They say that a week is a very long time in politics, but that was not the case this week for the NSW Upper House.

On Wednesday the Labor Government had seen a number of key pieces of legislation knocked back in the Upper House, and signs were that it was only going to get worse.

The proposed sale of the state lotteries, which would see more than half a billion dollars enter the government’s coffers, was set to fail.

Rather than see that the bill rejected, the Government invoked a little used parliamentary procedure, and walked out of the House.

With no ministers sitting in the chamber, the Upper house president closed down the Upper House, and it won’t be reopened until September first.

It is believed to be the first time the Upper House has been shut down in its nearly 200-year history.

Veteran reporter Alex Mitchell was the former state political reporter for the Sun Herald, and now writes for the online paper Crikey.

He spoke with 2ser’s Julia Holman.