The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) ruled in favour of lifting a suppression order earlier this week, the effect of which showed controversial email exchanges between Paul Nicolaou and Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s chief-of-staff Peta Credlin.
The email exchange, dating back to 2011, shows Mr Nicolaou referring Ms Credlin to Brickworks, a company which gave the New South Wales Liberal Party hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable donations. In the same email Nicolaou says (in reference to its objection of the controversial carbon tax) that the company was “a very good supporter of the [Liberal] Party”.
The emails also show Nicolaou telling Credlin that Brickworks’ managing director, Lindsay Partridge, would help campaign against the contentious tax.
Ms Credlin reportedly suggested that Brickworks’ position could be used during parliamentary question time, after Partridge urged the then Opposition
Leader Tony Abbott to continue fighting the tax.
Two months later Mr Abbott visited a Brickworks factory, praising it for its world class facilities.
ICAC approached parliamentary Speaker Bronwyn Bishop regarding the release of the documents, and whether they would constitute a breach of parliamentary privilege – to which the speaker affirmed that no privilege had been claimed.
Ms Credlin did not oppose the documents’ release.
In other developments, federal Senator Arthur Sinodinos also fronted the tribunal this week.
Source: ABC News