"Carr to aid of deputy"

Andrew West, NSW political reporter, The Australian, 5 April 2005

PREMIER Bob Carr will move to restore his authority over the NSW caucus when it meets today by quashing any attempt to embarrass his long-time deputy, Andrew Refshauge.

Dr Refshauge, who is also the Treasurer, faces the threat of a no-confidence motion from some right-wing MPs who are demanding he reduce land tax in the next state budget.

But a senior government source said there was "simply no way" Mr Carr would allow Dr Refshauge, who has been a close political ally since they took over an ailing NSW Labor Party in 1988, to be humiliated.

The threatened no-confidence motion is a tit-for-tat move by members of the party's extreme Right sub-faction, angry that one of its own, Roads Minister Michael Costa, is the subject of a caucus resolution roasting him over his performance in his other portfolio of Economic Reform.

Hunter Valley MP Milton Orkopoulos confirmed that he was planning to move a motion today demanding that Mr Costa adhere to caucus and cabinet solidarity and that he consult widely with MPs before making decisions. It is weaker than his original plan to call on the Premier to strip Mr Costa of the Economic Reform portfolio.

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