A former NSW Labor minister who used his position to corruptly benefit an ex-union leader over a coal mine potentially worth $9.1 billion in the Hunter Valley has received a second jail sentence,” according to reports.
Ian Michael Macdonald, 74, was found guilty in a judge-alone retrial over two charges of misconduct in public office. The former resources minister granted licences to Doyles Creek Mining, chaired by former union boss John Maitland, without a competitive tender in 2008.
Justice Hament Dhanji sentenced Macdonald to two concurrent sentences, stating that as a minister and cabinet member, Macdonald “breached the significant trust imposed on him.” The judge added, “The real harm done by the offending is the damage to the institution of government and the concomitant erosion of public trust.”
Macdonald had an obligation to ensure resources were used in the best interests of the people of NSW, and Maitland’s proposal did not benefit the state, Dhanji said.
Macdonald’s sentences of eight years, and six years and six months relating to the two charges, have respective non-parole periods of five years and six months, and four years and six months
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