Source : Perth Now news
Two ministers in Australia’s most populous state who were suspended from parliament could spend more time on the sidelines amid transparency concerns.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe and Transport Minister John Graham were suspended from the upper house by the opposition and the crossbench for failing to produce documents.
In an extraordinary development, Ms Sharpe, the government’s leader in the chamber, was ejected for two weeks in May.
Ms Sharpe paid the price for the government’s refusal to release a statement Premier Chris Minns gave to police over a 2015 sexual assault allegation against a former Labor official.
The official is a close confidant of the premier.
The matter has been consistently raised by former federal Labor leader-turned state independent MP Mark Latham.
Veteran coalition MP Damien Tudehope has defended the use of suspensions to discipline the government.
“What has the premier got to hide that he would rather his minister be suspended from parliament rather than hand over these documents?” he told ABC Radio.
Ms Sharpe said her colleagues in the chamber “should stop playing games and pass” four bills the government wanted to get through immediately.
“The people of NSW want politicians to get on with the job of supporting families and securing the state’s future,” she told AAP.
The NSW Legislative Council can use a tool known as Standing Order 52 (SO52) to compel the government of the day to hand over documents sought by MPs.
The current Labor government has refused to abide by several calls for papers.
Mr Graham was booted from the chamber on Thursday in a repeat scenario after Greens MP Amanda Cohn’s attempts to compel the government to release a report on hate speech laws were rebuffed
Attorney General Michael Daley commissioned respected former NSW Supreme Court judge John Sackar to conduct a review of protections in May 2025, which was handed to the government in November.
The government says it is not releasing it yet due to cabinet confidentiality and the need to formulate a unified policy position.
Transparency International Australia head Clancy Moore said the lack of transparency was not a new phenomenon but had increased in recent years, regardless of a government’s political stripes.
“We’re seeing issues around freedom of information requests and the excessive use of cabinet-in-confidence to block information coming into the public light,” he told AAP.
“At a time when social cohesion and trust in government is kind of at a breaking point, it’s really important that governments double down on being transparent, disclosing information, and being open in their decision-making processes.”
Mr Graham could be suspended again when parliament sits on Tuesday.
