NSW MPs are spending as little as 60 seconds meeting to assess the human rights implications of proposed laws such as police powers and limits to Aboriginal land claims, prompting criticism that Parliament's oversight regime is an "embarrassing" rubber stamp.
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Minutes from the government-dominated Legislation Review Committee, set up to determine if bills trespass on personal rights and liberties, show the average fortnightly meeting last year ran for 3.25 minutes, raising questions over whether proposed laws are being properly scrutinised. Two meetings lasted one minute.
The NSW Greens have called for the committee to be abolished and replaced by a NSW Human Rights Commission and a Human Rights Act to protect civil liberties. Both safeguards exist in Victoria.
But the committee's chair, Nationals MP Stephen Bromhead, says longer meetings are not needed and the committee works effectively.
In 2008, a University of NSW study found the committee identified human rights issues in about half of about 120 government bills, but there were at least another 30 bills posing problems that were not picked up.
The committee was set up in 2003 by the Carr Labor government, in the absence of a NSW bill of rights.
Newtown Greens candidate Jenny Leong claimed the current Parliament eroded civil rights by passing laws on bail restrictions, mandatory sentencing, consorting and increased police powers to arrest and move people on.
"The idea that the human rights of NSW people should be treated with such contempt – only three minutes of consideration a fortnight – is an indictment on both Labor and Coalition governments," she said.
Upper house Greens MP David Shoebridge, who is on the committee, said the mechanism was "embarrassing" and operated as a rubber stamp, routinely overlooking essential rights such as freedom of speech and discrimination.
He cited the committee's failure last year to raise concerns over proposed laws preventing Aboriginal groups from making any land rights claims over NSW beaches. The government backflipped on the plan following subsequent claims the proposal was racist.
Mr Bromhead said the meetings "go as long as necessary". He and the committee's secretariat scrutinise the bills prior to meetings and MPs are provided a "digest" summarising the legislation and recommendations to Parliament, Mr Bromhead said.
"MPs have ample time to go through everything [before the meetings]. The purpose of the committee is … if there are issues with any of the draft digest to raise that at the meetings," he said.
"The fact that the meetings go so quickly is testament to the amount of work I do and the amount of work done by the secretariat in properly preparing, in a nonpartisan way, the digest and the recommendations."
Mr Shoebridge said amendments proposed by non-government MPs are not debated, but simply voted down.
The Greens are due to launch their election campaign in Sydney on Sunday.
