to be thrown from a moving car; and in a final video, a ute can be seen performing doughnuts on the street.
Pine Street has been the site of controversy over six homes, bought by the NSW Reconstruction Authority after the devastating floods in 2022 which destroyed 4,000 homes in a region already beset by a housing crisis. These homes were since occupied by a group of a few dozen squatters.
The occupation of these houses has been the source of community tension. On Tuesday, Minns told 2GB radio that he would order the homes to be demolished.
Minns alleged that “overseas visitors, tourists, backpackers” were taking advantage of the condemned properties being left empty and said the occupiers were “obviously trespassing and putting people’s lives in danger”.
“We bought those houses so that we could keep communities safe … and to have squatters move in off the back of that is completely unacceptable,” the premier told reporters. “The housing problems are not going to be solved by moving people into flood-prone land.
“We have to draw a line in the sand here, and that means demolishing those houses and ensuring that we can get on with life in the northern rivers.”
Sue Higginson, a NSW Greens MLC, said the comments increased the tension in the community and created a sense of impunity for those who object to the occupation of the properties.
“There was underlying division, and this fuelled it,” she said.
“The premier needs to take responsibility now,” said Higginson, who was a witness to the alleged incidents which she has described as “terrifying”.
“Minns has clearly instilled a level of impunity we have not seen before,” she said.
“Chris Minns needs to take responsibility for this. He came to our community and used his platform to fuel division, and now look what’s happened.”
“Look, people are terrified. I mean, they are on hyper alert.”
Minns’ office declined to comment.
