NSW Opp leader pressured to resign: report
Under-fire NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson will reportedly be pressured to resign following the revelation he signed a letter on behalf of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis to help him get access to his sons on Fathers Day.
Fairfax is reporting Mr Robertson has lost support over the incident, with a suggestion MPs will push for a special caucus meeting to be called - should he fail to fall on his sword voluntarily.
Robertson had previously been warned by Labor MPs after admitting last year that he was offered a $3 million bribe from businessman Michael McGurk but failed to report it to police.
Despite signing the letter, Mr Robertson denies he endorsed Monis.
He said it was a straightforward matter similar to the thousands of constituent requests handled by politicians every year.
"This was a letter that forwarded a request to an agency," Mr Robertson said on Monday.
"It in no way supported or endorsed anything that this man was asking for."
"It is standard practice," he said.
Robertson was acting in his capacity as Member for Blacktown in September 2011 when he signed a letter relating to a dispute between Monis and his second wife Noleen Hayson Pal.
"He met with staff in my Blacktown electorate office on one occasion regarding a family custody matter in August 2011," Robertson admitted in a statement on Monday morning.
"His request was forwarded in a routine manner to the Department of Family & Community Services."
The department refused Monis's request.
Mr Robertson said he has forwarded the correspondence to the joint review into the Martin Place siege.
His office has declined to release the letter, citing confidentiality.
Robertson to put out statement confirming letter supporting Monis gaining greater access to kids - involved in dispute with Monis' 2nd wife
— Lee Jeloscek (@jeloscek) December 21, 2014
Robertson's letter was several years after Monis had been convicted for sending vile letters to the families of dead soldiers.
— Lee Jeloscek (@jeloscek) December 21, 2014
The letter was signed several years after Monis wrote inflammatory letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers.
Monis had been granted bail before he killed two people during the Sydney siege, despite being charged with being an accessory before and after the fact in the 2013 murder of ex-wife Noleen Pal.
She was stabbed multiple times and set alight in a western Sydney unit block.
Morning news break – December 23
