Parliamentary Rebellion As NSW Upper House Suspends Penny Sharpe Again

The New South Wales Legislative Council has suspended Government Leader in the Upper House Penny Sharpe for up to 14 days, following a breakdown in negotiations over the release of documents ordered by the chamber and a series of procedural votes that culminated in what members described as a parliamentary “rebellion”.

This comes after Sharpe had just returned after serving a one-week suspension earlier in May, before being suspended again.

The suspension follows a motion moved by crossbench MP Mark Latham seeking the release of police and government documents connected to historical allegations of sexual harassment made by former Labor staffer Stefanie Jones against former NSW Labor secretary Jamie Clements. The documents also reportedly include statements made by Premier Chris Minns to police at the time.

According to proceedings in the upper house, the government declined to comply with a series of orders for the production of the material, based on advice from the NSW Crown Solicitor arguing that some of the documents were either privileged or inappropriate for release “material touching on or concerning court proceedings and a police investigation”.The refusal led to escalating tensions between the government and a bloc of crossbench and opposition members.

Sharpe agreed to table a redacted version of that advice, which she said was “strong and definitive”.

Latham disagrees, saying “This is a weak, flimsy advice the government has been relying on. There’s nothing definitive about it, nothing strong about it.”

The Legislative Council subsequently moved to censure Sharpe and other government representatives, before passing a resolution suspending Sharpe from the chamber for up to a fortnight. The suspension is understood to be among the longest imposed on a serving government leader in the Upper House in recent years.

Sharpe, speaking in response to the ongoing dispute over compliance with the Council’s orders, said: “The fact that that’s been thrown out and it’s now been undermined by the court case is not great,” Sharpe said. “The situation we’re in is as a result of the imprudent action of others.”

The suspension has taken place amid a broader pattern of escalating conflict between the government and the upper house over the limits of parliamentary authority to compel document production and witness cooperation. The Legislative Council has argued that its scrutiny powers are being constrained by recent legal decisions, while the government maintains that those powers should not extend to coercive enforcement measures.

The decision means Sharpe will be absent from the Upper House for the duration of the suspension period, with government business expected to continue through other representatives in the Legislative Council during that time.