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Premier Chris Minns’ chief of staff will sue NSW Parliament in a dramatic effort to avoid fronting an inquiry considering the leaking of confidential minutes from a report into the proposed sale of Rosehill Racecourse.
James Cullen had been summonsed by the Privileges Committee to appear on Wednesday morning, as part of an investigation into whether parliament’s laws had been breached through the leak of a section of a then-privileged parliamentary report.
Premier Chris Minns’ chief of staff James Cullen appearing at the inquiry into the Dural caravan hoaxCredit: Janie Barrett
Committee members summonsed Cullen to appear on Wednesday, but he filed a challenge to section 8 of the Parliamentary Evidence Act claiming “that it compromises the institutional integrity of the Supreme Court”.
Parliament can order witnesses to attend committee hearings and inquiries under the 120-year-old Parliamentary Evidence Act. If witnesses refuse, warrants can be issued for their arrest.
Cullen’s legal challenge will test whether ministerial staff can be punished for not attending committee hearings.
In a statement, Cullen said: “The Committee’s proposed course of action raises complex questions of constitutional law, which I will be testing in the proceeding.”
“I will be arguing that the law enacted in 1901 is unconstitutional because it doesn’t take into account the independence of the judiciary.”
Acting Legislative Council president Rod Roberts said parliament will “vigorously defend” its ability to compel witnesses to attend hearings, and has hired a silk to represent parliament in court.
“The Legislative Council and its committees have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses, not being members of either House of the Parliament, to attend and give evidence,” he said.
The draft minutes revealed the committee considered referring Minns to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Ultimately, committee members resolved to refer the report itself, rather than the premier, to the corruption watchdog. The ICAC decided not to pursue the matter.
An attempt to call Minns to the inquiry was blocked by Labor MPs on the Privileges Committee, who held the majority. An outcry from the opposition and crossbenchers resulted in parliament voting to remove one of the Labor MPs from the committee’s membership.
In June, a similar stoush played out after the committee called five Minns’ staffers including Cullen, to an inquiry considering the circumstances of the Dural caravan hoax. A legal skirmish led NSW Legislative Council President Ben Franklin to seek advice from high-profile barrister Bret Walker.
The five staff members ultimately appeared at the hearing, sparing their arrest.
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