Premier of NSW, Barry O'Farell has been reportedly called on to apologise for a perceived racial slur against Labor frontbencher Linda Burney and saying that she hadn't achieved her career success on merit.
During a heated exchange over whether the current community services minister, Pru Goward, had misled parliament over caseworker numbers, Burney said that Goward had lost the confidence of every caseworker in this state to which the premier in defence of Goward said that Burney cannot say that she has achieved every position in her life on merit.
Opposition leader John Robertson has asked O'Farrell to apologise for his comments and said that Burney is unequalled in merit and achievement adding that it would be inappropriate for any member of the community to make those sorts of comments.
Meanwhile, Burney said that she had come to expect those sorts of insults from O'Farrell' as it was not the first time he made those sort of comments about her and her capacity.
She further said that she has won every position she has ever had based on her capacity and her merit and the Premier continues to make a fool of himself when he says such things.
The report added that Burney is the first Aborigine elected to the NSW parliament and a former national ALP president and has served as minister for community services in the former Labor government and is deputy leader of the opposition.