Former NSW MPs found to be corrupt could be stripped of their parliamentary pensions and other entitlements, Premier Barry O'Farrell says.
Former mining minister Ian Macdonald and fellow former Labor MP Eddie Obeid have been branded corrupt in reports from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
ICAC spent months investigating the granting of mining exploration leases at Mount Penny and Doyles Creek, and a final report involving Mr Macdonald is due to be handed down this month.
Premier Barry O'Farrell said on Thursday his government would examine whether corrupt ex-ministers could be stripped of their superannuation entitlements or have their assets frozen.
But the corruption findings would have to be airtight first, he said.
"We will look at all those matters after we receive the commissioner's final report," Mr O'Farrell told reporters.
"Of course, there have been a number of members of parliament who've been found corrupt over the years by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, (including) a former premier of this state who had that finding overturned in the courts, so one of the issues here is you have to ensure whatever action is proposed to be taken also respects the legal processes."
His comments come after a NSW budget estimates hearing revealed alleged corruption surrounding Mount Penny and Doyles Creek had cost the state $90 million in upfront payments.
"I sort of sit here and shake my head. If the licences were not issued corruptly or negligently this state would be $90 million better off," Treasurer Mike Baird told the hearing.
Instead, he said the state got "absolutely nothing".
"Those resources, our resources, the state's resources, were effectively given away," he said.
There had also been a delay of $50 million in annual royalties on an ongoing basis, he said.
"A loss of up to $50 million a year in royalty payments (is) enough to employ an additional 900 teachers or to construct an additional seven public schools," he said.
"Those matters, along with the report we are going to get from the ICAC commissioner, will be considered when it comes to the future of those leases."
