A key witness has refused to front a parliamentary inquiry into safety issues at a NSW hospital, citing a court case brought by the premier's top advisor that has rendered committees powerless to force attendance. An upper house committee sought to question James O'Brien, the facilities director at Honeywell, the company which is subcontracted to manage facilities at Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital. Emails show a parliamentary staffer tried to arrange for Mr O'Brien to be served with a summons on Thursday, but he could not be located, and his chair at Friday's hearing sat empty. In a response to the...