Head of Gladys Berejiklian ICAC probe pockets $1.1 million as inquiry findings remain under wraps

The commissioner of an ICAC inquiry investigating former Premier Gladys Berejiklian has taken home a hefty pay packet — prompting questions of how long until its findings are handed down.

The commissioner presiding over a corruption probe into former Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been paid more than $1.1 million for her three years of work on the chronically-delayed Operation Keppel.

The staggering amount paid to Ruth McColl SC has raised fresh questions about why the Independent Commission Against Corruption is still yet to hand down its report into Ms Berejiklian and her former lover Daryl Maguire.

The Commission has defended its work on the matter, including that of the commissioner, putting the delay down to the sheer complexity of the investigation, both factually and legally.

The $1.1 million figure also does not include the salary paid to Counsel Assisting Scott Robertson or other ICAC staff involved in the lengthy inquiry.

Ms McColl was appointed as a part-time Assistant Commissioner by the ICAC on July 15 2020 and tasked with presiding over the inquiry into Mr Maguire.

Former NSW Supreme Court judge Ruth McColl. Picture: John Feder

The ICAC put Ms McColl in charge due to a “potential conflict of interest,” the commission said at the time.

From then until October 31 2022, Ms McColl was earning the same daily rate as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court.

Ms McColl “was involved in the preparation for and conduct of the two Operation Keppel public inquiries, which were held over 30 days between September 2020 and November 2021 … and worked on preparing the Commission’s report for that operation,” an ICAC spokeswoman said.

While an assistant commissioner, Ms McColl earned $947,391, for two years’ work.

“She received $399,211.31 in 2020-21, $352,070 in 2021-22 and $196,110 in 2022-23,” the spokeswoman said.

Former Premier Gladys Berejiklian arriving at the ICAC Inquiry 2021. Picture: Tim Hunter

Ms McColl was then appointed as a consultant to the ICAC, and has so-far earned $232,000.

An ICAC spokeswoman confirmed Ms McColl’s pay, saying the commissioner “has worked diligently on this complex investigation for three years, and the Commission appreciates her valuable contribution to its work”.

Ms McColl’s work at the ICAC has been solely devoted to the inquiry into Mr Maguire and, later, Ms Berejiklian, the spokeswoman confirmed.

Despite earning more than $1.1 million for this work, Ms McColl is yet to deliver a report.

The report is due to be handed down by the end of this month.

The delay has incensed Coalition MPs, some of whom believe the report may have changed the outcome of the state election earlier this year.

“Given the unprecedented delay in this inquiry, I think taxpayers are entitled to ask whether they’ve got value for money out of this process,” a senior Coalition source told The Daily Telegraph.

In January, the ICAC defended the delay by saying the report “concerns complex matters of law and fact”.

The two public inquiries created “over 2,800 pages of transcript, 516 exhibits comprising approximately 10,600 pages and 957 pages of submissions (the last of which were received on 18 October 2022),” the ICAC said in January.

Last week, Premier Chris Minns conceded on 2GB radio that ICAC had taken “too long” to deliver its report.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey last week said the government was “committed towards introducing an independent funding model for the ICAC” which may enable them to deliver faster reports.