Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I think there are some very pertinent facts about that past relationship that deserve to be placed on the record. In 2008, Doyles Creek Mining was awarded an exploration licence by the then Minister for Mineral Resources in New South Wales, Ian Macdonald. The licence was awarded to former CFMEU national president John Maitland, who is now serving six years in prison. Ian Macdonald had granted the coal exploration licence without opening it to competitive tender.

On 15 November 2009, the then Premier, Nathan Rees, sacked Ian Macdonald from cabinet. A few months before that sacking, on 20 July 2009, Mr Andrew Clennell wrote in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald:

… Minister … Macdonald … has been accused of doing more favours for mates after he approved a coal mining exploration licence for a mine run by a former union boss …

Mr Clennell also said in that article:

Craig Chapman, a community representative at the site of the proposed mine, Jerrys Plain, said it was clear the mine had been treated differently to others and he was sceptical of Mr Macdonald and Mr Maitland's claims that the mine was simply for "training" mine workers.

Five months after that article was written, on 8 December 2009, Ms Kristina Keneally, after being hand-picked by the corrupt trio—Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Ian Macdonald—to be the Premier, immediately promoted Ian Macdonald back into the cabinet, where he continued to engage in corrupt conduct. Ian Macdonald is now serving 10 years in jail for criminal misconduct and has been found corrupt by the New South Wales ICAC. In sentencing, Justice Adamson said that the people of New South Wales were betrayed by Mr Macdonald's conduct.

The question for Ms Keneally is: what questions did she ask about the allegations before reappointing Mr Macdonald to cabinet? They were made five months before she did. She has never answered what due diligence she did before appointing someone who was under allegations of corrupt conduct back to be in charge of the New South Wales government resources sector. (Time expired)