The suspension of the NSW government's upper house leader from parliament for failing to provide documents about a grant scheme was a political stunt over documents that don't exist, the treasurer says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Labor MPs and the crossbench voted in the Legislative Council, 23 to 15, to find Arts Minister Don Harwin in contempt and suspend him during a late sitting on Tuesday.
He was escorted from the chamber by the Usher of the Black Rod.
Mr Harwin was temporarily booted for failing to produce the paperwork for grants approved under a $252 million Stronger Communities Fund.
Labor and crossbench MPs had asked for the documentation - specifically on the guidelines - for grants handed out to NSW councils before last year's state election.
Opposition Leader Jodi McKay says Premier Gladys Berejiklian approved the grants and that 95 per cent of them went to coalition electorates.
But Treasurer Dominic Perrottet says the paperwork doesn't exist.
"The advice we received last night is (that it was) a stunt in the upper house to remove a member, during a pandemic, in relation to him not apparently providing a document that according to the government doesn't exist," he told reporters on Wednesday.
Ms McKay tweeted that the documents would prove the premier manipulated a $252 million grant fund to benefit coalition-held seats.
Mr Perrottet denied the grants were decided on a partisan basis.
"I care about every single taxpayer dollar going to where it makes a difference," he said.
"If there's any evidence that those guidelines have not been met, well then I'd be happy to hear those issues."
Labor local government spokesman Greg Warren says the government appears to have gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal a potential misuse of public funds.
"A thick, dark cloud of secrecy is hovering over this government around their administration of grants schemes, including the Stronger Communities Fund," he said.
"The heart of this issue is transparency."
Labor has referred the grants allocation to the auditor-general.
Mr Harwin will return to parliament on Wednesday.
Australian Associated Press