NSW coalition MPs will be cautioned about their behaviour after meowing was allegedly heard while a female Labor minister answered a question in state parliament.
Cabinet minister Jenny Aitchison interrupted question time on Thursday to allege she had heard "a cat meow" sound from the opposition benches.
But no MP owned up to making the sound, which Ms Aitchison labelled offensive and said occurred while Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis was addressing the house.
The behaviour of all NSW MPs and staffers has been under the spotlight since a year-long investigation by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick found one in five people who work at Parliament House have experienced sexual harassment in the past five years.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman, who was seated well away from Ms Aitchison, later told reporters he hadn't heard the sound.
He said if it did occur, it was unacceptable and he would remind MPs to treat everyone with respect.
"We are often going to have robust disagreement but at the end of the day, that's a matter of basic courtesy and decency," he said.
Newly elected Liberal MP Kellie Sloane agreed, backing Speaker Greg Piper's attempts to rein in all lower house MPs.
A few months into the job, she described the lower house as a "unique environment (with) enthusiastic debate across the chamber".
More cordial debate in the Legislative Council late on Thursday resulted in new first-home buyer tax breaks passing without amendment.
The government's changes lift the thresholds for stamp duty exemptions from $650,000 to $800,000 and stamp duty concessions from $800,000 to $1 million.
Treasury estimated the changes would grant about 8600 first-home buyers an exemption while another 4400 would pay a lower rate.
The coalition announced it would introduce a bill from opposition to ban offshore gas and mining exploration in NSW waters.
Pittwater MP Rory Amon introduced the plan, which stems from a promise made during the Liberal Party's unsuccessful re-election campaign at the March state poll.
An exemption would be made for activities to tackle beach erosion where a clear public benefit could be demonstrated.
The bill is unlikely to pass without the support of the Labor government, which holds 45 of the 93 seats in the lower house.
Ms Sloane called on state and federal Labor to support the ban.
She said the uncertainty of future offshore exploration and mining would "continue to hang over our coastal communities" without it.
The issue of offshore drilling flared during the March election campaign after a court quashed Scott Morrison's blocking of an offshore drilling permit, known as PEP-11.
The permit zone lies in both Commonwealth and state waters off the coast between Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong.
Also on Thursday, TAFE and skills minister Tim Crakanthorp announced a $710 million investment to allow 556 approved providers to deliver subsidised training in priority qualifications such as wind power generation and automotive electric vehicle technology.
"In a skills crisis, it is important that we create a workforce that meets the evolving needs of industries in NSW," he said.
