NSW Labor loses deputy upper house leader Penny Sharpe over disease test bill

NSW Labor’s deputy leader in the upper house quit on Friday after refusing to vote on a bill mandating that blood samples be taken from people who spit on or bite frontline workers.

Penny Sharpe. Picture: AAP

NSW Labor’s deputy leader in the upper house quit on Friday after refusing to vote on a bill mandating that blood samples be taken from people who spit on or bite workers on the frontline such as the police, nurses and prison officers.

Penny Sharpe, a longstanding member of the NSW Legislative Council, tendered her resignation to Labor leader Jodi McKay after abstaining from a vote on the bill held Thursday evening, a departure from the party’s position and a technical breach of ALP policy.

In addition to resigning as deputy leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Ms Sharpe also stepped down from her role as the shadow minister for family and community services, as well as the shadow minister for disability inclusion.

“I resign from these positions with great sadness, but I do so because I know that the decision to abstain from the final vote on the Mandatory Disease Testing Bill put me at odds with Labor’s position on this bill and in doing so made my position in shadow cabinet untenable,” Ms Sharpe wrote. She said she would remain in parliament and assist Labor with its efforts to win government in 2023.

The disease testing legislation, which passed through the upper house, will compel people who spit on or bite a frontline worker to be tested for diseases such as HIV.

A parliamentary inquiry into the bill heard from numerous medical experts and disease specialists who queried its efficacy and said that they did not support the legislation.

“Mandatory testing has been a request by some for many decades,” Ms Sharpe told parliament. “Until tonight it has been resisted by our governments and our parliaments because it is not evidence based. Tonight NSW has gone from a world leader to just another group of decision-makers who are willing to take scientific and medical advice only when it suits us.”

Ms McKay said Ms Sharpe remained a “valuable member of the Labor team”.