There is now no doubt that former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell relied upon a flawed ICAC report when his government destroyed private property worth several hundred million dollars. That wrong needs to be righted and the statement in parliament this week by fellow Liberal Peter Phelps will help. It has ...
Read More »ICAC withheld evidence: Phelps
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has been accused in state parliament of withholding exculpatory evidence that undermined the core of its corruption finding against jailed former Labor minister Ian Macdonald. The Liberal Party’s Peter Phelps told the state’s upper house this week that key parts of the exculpatory material ...
Read More »The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps – Speech in Parliament (13/02/2018)
The following speech was given The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps in the Legislative Council of Parliament on 13 February 2018. The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS (17:04): I am not a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption [ICAC], but I commend its work and I commend the people ...
Read More »Rogue body persecutes innocents via trial by media
Our common law system with all its appeals, formalities and procedures, checks and balances, hard-won evidentiary rules developed for the protection of individual liberty, may be slow and even arcane. But the hierarchy of the courts, and the many sets of eyes that review every allegation at every point, ensure ...
Read More »NSW ICAC ‘withheld evidence’ supporting target
There are fresh accusations NSW’s Independent Commission Against Corruption held back evidence at a public hearing that would have undermined its narrative. The latest claims were raised by Newcastle businessman Andrew Poole, whose lawyers say ICAC seized documents that supported Mr Poole’s evidence but never made them public. His lawyers ...
Read More »Former NSW police minister Mike Gallacher in disbelief over ICAC findings
Former NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher said he “no longer has faith in our justice system” after ICAC ignored his evidence and found he had intended to evade electoral laws to funnel illegal property developer donations into the Liberal Party. In an exclusive interview with The Australian, Mr Gallacher said ...
Read More »ICAC denies duty to reveal exculpatory material
NSW’s anti-corruption agency believes it is not required to disclose material that tends to exonerate those who are facing corruption inquiries. The Independent Commission Against Corruption believes disclosing exculpatory material is impractical because it would require the agency to reveal all of the information it assembles about people under investigation. ...
Read More »Private property under attack as Baird ignores rule of law
by Chris Merritt The Australian. NSW Premier Mike Baird. The planned closure of the greyhound industry will destroy part of the NSW economy estimated to be worth $335m Mike Baird’s state government likes to portray itself as a friend of business. But if it is truly committed to strengthening the ...
Read More »ICAC Inspector Levine- Call to ditch NSW ICAC ‘theatre’ hearings
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption would be forced to correct its mistakes and abandon the “flamboyance and theatre” of public hearings under proposals being considered by the state government. The changes would subject the commission to an “exoneration protocol” aimed at forcing it to expunge adverse findings against people ...
Read More »‘Don’t act like a banana republic’: US business warns Australia
A leading US business lobby group has warned the federal government that Australia risks being wrongly perceived as “a banana republic” because of an ICAC-driven expropriation of American assets. This assessment, by the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, has been triggered by the NSW government’s refusal to compensate US ...
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