Former NSW Minister Eddie Obeid sentenced to five years in prison

FORMER NSW Labor Minister Eddie Obeid will appeal a five year jail term. But Premier Mike Baird intends to deliver the one-time pollie another blow.

Former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid will spend at least three years in jail. Picture: AAP/Dan Himbrechts

HE WAS once one of the most powerful men in the NSW Government, holding senior ministerial positions and having vast amounts of influence over large swathes of the state Labor Party.

But today former politician Eddie Obeid was sent to jail for a minimum of three years for misconduct. He has been denied bail with his jail term beginning immediately meaning he will spend Christmas behind bars.

Obeid’s lawyer has already launched an appeal.

Premier Mike Baird savaged the former minister, saying his “crimes are the most serious instance of official corruption we have seen in our lifetimes”.

The Government announced they would look to amend the law to prevent Obeid from accessing his superannuation and attempt to claw back $280,000 in legal fees.

But Obeid’s son-in-law Majid Saab said the prison sentence was “absolutely appalling”. The former Mineral Minister’s wife Judith wiped away tears as her once high-flying husband was led into the cells below the Darlinghurst courthouse.

Obeid was a member of the NSW Legislative Council for 20 years until 2011.

At the height of his power, he helped Morris Iemma, Nathan Rees and Kristina Keneally to become state premiers, also playing a major role in their downfalls.

In June, a jury found Obeid guilty of lobbying a senior public servant about lucrative retail leases at the Sydney tourist hub of Circular Quay without revealing his family’s stake in the outlets.

The factional powerbroker had once boasted there was a “1 per cent chance” he would be charged over the Circular Quay dealings, which were hidden through a series of trusts.

The 73-year-old has a “constellation” of medical issues and suffered a stroke in August. His barrister Brad Hughes SC said he had as little as three years to live and should not be incarcerated as “any time taken out away from his family is more precious because it is limited”.

But Crown Prosecutor Peter Neil SC said Obeid was “far from death’s door”.

Former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid arrives at the NSW Supreme Court in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

On Thursday morning, Justice Robert Beech-Jones sentenced him to five years in prison with a minimum of three years without parole.

During his sentencing Justice Beech-Jones said it was “inconceivable” that Obeid did not know he could not use his position as an MP for the financial benefit of his family, given his time in parliament.

The jury had rejected the possibility Obeid was even partly motivated to speak to the public servant because of a general concern about the mistreatment of tenants, and those at Circular Quay.

Justice Beech-Jones referred to the importance of general deterrence in sentencing, noting the “onerous” duty imposed on public officials. “The more senior the position, the greater the level of public trust.” Parliamentarians cannot use their position to try to help their family or associates in any form, the judge said.

“He intentionally abused the public trust proposed in him as a member of the legislative council of NSW.”

During the trial, the jury heard Obeid had lobbied NSW Maritime Authority deputy chief executive Steve Dunn between August and November 2007 in relation to the cafe leases, under the guise that he was acting on behalf of constituents, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Judith Obeid, (centre), the wife of former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid leaves the NSW Supreme Court in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Picture: AAP.

At his sentence hearing earlier in December, the Crown submitted that fulltime custody was the only appropriate penalty.

But his lawyer argued against a prison term, saying other options such as a suspended term were appropriate, contending that the offending was at the bottom end of the scale of objective seriousness.

As soon as the sentence was imposed, Obeid’s new lawyer Guy Reynolds SC applied for bail pending the hearing of an appeal of his client’s conviction.

Mr Reynolds also indicated Obeid would challenge the sentence.

He cited 12 factors, including Obeid’s health, that would amount to special or exceptional circumstances to allow bail to be granted.

He also submitted 10 proposed grounds of appeal, including that the jury’s verdict was unreasonable and could not be supported by the evidence.

It is likely any appeal would be heard sometime between March and May next year.

He refused bail, saying the proposed grounds were not “any higher” than reasonably arguable.

The NSW Government on Thursday said they would amend the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971 to ensure that Obeid would lose his pension entitlements.

Currently, MPs convicted of a serious offence only lose their parliamentary pension if they are still in office when charged, and are later convicted.

Premier Baird announced the anomaly in the Act would be rectified, following Obeid's sentencing.

“The crimes of Eddie Obeid and his cronies are the most serious instance of official corruption we have seen in our lifetimes,” Mr Baird said.

“Regardless of political affiliation, any MP who commits a serious offence while in office should face the consequences, and should not be shielded simply because they resign before being charged.

“We will work cooperatively with the Opposition and crossbench MPs over the summer recess to bring forward amendments that repair this glaring anomaly, and we will make sure they capture Obeid and any others who find themselves in his situation.”

Mr Baird also said that once Obeid’s avenues for appeal were over, the Government would look to recover taxpayer-funded legal assistance that has been provided to him in this matter as a former minister — an amount in excess of $280,000.

— with AAP.