Intent irrelevant as caravan hoax dubbed anti-Semitism

A terrorism hoax capitalising on anti-Jewish rhetoric is still anti-Semitism despite being orchestrated by criminals motivated by other reasons, a top cop says. Login or signup to continue reading The discovery of an abandoned caravan laden with explosives on Sydney's outskirts in January has faced fresh scrutiny after claims Labor used it to help pass hate crime laws and mandatory sentences in NSW. The plot was among 15 incidents involving attacks on synagogues, businesses and cars co-ordinated by a criminal mastermind that fell within the category of exploiting the justice system, NSW Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said.

Authorities later dispelled the caravan plot as the work of organised criminals looking to secure favourable treatment from authorities. But the acts remained anti-Semitic in Mr Hudson's view, despite the criminals' apparent lack of ideological motivation. "Whether the individuals that committed the acts have any ideology of anti-Semitism is immaterial," he told a parliamentary inquiry on Monday.



Mr Hudson said police had considered laying terrorism offences against those behind the caravan false flag, despite suspecting it was a hoax from an early stage. "My suspicions were based on whether this caravan was used to conduct a terrorist attack or whether it was placed to be discovered and create fear within the community," he said. Explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest on January 19.

The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it. But Mr Hudson said he suspected it was a hoax from day dot and told the premier early on. However, the reporting received through the Australian Federal Police - which could not be ignored at the level it was being provided - required the joint counter-terrorism team to investigate it, the inquiry was told.

Mr Hudson bristled at the federal police's description of the caravan discovery as a "criminal con job". "I don't think the NSW Police were conned," he said, instead calling it an attempted "manipulation of the justice system". NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb returned to work on January 21 and had concerns "from early on about what the motive was".

"We could not test the information (being provided to the federal police)," she said, responding to independent MP Rod Roberts' barrage of questions. "I directly recall relaying to the premier and the (police) minister our concerns that we weren't able to test the veracity of the information." Mr Minns repeatedly defended the laws after state and federal police revealed the caravan plot was a hoax.

"I introduced those laws because there had been a summer of racism in NSW, separate and aside to the caravan out in Dural," he said as calls mounted for an inquiry. AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said investigators quickly decided the discovery was part of a fabricated plot. "This was because of the information they already had, how easily the caravan was found and how visible the explosives were in the caravan.

Also, there was no detonator," she said in March. The find came amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents in Sydney, including arson and graffiti attacks on a synagogue and a Jewish community leader's former home. Many people arrested over the attacks remain before the courts.

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