NSW minister sacked for breach of ministerial code

After months of scandal, New South Wales finance minister Greg Pearce has been sacked by Premier Barry O'Farrell for a breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

Mr O'Farrell says Mr Pearce failed to declare a conflict of interest when making a Sydney Water board appointment in 2011.

He says Mr Pearce appointed lawyer Richard Fisher to the Sydney Water position and did not disclose that Mr Fisher worked with his wife Shauna Jarrett at the University of Sydney.

Mr O'Farrell says media enquiries brought the apparent conflict of interest to light, and has announced Ageing and Disabilities Minister Andrew Constance will stand in as the new finance minister.