Former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald and former union boss John Maitland will not be retried on corruption charges until 2022 - three years after an appeal court quashed their convictions.
Macdonald, a former NSW Labor powerbroker, and Maitland, a 74-year-old former national secretary of the powerful CFMEU, are accused of being involved in the awarding of a mining licence in 2008 to a company chaired by Maitland.
Both were convicted and jailed in 2017 but the Court of Criminal Appeal in 2019 found the jury was not properly directed and ordered a retrial.
"This year is pretty much full with custody cases," Supreme Court Justice Robert Allan Hulme said on Monday.
The court was told Maitland may apply later this year to be tried separately or without a jury.
The matter will return to court on May 28 for further directions.
Australian Associated Press
