NSW Premier Mike Baird is standing by the state's top police officers, saying he could not be "any more impressed with the job they were doing".
Facing nearly 26 minutes of questioning about explosive evidence regarding NSW police presented to a parliamentary inquiry this week, Mr Baird conceded that the evidence was concerning and disturbing.
But he refused to take any action until all the evidence had been presented and the two inquiries had reported their findings.
The inquiry heard that the state's two deputy police commissioners, Nick Kaldas and Catherine Burn, were bitterly divided over a long-running bugging scandal.
It heard evidence that more than 100 police officers and a journalist were placed under surveillance during Operation Mascot after warrants were approved by the NSW Supreme Court. But some of the affidavits presented to Supreme Court judges contained no information that would justify the surveillance, and some of their contents were false.
In other explosive evidence, Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas said a police internal affairs unit that subjected him and his family to two years of intensive surveillance had carried out "massive wrongdoing and habitual illegal acts". No accusation was ever made against him. The operation was run a decade ago by his fellow deputy Ms Burn and continued when current Commissioner Andrew Scipione took over that unit.
Mr Baird admitted the evidence was "concerning" but he refused to do anything until he had seen all the evidence.
"Let's be clear. We haven't seen all the facts and heard all the stories. We need to see all the evidence, and we need to see it in a comprehensive way.
"Certainly the revelations of the inquiry, they are disturbing. That's part of the reason why we undertook an independent inquiry by the ombudsman," he said.
Mr Baird said he would only respond after all the facts were on the table.
Time after time in response to questions, Mr Baird stood by his top officers, repeating that the state had never been safer.
"My association with the police force has been nothing but first class," the Premier said, adding that he had worked with them under the most stressful and intense circumstances.
Commissioner Scipione had done an "outstanding job" he said, adding the state was "lucky to have him".
When pressed about whether Mr Burns and Mr Kaldas could continue to work together when the relationship was so poisonous, he cited the fall in crime across NSW.
"The facts speak for themselves."
