"Mr Obeid's opinion mattered, just like the Premier's opinion mattered and other MPs' opinions mattered," former NSW Labor minister Joe Tripodi told the criminal trial of his former factional ally Eddie Obeid.

As Mr Obeid's trial for misconduct in public office draws to a close, Mr Tripodi, former ports minister, was asked on Monday about the influence his former colleague wielded over government policy.

Mr Obeid, 72, is accused of misconduct in public office for failing to reveal to a senior NSW maritime authority bureaucrat, Steve Dunn, that his family had an interest in two Circular Quay cafe leases when lobbying Mr Dunn in 2007 about the plight of waterfront leaseholders.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mr Tripodi said he was not made aware of Mr Obeid's interest in the cafe leases and would have "reported it to the Premier" and sought probity advice if he had been told.

"Had he disclosed it to me ... we'd all be in a much better position," Mr Tripodi said.

The Supreme Court has heard that disgruntled tenants, including a company owned by the Obeid family, were seeking a renewal of their leases via direct negotiation. A draft government policy would have required them to compete in a public tender.

Mr Tripodi said he was "far more right wing than Mr Obeid" and believed leases in general should be put out to tender. But he said he became aware of a high level of "stakeholder resistance" to this proposal.

The Circular Quay leases were subsequently renewed without a tender.

The court heard Mr Obeid had long made his views plain that "tenants in NSW generally were mistreated" and should have an "automatic right of renewal" of their leases if they were "good tenants, so to speak".

Asked if Mr Obeid was a person who wielded influence effectively within the parliamentary Labor Party, Mr Tripodi said: "Most of the time. Not always, but most of the time."

The court heard that while Mr Tripodi was ports minister he told his deputy chief of staff that Mr Obeid, then a backbencher, was "not happy" about the proposal for maritime leases in general to go to a public tender.

Asked why he would tell a staff member about Mr Obeid's views, Mr Tripodi said "we would often report to staff what the views of members of parliament were".

"Mr Obeid's opinion mattered, just like the Premier's opinion mattered and other MPs' opinions mattered," he said.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Dunn told the court that an "agitated" Mr Obeid called him to ask him to speak to the commercial negotiator acting for Circular Quay tenants.

"The way in which Mr Obeid would make sure he got his point across was to speak in quite colourful language. He would often swear. I do recall the language being strong," Mr Dunn said.

"At the end of the conversation I was left in no doubt that Mr Obeid would like me to make contact with [the negotiator] and to meet with him."

But, under cross-examination by Mr Obeid's defence counsel, Braddon Hughes, SC, he agreed he ultimately formed his own opinion that direct negotiations at end of the leases was the "fair way to proceed".

"Was that uninfluenced by any discussion you had with Mr Eddie Obeid?" Mr Hughes said.

"Yes," Mr Dunn replied.

He agreed Mr Obeid did "nothing more and nothing less" than suggest Mr Dunn meet the negotiator.

The trial continues.