In a quirk of that house, until the ringing of the so-called long bell it will remain Wednesday forever. Peculiar it may be, but the reality is no parliamentary business is being conducted at the same time as the government is navigating devastating floods and the ongoing pandemic.

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Berejiklian’s hand-picked candidate for president, Natasha Maclaren-Jones, failed to get a majority of votes even with the support of Christian Democrat Fred Nile and One Nation.

In a bid to block Maclaren-Jones, the Opposition and other crossbenchers have nominated long-serving Labor MP Peter Primrose. Late on Thursday, the government was still locked in negotiations trying to end the impasse.

NSW has been held up as the “gold standard” for its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The economy is recovering, the vaccine roll-out is more progressed than other states and community transmission of the virus is non-existent.