State government surrenders, will hand over key stadium, Powerhouse documents
In a major backflip, the state government has surrendered to the demands of the upper house and will produce key documents relating to some of its most controversial policies.
The business cases for Sydney stadiums as well as the Powerhouse Museum relocation and a highly critical report into the state's child protection system will be handed over by 5pm Friday.
It came after the government's most senior minister in the house, Don Harwin, was censured over the government's refusal to produce the documents. He faced possible suspension from parliament.
But Mr Harwin was spared from being kicked out of the chamber after he told parliament on Wednesday that the government would agree to the demands of the upper house.
The decision prevents the issue being tested in court, which happened in the 1990s when the then Labor treasurer, Michael Egan, refused to release documents to the upper house.
Labor's leader in the upper house, Adam Searle, said the government had "capitulated".
He said until today, the government had refused to comply with the orders, claiming the upper house had no power to compel production of cabinet documents.
“This is a complete surrender by the Berejiklian government to the power asserted by the Legislative Council to compel the production of these documents," Mr Searle said.
“It is now clear that the upper house does have the power to order production even of cabinet documents, as long as they do not disclose the internal workings and decisions of the cabinet."
Outspoken Liberal MP Matthew Mason-Cox took the extraordinary step on Tuesday night of voting with Labor and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers to censure Mr Harwin.
The motion passed by one vote and was the first censure against a NSW Liberal government leader.
It was the third time Mr Mason-Cox has crossed the floor, after being an outspoken critic of his government's policies, including spending $1.5 billion on stadiums.