Alister Henskens
Shadow Special Minister of State
Shadow Minister for Government Accountability
The Minns Labor Government yesterday revealed its contempt for integrity, transparency and the Parliament in an extraordinary move to indefinitely defer debate on a Bill to restore powers integral to the Parliamentary accountability process.
Minutes before debate was due to commence on the Parliamentary Evidence Amendment (Attendance of Witnesses) Bill 2026 in the lower house of the NSW Parliament yesterday, Labor brought on a procedural motion to send the Bill off to a Committee stacked in its favour, which will mean these critical powers will not be restored for the foreseeable future.
The Bill, which was passed in the Legislative Council earlier this year and only opposed by Labor MPs, seeks to restore the ability of Parliamentary Committees to compel witnesses to attend for questioning following the decision of Cullen v President of the Legislative Council of NSW [2025] NSWCA 278.
The absence of these powers has already seen witnesses refuse to attend vital committee hearings on matters of public importance, including an inquiry into mould and maggot issues at the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle, and the allegation of leaking of information from the DPP.
Shadow Minister for Government Accountability, Alister Henskens, said the Minns Labor Government’s decision to indefinitely defer debate on the Bill is an attempt to escape any form of accountability and transparency.
“NSW voters expect accountability, not political games designed to run down the clock,” Mr Henskens said.
“Parliamentary Committees are one of the few tools available to hold governments and powerful institutions to account. Weakening those powers, weakens democracy.”
“The Premier himself said in Question Time yesterday that if the Opposition wanted to debate the Bill we should bring it on for debate, but when the time came for the debate less than an hour later, Labor kicked it out into the long grass with no date for it to resume proving that the Premier just says one thing and does another.”
“If the Minns Labor Government actually believes in integrity they should let this Bill be debated and support it immediately.”