NSW ICAC Operation Spicer Week Two - running sheet and witness list outline

To date one NSW Premier has resigned, one NSW minister has resigned and been suspended from the Liberal Party, one NSW Minister has resigned, one NSW Liberal MLC has resigned from a parliamentary position and stood aside, two NSW MPs been suspended from the Liberal Party and one Liberal federal senator has stood aside, as a result of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Operation Credo and Operation Spicer investigations.

They are:

Barry O’Farrell - MP for Kur-ing-gai, former NSW Premier & Minister for Western Sydney until his resignation on 17 April 2014

Chris Hartcher - NSW MP for Terrigal, Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for the Central Coast & Special Minister of State until 9 December 2013 and now suspended from the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW)

Mike Gallacher – NSW MLC and, NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services until his resignation on 2 May 2014

Marie Ficarra - Member of the NSW Legislative Council and, a former parliamentary secretary until 17 April 2014

Darren Webber – MP for Wyong now suspended from the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW)

Christopher Spence – MP for The Entrance now suspended from the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW)

Arthur Sinodinis - Federal Senator for NSW and Assistant Treasurer in the Abbott Government (not fulfilling assistant treasurer duties for the duration of the investigations)

Operation Spicer enters its second week today.

Operation Spicer is an investigation into:…whether, between April 2009 and April 2012, certain members of parliament including Christopher Hartcher, Darren Webber and Christopher Spence, along with others including Timothy Koelma and Raymond Carter, corruptly solicited, received, and concealed payments from various sources in return for certain members of parliament favouring the interests of those responsible for the payments.

The Commission is also examining whether, between December 2010 and November 2011, certain members of parliament, including those mentioned above, and others, including Raymond Carter, solicited, received and failed to disclose political donations from companies, including prohibited donors, contrary to the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981.

Further allegations include whether Eightbyfive, a business operated by Mr Koelma entered into agreements with each of a series of entities including Australian Water Holdings Pty Ltd (AWH), whereby each entity made regular payments to Eightbyfive, purportedly for the provision of media, public relations and other services and advice, in return for which Mr Hartcher favoured the interests of the respective entity.

The ICAC is also investigating the circumstances in which false allegations of corruption were made against senior SWC executives….

NSW ICAC Operation Spicer Witness List For Week Two:

Darren Williams - development manager at the Buildev Group and a sponsor of the Sydney-based Liberal Party associated entity The Millennium Forum in 2008

Troy Palmer - chief executive of Hunter Sports Group, Chief Financial Officer of Patinack and a Buildev Group director

David Sharpe - one of the co-owners of Buildev

Nabil Gazal – Gazcorp director Sydney property developer

Nicholas Gazal – Gazcorp director Sydney property developer

Eric Koelma – brother to Tim Koelma creator of the ‘slush fund’ corporation, Eightbyfive

Grahame Young - CEO of Tesrol property group

Gary Bonaccorso – Sydney property developer
Doug Sneddon - planning consultant

Anthony Bandle – trustee of Liberal and National Parties’ Canberra-based associated entity Free Enterprise Foundation 

John Abel – NSW Liberal Party member and factional identity within the party
Tony Merhi - property developer and alleged Liberal Party donor
Marie Ficarra - Member of the NSW Legislative Council and, a former parliamentary secretary until 17 April 2014
Peter McConnell - former chief of staff to former NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell

Nick Di Girolamo - Liberal Party fundraiser, managing partner at Colin Biggers & Paisley until February 2007 after which he joined Australian Water Holdings as CEO and shareholder

Removed from Week Two List:

Paul Nicolaou - principal fundraiser for the New South Wales Liberal Party and former chairman of the fundraising associated entity Millennium Forum

Arthur Sinodinos – Federal Liberal Party Senator for New South Wales and Assistant Treasurer (not performing the duties of an assistant treasurer for the duration of the investigations)

Mark Neeham - former State Director of the New South Wales Liberal Party

Simon McInnes - Finance Director of the New South Wales Liberal Party

Almost eight months in months to its term in office and the Abbott Government still not faring well in opinion polls

It's almost something Australian voters expect to see these days, as the trend has been forming since the Abbott Government won power on 7 September 2014 - yet another opinion poll shows support for the Liberal-National Coalition dropping as it continues its punitive class warfare.

The Herald Sun 3 May 2014

NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption questions second member of Abbott Government

Has Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s notoriously bad judgment come home to roost again?

The Sydney Morning Herald 24 February 2014: Tony Abbott with Karen McNamara

Central Coast Express Advocate 27 April 2012:

Ms McNamara lost the preselection battle at a local level last year to Garry Whittaker.

At the weekend, Liberal Party chiefs decided to parachute Ms McNamara in to number one spot.

"All good things come to those who wait," Ms McNamara said.

"I am excited and enthusiastic about being selected.

"It's an honour Tony (federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott) and the party have confidence in my abilities," she said.

The Daily Telegraph 27 May 2012:

So on the Central Coast, Abbott decreed, there would be no more shed men. In fact, there would be no men at all; instead, two "strong women". In Dobell, it was Karen McNamara, who is backed by Hartcher, while in Robertson, it was Lucy Wicks of the Alex Hawke "soft Right" faction.

The Sydney Morning Herald 2 May 2014:

In other dramatic evidence on Friday, federal Liberal MP Karen McNamara was accused of participating in electoral fraud over her involvement in raising funds for Central Coast MP Darren Webber, the state member for Wyong, while the NSW Liberal Party's former chief fundraiser, Paul Nicolaou, was alleged to have taken a secret cut of all the donations he collected.

Transcript of the evidence given to the NSW Independent Commission of Inquiry by Karen McNamara Federal Liberal Member for Dobell on 2 May 2014. Evidence begins at Page 35.

UPDATE

Australian Financial Review 7 May 2014:

Meanwhile Lusted had shared his growing concerns with Hughes about his $5000 donation to Eightbyfive.

“I advised him to get whatever paperwork he had available to him in his business, to get on a plane and to go and talk to Bill ­Heffernan in Canberra,” Hughes told ICAC.

State director Mark Neeham wrote to Lusted on March 14, 2012, noting that all political donations must be disclosed but that, “I confirm that the Party has investigated your claim to the fullest extent permitted by your request that it preserve your anonymity during the course of its investigations. I confirm the Party has not been able to prove or disprove your claim.”

What to do about it was Lusted’s decision. Neeham suggested he talk to a lawyer.

But Lusted had already declared the $5000 and by mid-April the Electoral Funding Authority was investigating. By May 12 Koelma and Carter would be forced to stand aside as Hartcher staffers.

So it seems remarkable, given the questions about what McNamara knew of the hidden payments, that on April 20, 2012 the NSW state executive replaced Whitaker with McNamara as candidate for Dobell. Lusted the whistleblower was ignored.

Abbott would have been aware of the Eightbyfive investigation because it was his representative on the NSW state executive, Bill Heffernan, who reported it.

What were they thinking?

McNamara may be entitled to presumption of innocence but politically her appointment has now become a problem.

In the middle of the bad news coming out of the NSW ICAC corruption inquiry the Australian Prime Minister is selling access to himself for $11k a person

The Guardian on 30 April 2014 reveals that not only is the Prime Minister selling access to his 'august personage' - none of those paying over $11,000 a pop will ever have their names revealed:

The Liberal party federal director, Brian Loughnane, has offered “business observers” a breakfast with the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and access to his ministers’ chiefs of staff for $11,000, at the same time as New South Wales Liberal party members face scrutiny in the Independent Commission Against Corruption over influence peddling.

The $11,000 price tag – including GST – is pitched just below the $12,000 threshold at which political donations have to be disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson continues to make a parody of himself

This was Liberal Party protégée and Australia's human rights commissioner, Tim Wilson, on Twitter:

This was the predicable response from someone on the twitterverse:

Ex-serviceman takes cravenly anonymous letter writer to task

The convention has always been that in the print media, as opposed to the anonymity allowed on digital platforms, one must correctly identify oneself by name and town.

This is John Edwards response on 29 April 2014 to one cravenly anonymous letter writer given space by The Daily Examiner in its letters to the editor section:

Quote of the Week

“A police operation is planned to take place at Bentley to both facilitate a lawful protest and ensure normal operations at the gas exploration site” [NSW Police spokesperson quoted in The Daily Telegraph on 30 April 2014 explaining the intention to use riot police against a peaceful demonstration at Metgasco Limited’s Bentley ‘tight gas’ drilling site]