Former Charlestown MP Andrew Cornwell calls for ICAC reforms after Gladys Berejiklian resigns

Former Liberal MP Andrew Cornwell spent four years being accused of lying to ICAC before his name was cleared. He wants changes to stop it happening to others.

Former Liberal MP Andrew Cornwell has called for an overhaul of ICAC’s public hearings system, claiming the corruption watchdog wielded too much power to cause ‘’collateral damage’’ to innocent witnesses and allowed “mud to stick’’ even if allegations were never proven.

A day after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was forced to resign after being outed by ICAC as being at the centre of an inquiry, her friend and former colleague criticised the watchdog’s approach in publicly identifying individuals without having to prove any allegations.

Mr Cornwell was an up-and-coming star of the Liberal Party when he was forced to resign in 2014 amid an ICAC inquiry into illegal developer donations during the 2011 state election campaign.

The former Member for Charlestown said it took four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to clear his name after being accused and then cleared of lying to ICAC.

Former Liberal MP Andrew Cornwell with children Grace, 9, and Lachlan, 12. The former Member for Charlestown has called for reforms to ICAC. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

He said the stress to himself and his wife Samantha Brookes — who also spent years accused of lying to ICAC before also being cleared — as well as to their families, as they attempted to find a recourse to rebuild their reputations, was huge.

Last year, he told a parliamentary committee looking into reputational impact on individuals being adversely named in ICAC investigations that if the watchdog was to maintain its “extraordinary powers, then those individuals who appear at an ICAC inquiry and are not found to have acted corruptly or found guilty of criminality should be protected from disproportionate outcomes’’.

“The best way to adequately achieve this without dramatically changing the function of ICAC is to suppress those sections of the report and inquiry transcript that relate to those affected individuals following the release of such a report,’’ he wrote in a submission.

On Saturday, he doubled down on his criticisms, saying ICAC was the equivalent of a detective investigating an allegation and not a judge.

Andrew Cornwell and his wife Samantha Brookes arrive at ICAC during Operation Spicer investigations. It took the couple four years to completely clear their names at huge financial cost. Picture Cameron Richardson

“That initial mud always sticks, and that‘s one of the problems,’’ Mr Cornwell said from his home in Lake Macquarie.

“With the ICAC and how important it is, it does offend the principles of the law. Since the Magna Carta was signed, there‘s been a principle that you’re innocent until proven guilty.

“And unfortunately, the way that the ICAC operates, the onus of proof is reversed. And we saw that yesterday.

“There is a presumption that because there is an inquiry that Gladys has done the wrong thing yet it may well be, in the fullness of time, she hasn‘t.

“And we‘ve lost a premier, the people of Willoughby have lost an MP and someone that seven million people have been able to rely on for the last five years has her reputation destroyed and it’s just heartbreaking.’’

Mr Cornwell said there needed to be a strong review on whether ICAC hearings remained private until reports were finalised, or at least suppression orders in place to protect reputations until allegations were tested.

Gladys Berejiklian resigned on Friday. Picture: Bianca De Marchi – Pool/Getty Images

“It‘s my submission, tragically borne out yesterday, if you’ve got a very high profile individual, where the media interest is going to be so high, [the inquiry] should be conducted in private until they’re absolutely certain that there’s going to be an issue, or conduct it in private until they hand down a report,’’ Mr Cornwell said.

“If they‘re not prepared to make those reforms, then the commissioner already has the power to use suppression orders.

“You can have a public inquiry, people can be there to see it, but you can vary suppression orders so that there is only a certain level of reporting about, [and] there can be areas that can be suppressed.

“And that way, it ensures that those individuals aren’t adversely affected disproportionately by the evidence. And that’s part of it, the proportionality thing.

“Whether there‘s an offence or not is one matter, it’s whether the outcomes are disproportionate, and in ICAC it’s almost always disproportionate.’’

He later added: ‘’There is not an argument that ICAC is not an important organisation.

“I think it‘s a critical part of the infrastructure of the state.

“But if they want to ensure that they maintain that role I think they need to be more judicious in how they exercise the extraordinary powers that are given to them.

“I think yesterday was a misstep by the ICAC. I think the timing of it was poor.

“They have still got about six inquiries going at the moment that are all partially completed. Having one more partially completed until say after Christmas, really shouldn‘t have been a big deal.

Former Liberal MP Andrew Cornwell with children Grace, 9, and Lachlan, 12. The former Member for Charlestown has called for reforms to ICAC. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

“They have got plenty of other good work to get on with.’’

Mr Cornwell said he had reached out to Ms Berejiklian as a friend after her resignation.

He said the former premier would be ‘’mortified’’ after ‘’devoting her life to public service at great personal cost’’.

“She has been married to the people of New South Wales, for a very long career, since 2003,’’ Mr Cornwell said.

“And knowing Gladys, it‘s not driven by ambition, it’s driven by a desire to serve, she really has.

“For her career to appear to have been destroyed in this way is just heartbreaking.

‘’She‘s very private person. She will have been absolutely mortified at what was aired last year, information that really shouldn’t have been aired at the time, in my view.

“She will have been mortified by that. And I just hope she realises that there are many many people out there that still hold in high regard and will always hold her in high regard.’’