Lawyer offered $1,000 to push 'grubby rumour' about NSW minister, ICAC hears

Why This Matters

• The evidence goes to whether a lawyer for a fugitive developer sought to plant a damaging story about a minister, raising questions about how political reputations can be targeted.
• The central conflict — Maheswaran calling the offer "not a serious" one while a contemporaneous message said "not joking" — bears directly on his credibility.
• The hearing highlights ICAC's role in examining attempts to use the media to influence or attack public officials.

Background

ICAC is New South Wales' independent anti-corruption commission, which investigates corruption in the state's public sector. Public hearings such as this one are part of its broader inquiries into whether conduct could undermine public confidence in government. The specific scope of this inquiry has not been detailed in the reporting.

Key Perspectives

Sharangan Maheswaran: Maintains the $1,000 offer to lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood was "not a serious offer" and has disputed the significance of the approach. Contemporaneous message: A message shown to the commission has Maheswaran writing he was "not joking", which appears to undercut his characterisation of the approach. The commission: Faces the task of weighing the oral evidence against the written record in determining what actually occurred.

What to Watch

• Whether any further evidence is produced about who, if anyone, was expected to write the story and whether it was ever published.
• Any testimony from Jeremy Greenwood, the lobbyist who received the approach.
• ICAC's findings on whether the offer represented an attempt to improperly influence media coverage of a minister.