Parliamentary inquiries are usually dry affairs. But a state upper house inquiry into a push to remove registered nurses from nursing homes has taken a dramatic turn from regulation and finance to murder and intrigue.

A stoush has broken out between members of the inquiry about whether to release the transcript from last Friday's hearings.

NSW Labor health spokesman Walt Secord. Credit:Jane Dyson

Giving evidence was Phillip Carter, the chief executive of St Andrews' homes in Ballina, and an ardent opponent of homes being forced to have registered nurses on duty.

Labor wants to keep nurses on duty and began questioning Mr Carter about the recent tragic deaths of two elderly residents at St Andrews, allegedly at the hands of a staff member.