Bugging probe looking at ombudsman tenure

A parliamentary inquiry into a long-running police bugging scandal may recommend changes to the role of the state's most powerful independent watchdog, the NSW Ombudsman.

NSW Shooters Party MP Robert Borsak, the chair of the inquiry into Ombudsman Bruce Barbour's handling of the bugging scandal, says his committee's report is likely to make a judgment call on the future role of the ombudsman.

The comments come a day after Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas, a strident critic of the ombudsman's investigation, told the inquiry it may want to consider how long people spend running oversight bodies and "how jaded people get".

Mr Barbour has been NSW Ombudsman since 2000, after being appointed for his first seven-year term by former premier Bob Carr.

"Probably anything over five, six, seven years is too long for an individual to be in a seat where they become fixated on some topics or organisations," Mr Kaldas told the inquiry on Tuesday.

Mr Kaldas said the police force rotated its commanders on a regular basis because change was good for them.

"We do not leave them in the same place too long. They get jaded and sometimes fall into traps," he said.

The NSW Upper House committee has just concluded sensational hearings into the conduct of Operation Prospect - Mr Barbour's ongoing, two-year probe into the events around a 15-year-old police internal affairs operation, Operation Mascot, which bugged more than 100 officers, including Mr Kaldas.

Mr Kaldas previously testified that he feared the ombudsman's intentions towards him after being "denigrated" and "humiliated" during secret questioning about the bugging.

Mr Borsak said while he could not pre-empt the committee's report, he thought it would touch on the future of the ombudsman's role.

"I think a judgment call will be made by us as to what the role of the ombudsman will be in the future," he told AAP.

The committee's report is due on February 25.

Greens MP and committee deputy chair David Shoebridge said the structure and behaviour of various bodies charged with overseeing police was "a live issue".

Mr Barbour has pledged to deliver his report in June.

Premier Mike Baird on Wednesday said he wanted Mr Barbour's investigation into Operation Mascot "to be resolved as quickly as it possibly can".

"The ombudsman's report is obviously the final piece of the jigsaw," he said.

THE OMBUDSMAN'S ROLE

* The "citizen's defender", independent of the government, Bruce Barbour has been NSW Ombudsman since 2000

* Mr Barbour has conducted investigations into NSW Police, DoCS, RailCorp and other agencies

* His office has released major reports on child deaths from vehicle accidents and among children with a child protection history

* He began Operation Prospect in 2012, using royal commission-style powers to investigate events around police internal surveillance operations known as Mascot and Florida.

* Mr Barbour was previously a member of the Casino Control Authority and the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal.