Under-fire minister John Sidoti returns $3500 bottle of Moutai

The NSW minister set to face an ICAC probe has done what Barry O’Farrell could have done to save his career.

John Sidoti has returned a $3500 bottle of Chinese Moutai alcohol. Picture: AAP

The NSW minister who recently stood down pending an ICAC investigation, John Sidoti, has done what former premier Barry O’Farrell could have done to save his career — given the donation of a $3000 bottle of alcohol back to the state.

Documents tabled in the upper house show that Mr Sidoti received a $3500 bottle of Chinese Moutai alcohol from the Chinese company and gave it to the state of NSW.

Under state government requirements, if a gift to ministers is worth more than $500, the minister must either pay the difference above $500 or donate the bottle to the state.

Barry O’Farrell famously resigned as premier in 2014 after he misled ICAC having failed to declare a $3000 bottle of Grange he received from businessman Nick Di Girolamo, who at the time was lobbying the former premier for a $1 billion water contract with the government.

Mr Sidoti’s gift was received in May 2018, according to the documents, after the Opposition moved in the upper house after Mr Sidoti stood aside for all documents in relation to this declarations.

One briefing note from June 2018 says: “Parliamentary Secretary John Sidoti has disclosed to the Secretary receipt of a gift valued over $500 (one bottle of Moutai) which he received from the Moutai Group on 30 May 2018.

“Mr Sidoti’s disclosure notes he is unsure of the value but has estimated the value to be $1000. Mr Sidoti has elected to hand the gift to the state.”

But later advice valued the gift at $3500.

In November 2018, Mr Sidoti, who was then a Parliamentary Secretary, declared: “I wish to surrender this gift to the state and relinquish any future claims to ownership.”

Mr Sidoti told The Australian on Friday: “I was invited to the China Moutai event as an MP on 30 May 2018. I was not lobbied for anything. I was presented a bottle of Moutai liqueur as a gift, which I disclosed and handed over to the state as it was over $500 in value. This is a requirement of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.”

The Australian understands several public figures and politicians were given similar gifts at the function, which was held at Town Hall.

Mr Sidoti has stood aside from cabinet pending an ICAC preliminary investigation into his purchase of property assets near two proposed metro stations.