But the committee stopped short of expelling Member of Parliament Franca Arena, who had also claimed that some state judges were members of a satanist cult that performed human sacrifices.

She made her claims last year on the floor of Parliament, which meant she was immune from slander or libel lawsuits. However, all the purported conspirators immediately denied it was true and denounced Arena. Arena also named several prominent people whom she claimed were pedophiles under state investigation. One of them, former Wollongong mayor Frank Arkell, was found murdered on Saturday, his head bludgeoned.

He had beaten numerous charges brought against him by the Child Protection Enforcement Agency last year, but still had four counts pending of having sex with young men. Another man Arenanamed in the parliament was Supreme Court Judge David Yeldham who committed suicide, gassing himself in his automobile in his garage. Yeldham had been interviewed by investigators working on Justice James Wood's independent judicial inquiry into police corruption.

They found that police had concealed the arrest record of Yeldham, who led a secret life meeting men for sex in public toilets. But no evidence came to light suggesting that he preyed on children. Arena was ordered today by Parliament's ethics committee to publicly apologise to her Legislative colleagues and the people she claimed were helping protect child molesters, including premier Bob Carr and Opposition Leader Peter Collins, or face indefinite suspension. The Legislative Council Standing Committee on Parliamentary privilege and ethics found Arena's conduct fell below the standard expected of Members of Parliament.