Tag Archives: Chris Merritt

The International Commission of Jurists has urged the NSW government to reconsider its refusal to provide an ex gratia payment to former Labor minister Ian Macdonald so he can defend himself against criminal charges arising from decisions he made while in office. The refusal to pay Mr Macdonald’s legal costs ...

It seems ridiculous that a former Minister of the Crown has been refused legal aid in NSW to defend his name after being found “allegedly”corrupt by the STAR CHAMBER known as the NSW ICAC. If they truly wanted the facts to become public, they would allow Ian MacDonald to be ...

ICAC investigator Paul Grainger was the last person on the planet that Andrew Poole wanted to speak to. For Poole, Grainger was the personification of his nemesis — the Independent Commission Against Corruption, whose 2013 “findings” of corruption against the Newcastle businessman must rank alongside the Margaret Cunneen affair as ...

The criminal prosecution of ­former NSW politician Ian Macdonald is being partly organised by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the same ­organisation accused of suppressing exculpatory evidence that favours Mr Macdonald. The involvement of ICAC in organising people to give evidence against Mr Macdonald has raised concerns about a potential ...

The chief of the NSW corruption watchdog was under pressure last night to step down after the ­collapse of relations with the agency’s independent inspector, who found she had abused her power and oversaw unlawful ­conduct. NSW Premier Mike Baird said a damning report produced by the ICAC inspector, former ...

For too long, NSW Premier Mike Baird has avoided taking decisive action to address the rapid decline of his state’s anti-corruption agency. He can no longer avoid his responsibilities. It’s time to act. One way or another, ICAC Commissioner Megan Latham must go. Once that happens, Baird needs to ensure ...

 by: CHRIS MERRITT,  The Australian, November 20, 2015. A  Japanese company that was stripped of assets worth millions of dollars based on a recommendation from the NSW anti-corruption agency has complained that its treatment breaches a ­treaty with Australia.  Nippon Gas says it was denied the right to challenge findings ...

by: Chris Merritt, Legal Affairs Editor,  The Australian, November 13, 2015. Businessman John Kinghorn has just joined an elite club: the innocent victims of the NSW government’s Independent Commission Against Corruption. Like prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC and fellow businessman Andrew Poole, Mr Kinghorn was wrongly accused by ICAC of crime ...

by: Chris Merritt, Legal Affairs Editor,  The Australian, November 13, 2015. For better or worse, Mike Baird has linked his fate to an organisation whose competence and rigour are seriously in doubt. It’s bad politics, bad public policy and bad law. The NSW Premier has chosen the worst possible time ...

 by: CHRIS MERRITT, Legal Affairs, The Australian, November 13, 2015. John Kinghorn is the latest victim of the NSW anti-corruption agency to be exonerated by the courts. But it was not cheap: his legal bill came to $1.3 million.  Most, but not all, of that legal bill will be recouped from ...