Rob Oakeshott referred to NSW corruption watchdog

INDEPENDENT MP Rob Oakeshott's intervention in an Environment Department investigation will be referred to the NSW anti-corruption agency.

Rob Oakeshott, during Question Time yesterday, has intervened in an Environment Department investigation. Picture: Gary Ramage

INDEPENDENT MP Rob Oakeshott's intervention in an Environment Department investigation will be referred to the NSW anti-corruption agency.

The NSW opposition last night confirmed it had called on the state's Independent Commission Against Corruption to investigate the then state MP's meeting with a key witness in the investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency between 2006 and 2008.

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge also raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of the EPA and said he would use next week's sitting of state parliament to find out why the investigation failed to lead to any action and why the clean-up of the contaminated waste appeared not to have progressed.

The Australian revealed yesterday that Mr Oakeshott intervened in the EPA investigation into the alleged dumping of 10,000 tonnes of anti-fouling waste containing the toxic biocide tributyltin, or TBT, by the Birdon Group at Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast.

The then owner of the Birdon Group, Jim Bruce, was a major campaign donor to Mr Oakeshott's 2003 and 2007 state election campaigns. Mr Bruce died in 2008 but the company - a shipbuilding, repair and dredging business - also donated funds to Mr Oakeshott's federal campaign this year. Mr Oakeshott, who shifted to the federal parliament in 2008 and now jointly holds the balance of power, held a meeting with a key witness who had provided specific information to the EPA about the alleged dumping.

The investigation was later dropped by the EPA after it received external legal advice that a prosecution, carrying potential fines of up $1 million for a corporation and a jail term for an individual, would not be successful.

The waste, a by-product of boat cleaning, remains on the banks of the Hastings River, about 9km west of Port Macquarie. Mr Oakeshott has confirmed attending meetings on the matter but has denied any impropriety.

He told ABC radio yesterday he got involved because "there was a 12-month period where the government at a state level did sit on its hands in regard to making decisions regarding prosecutions of the company, or just issuing a clean-up order".

"Once there was a delay in action, I chose to get involved on the community's behalf to push for at least an answer one way or the other - either a prosecution or a clean-up order," he said.

According to the Port Macquarie Hastings Council, the EPA and the company have yet to reach an agreement over cleaning up the waste, which locals fear could contaminate waterways and damage sea life, including the region's oyster beds.

TBT, embedded in paint on boat hulls, was used to stop the build-up of molluscs.

It was banned internationally in 2003, but regulations governing its disposal have been in place for at least 15 years.

Yesterday, Mr Oakeshott said there was no evidence to suggest he had had any impact on the legal decision taken by the EPA to drop the case.

"If people have that allegation, then the front page of a newspaper is not where you make it five years after the events occurred," he said.

"You would do it through a formal process, and that hasn't happened; and that should answer the story for the local community.

"I pushed all the various parties involved to draw some conclusions, but the recent problems have been that EPA has knocked back . . . a decision by the local council to store the waste at the local tip, so other decisions have to be explored."

Responding to the ICAC referral, Mr Oakeshott said: "I have acted appropriately in this matter in an effort to get a community-wide outcome on an industry-wide problem.

"I welcome any process that will help to bring a resolution to this matter and a good environmental and economic outcome for the community. This has been my goal all along."

Former Birdon Group director Russel Byrnes has confirmed he attended a meeting with Mr Oakeshott, the key witness from the EPA investigation and representatives of Birdon at NSW's Parliament House to "broker a peace deal".

He said that after the meeting, the witness had agreed not to agitate further about the matter.

Yesterday, the witness declined to be identified publicly when contacted by The Australian, but confirmed the meeting and said he had gained the impression it was in his interest not to push the issue.

He declined to release the statement he gave to the EPA, but confirmed he had given evidence that implicated the late Jim Bruce in dumping tonnes of the waste.

The witness said he would be prepared to detail the meetings to any appropriate authority.

The witness and Mr Byrnes said they wanted the waste cleaned up, were stunned the material was still where it had been first detected and that there had been no prosecution.

Birdon Group has denied acting inappropriately in relation to the dumping.

NSW opposition climate change and environmental sustainability spokeswoman Catherine Cusack last night described the contamination as "an environmental emergency requiring immediate action".

She said ICAC should investigate the role played by Mr Oakeshott.

Mr Shoebridge said yesterday there were too many unanswered questions relating to the contamination and why nothing had been done about it.

"The real issues here are the extent of the contamination, what's going to be done about it and why no one has been held to account," he said.

"The people of NSW need to know why, but the information is not forthcoming. The people of NSW have a right to know why the prosecution was never run and what on earth the EPA is doing on our behalf.

"Of particular concern are the reports about the amount of TBT still on the site and in the river.

"The potential damage to the fishing and tourism industries of Port Macquarie and Hastings area demands immediate answers and outcomes.

"The local community are concerned about the potential impact on their families. They deserve to know the full story."