Hartcher should be suspended: Labor

The NSW opposition is calling on MP Chris Hartcher to be suspended from the Liberal Party until an ICAC investigation is finished.

NSW Liberal MP Chris Hartcher should be suspended from his party until an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation is carried out, the state opposition says.

Mr Hartcher is staying on as MP for Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast despite resigning as energy minister on Wednesday following an ICAC raid on his office.

But the NSW opposition believes his resignation does not go far enough.

"I certainly think that Chris Hartcher should be suspended from the Liberal Party while these investigations are underfoot," Opposition Leader John Robertson told reporters.

The raid targeting Mr Hartcher came after ICAC officers reportedly searched the Central Coast offices of Liberal MPs Chris Spence and Darren Webber.

It was reported in September that computers and documents were seized in relation to claims of irregularities in donations to the Liberals on the Central Coast.

Mr Hartcher's resignation makes him the third person to depart the NSW ministry in four months, Mr Robertson said.

"The resignation of Chris Hartcher, a senior minister within this government, confirms Barry O'Farrell's front bench is unravelling," he said.

"This government is now more focused on its internal workings and what is going on on the front bench than it is in dealing with the issues that are important to the people of NSW."

Finance Minister Greg Pearce was sacked in August and Sports Minister Graham Annesley resigned in the same month to pursue a role with the Gold Coast Titans.


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Source: AAP


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