Last month, the NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley approved a request from the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (ICAC) chief commissioner John Hatziestergos to lawfully obtain, possess, publish and communicate the recordings as part of Operation Rosny. As a result ICAC was granted the ability to use the powers in relation to evidence uncovered during a probe into Toplace developer Jean Nassif, with the regulation also applicable on all investigations until December 31, 2025.
A motion to disallow the extraordinary powers given to the ICAC to access recorded phone calls has failed. But all sides of government have questioned the process in which the ICAC was allowed to access recorded phone calls, with MPs questioning why it wasn’t presented to parliament and arguing it would threaten civil liberties.
Labor’s own Cameron Murphy said it would have been “preferable” for the motion to have been debated before it was approved.
The former NSW Council for Civil Liberties’ president questioned why the scope of the extended powers weren’t just allowed for a single investigation. He was also concerned over the scope of the legislation which would allow unlawfully obtained evidence by ICAC to become lawful.
However Mr Murphy said the parliament needed to “trust” that ICAC required the ”extraordinary powers,” which had to be acquired through an expedited regulation process.
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