The NSW government has failed to stop a Bill despite opposing it in what’s described as a sign the Coalition has lost control of parliament.
NSW MPs agreed to change the state’s constitution on Thursday to allow the parliament to sit virtually in case of an emergency such as a pandemic lockdown or bushfire crisis.
The change was pushed by txjmtzywhe Greens and opposed by the government.
But the government, whose 45 seats in the lower house are fewer than the combined numbers of the opposition and crossbench, allowed the constitutional amendment to pass without calling a vote.
It was an attempt at avoiding an embarrassing defeat on the floor, but the Greens sought to rub it in anyway, saying it was a “clear signal the Coalition has lost its majority”.
“This is the first time in over a decade that a non-government Bill that’s opposed by the government of the day has passed both houses of parliament. It is a case of democracy working,” Greens MP David Shoebridge said.
Parliament was suspended for a lengthy period last year after the Delta wave of coronavirus forced the building shut.
“As we recover from months of lockdown when the government literally shut down parliament, we need to think ahead to ensure democracy doesn’t die in the next crisis,” Mr Shoebridge said.
The government said it wouldn’t support the change because its ”significant consequences … have not been fully considered”.
“One must be very cautious when doing something as serious as this Bill proposes, which is seeking to legislate for future practice and procedure, when that future practice and procedure goes to some of the fundamental tenets of our democratic system of government in NSW,” Liberal MP Gabrielle Upton said during a debate last week.
The amendment passed the upper house last year, a different chamber of the parliament where the government also lacks a majority.
Thursday’s passage through the lower house happened as Premier Dominic Perrottet was off on paternity leave.
Mr Perrottet has lost a number of supporting MPs in recent months, including the representative for the seat of Bega which flipped to Labor during a by-election and the member for Kiama, who was first moved to the crossbench and then suspended from parliament.
Acting Premier Paul Toole was contacted for comment.
