The senior NSW detective twice stabbed by an accused sex offender in a Sydney pub on Friday remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Detective Sergeant John Breda was stabbed in the chest and abdomen in the beer garden of the busy Maroubra Junction Hotel on Australia Day afternoon while trying to arrest 33-year-old Nick Newman who had been the subject of a court-issued warrant.

Child abuser Nick Newman was being hunted by police when he attacked the detective.

Police say Det Sgt Breda was stabbed during a “confrontation” and Newman was shot dead by two other officers who had gone with him to the pub.

The 45-year-old detective was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a critical condition and underwent emergency surgery.

Acting NSW Police Commissioner Dave Hudson and Police Minister Troy Grant visited the hospital on Saturday and were briefed on his condition.

The doctors “are comfortable with his progress so far, however he is by no means out of danger,” Mr Hudson said.

Mr Grant drove to Sydney from Dubbo overnight after hearing about the incident.

“It’s the worst phone call a minister can get to hear one of NSW’s finest has been injured so severely with his life at threat,” he said.

The day before the stabbing, police issued a public appeal for information on Newman’s whereabouts.

He was scheduled to appear in Penrith Local Court on Wednesday but failed to show.

-AAP