O'Farrell pandering to fringe group: Labor

The NSW government has been accused of pandering to a fringe Christian minority and breaking an election promise with a plan to scrap ethics classes.

The alternative to religious scripture lessons began in February, only a month before Labor lost office.

But the O'Farrell government has reportedly struck a deal with Christian Democrats leader Fred Nile, whereby the coalition's contentious industrial relations changes would be passed in the upper house if ethics classes were scrapped.

Labor's acting education spokesman Nathan Rees has accused NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell of breaking an election promise by negotiating with a fringe interest group to secure passage of dodgy legislation.

"Our school classrooms are not a social laboratory for fringe political interest groups," he said in a statement.

The Greens' education spokesman John Kaye said Mr O'Farrell had rolled his own Education Minister Adrian Piccoli, who promised in opposition to leave the classes untouched, as he pandered to a small minority group.

He added the influence of right-wing figures in the Liberal Party, like conservative upper house MP David Clarke, meant the coalition would vote to axe the classes, designed by the St James Ethics Centre.

The deal would see the issue of ethics classes discussed in the coalition party room before it went to cabinet.

"Fred Nile is not stupid. He would not sell his vote on industrial relations for a party room discussion," Mr Kaye told AAP.

"The coalition party room is dominated by the far right of the Liberal Party and the National Party."

Mr Kaye said a compromise on ethics classes with the Christian Democrats could see the government repeal same-sex adoption, introduce abortion restrictions and tighten censorship on X-rated material as part of future political deals.

The Sydney Morning Herald says the Christian Democrats would pass government plans to legislate a 2.5 per cent cap on public sector wages in return for ethics classes being axed.

Mr O'Farrell, Reverend Nile and Nationals frontbencher Duncan Gay met on Thursday to discuss a deadlock which has threatened the passage through the upper house of the government's public service wages legislation.

The government needs the support of the Christian Democrats and the Shooters and Fishers Party in the upper house to secure passage of legislation.

Mr Rees, a former premier, said the previous Labor government had rejected overtures from the Shooters and Fishers Party to relax gun laws.

"Instead of letting the Christian Democrats and Shooters and Fishers Party call the shots, Barry O'Farrell needs to develop some backbone and start acting like the premier of NSW," he said.

A spokesman for Mr O'Farrell, Brad Burden, said the coalition party room and cabinet would consider any bill an MP put forward but that did not mean ethics classes would be scrapped.

"The premier's pre-election commitment regarding the retention of ethics classes remains," he told AAP.

"The fact that Reverend Nile puts forward legislation on ethics classes, and it goes before the party room that's no different to other pieces of legislation."