ICAC trial
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WHEN the then lord mayor of Sydney, Frank Sartor, was trying to make up his mind about entering state politics, Eddie Obeid took him for coffee.

Mr Sartor confided that playing on his mind was his lack of financial security.

”What do you want to retire on?” inquired Mr Obeid, the NSW Labor faction leader.

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Uncomfortable … Frank Sartor leaving the inquiry. Photo: Kate Geraghty

Mr Sartor replied that $1 million in his super account ”would be nice”.

”I think I can help you with that,” Mr Obeid said.

Mr Sartor told the Independent Commission Against Corruption he was ”very uncomfortable” at this offer and declined on the basis that he didn’t want to come into Parliament feeling as though Mr Obeid ”owned” him.

Also expressing her discomfort at the actions of Mr Obeid and his son Moses was the latter’s former next door neighbour Nicki Fitzhenry.

She told ICAC that the Obeid and Fitzhenry families were good friends and had the keys to each other’s houses. On one occasion, after doing the morning school run, Mrs Fitzhenry came home to find Eddie and Moses Obeid, another Labor minister and a senior police officer whose first name was Kim, holding a confidential meeting at her kitchen table.

Mrs Fitzhenry made herself scarce after Moses Obeid told her they were using her house to make sure no one would observe the meeting.

The inquiry also heard that Moses and Eddie Obeid lobbied Mr Sartor over an approach that Mr Sartor, then the energy minister, might make to Energy Australia on Moses Obeid’s behalf.

This suggestion was attacked with some relish by Eddie Obeid’s barrister Stuart Littlemore, QC, who suggested Mr Sartor had never even made ”a scratch of a pen in a diary” to record this startling event. He also suggested the pair were political enemies, which meant Mr Obeid would hardly be seeking such a thing.

But Mr Sartor corrected him, saying the meeting pre-dated his time as planning minister. The former premiers Morris Iemma and Nathan Rees recalled Eddie Obeid’s insistence that Mr Sartor be dumped as planning minister and Ian Macdonald installed in his place.

”Mr Macdonald would work with stakeholders better,” Mr Iemma recalled Mr Obeid saying.

Mr Rees said that when he was premier, Mr Obeid claimed Mr Macdonald would be much better at getting ”the state and the city moving again”, Mr Rees said.

”We need to demonstrate that the state is open for business,” he recalled Mr Obeid saying.

It has previously been revealed at ICAC that Mr Obeid’s family were property developers with multimillion-dollar projects at Elizabeth Bay and Ryde in Sydney and Lake Cathie near Port Macquarie.

Some of these developments were done in concert with the Triulcio brothers, Rocco and Rosario, who, along with the Obeids bought key properties at Bylong, over which Mr Macdonald later granted a mining licence.

The commission is examining the circumstances that allowed Mr Obeid and his family to make $100 million from Mr Macdonald’s decisions.

Mr Rees said Mr Macdonald failed to tell cabinet about his decision to issue coal leases to a select list of junior miners – a decision that cost the state tens of millions of dollars, according to counsel assisting the inquiry, Geoffrey Watson, SC.

Mr Rees also told of his downfall at the hands of Mr Obeid and fellow Right factional

leader Joe Tripodi. Mr Rees said the coup against him was sparked by his sacking of Mr Tripodi and Mr Macdonald from the ministry.

The former premier said Mr Macdonald had sprung all too-frequent surprises. It didn’t help that Mr Macdonald had been dubbed ”Sir Lunchalot” by the media after details concerning a string of expenses scandals emerged.

”He was appointing people to trade posts without reference to myself,” Mr Rees said of Mr Macdonald.

Anticipating retaliation at the pair’s demotion, Mr Rees said: ”I thought they would come at me before the end of the (parliamentary) session.”

And did they? ”Every which way!” he replied with some gusto.

Mr Rees was deposed in December, 2009. He is now the opposition spokesman on police.

The inquiry continues today.