In a move that has taken the state by shock, the state government has, at the behest of the Premier Kristina Kenally, officially closed the formal business of parliament.  The move is one of the most blatant political manipulations of the parliamentry process which the state has witnessed in quite some time.  The political reason for the move is that it ensures that the Opposition will be blocked from holding its inquiry into the electricity sale which was due to begin today.  There are serious questions over whether this is consitutional under our present legal system because of the system of government implied under the rule of law in the Australian Constitution which has been interepreted as applying to the states as well.

In a statement released by the Premier’s office this morning, Kristina Keneally said the NSW Governor, Marie Bashir, had prorogued the parliament, effective immediately.  Parliamentry committees cannot hold hearings before the March election, including the planned upper house inquiry into the government’s controversial $5.3 billion sale of the state’s electricity assets.  The strategy is clearly an attempt to muzzle the government’s critics on a number of issues, but most likely the electricity sell off.  The Opposition had planned to reveal the details of the inquiry today, including the proposed terms of reference and the expected start date, which could have been as early as January 10.  The inquiry had the support of the Greens and the Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile which meant the inquiry could have started as soon the procedural issues had been resolved.  Parliament was not expected to be prorogued until late February, according to the official calendar on the NSW Parliament’s website.