Keneally loses another minister as internet porn scandal widens

Premier Kristina Keneally was forced to sack Mr McLeay yesterday, barely a week after she responded to a dire Newspoll by warning her MPs they needed to lift their personal standards or face annihilation at the state election due next March.

Mr McLeay is the ninth minister or parliamentary secretary to stand aside, resign or be sacked over allegations of personal misbehaviour since the March 2007 state election.

Last night, the internet porn scandal that snared Mr McLeay was widening to include the offices of other state MPs, including the state's leading morals crusader.

NSW upper house MP Fred Nile confirmed to The Australian one of his researchers had been snared in the same survey of inappropriate use of parliamentary computers that cost Mr McLeay his job.

But Reverend Nile, a Christian Democrat, insisted the researcher had visited the sites legitimately as part of his work.

The Australian understands Mr McLeay was revealed as visiting internet gambling and adult sites in the course of an audit of computers undertaken by the parliamentary information technology unit.

In a statement, Ms Keneally apologised to the people of NSW and said, "This behaviour is not the standard I expect of a minister.

"I have made clear to Mr McLeay that I expect ministers to use the resources of office appropriately," she said.

"Some people may choose to undertake similar activities in their personal lives, but I cannot condone the use of parliamentary resources by a minister in this way.

"I am sorry that this situation has occurred. I will not condone it, and I will continue to make clear that I expect the highest integrity from ministers."

Reverend Nile said last night he had asked for a copy of a document that, he had been told, revealed there had been 200,000 hits of internet pornography sites on his staffer's computer.

"He was looking up the Eros group and the Sex Party websites to see what they were promoting," he said. "I've been fighting this stuff all my life. I can swear on the Bible that I have never accessed it in my life."

Mr McLeay apologised to the public, his family and colleagues.

He said he would remain in parliament and recontest his southern Sydney seat of Heathcote at the election next year.

Mr McLeay's humiliating exit comes less than four months after the resignation from cabinet of former transport minister David Campbell, who was filmed leaving a gay sex club.

Also in May, former Labor MP for Penrith Karyn Paluzzano quit parliament after it was revealed she had rorted her casual staffing allowance.

A month later, Mr Campbell and Ms Paluzzano were joined by former state development minister Ian Macdonald, who quit cabinet and parliament after admitting to charging taxpayers for a private trip to the Middle East.

Mr McLeay's wife, author Cassandra Wilkinson, is a senior adviser to Ms Keneally, on transport.

His father, Leo McLeay, was a federal Labor MP for 14 years and served as Speaker of the federal House of Representatives between 1989 and 1993.

He resigned as speaker following controversy over a compensation payment he received for an accident involving a bicycle he hired from the parliamentary gym.