Drummoyne MP John Sidoti has rejected the Premier's call to resign, vowing to fight findings by the corruption watchdog that he engaged in serious corrupt conduct by using his position to influence local councillors to benefit his family’s property interests.
New South Wales' Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found Mr Sidoti improperly used his position to influence the redevelopment of the Five Dock town centre.
The ICAC report said Mr Sidoti wanted planning controls relaxed so that three properties his family owned could benefit from development potential.
In a statement this evening, the former sports minister rejected the findings, taking a swipe at the process followed by the ICAC.
"ICAC took complaints from a non-government majority upper house committee, they interviewed disgruntled Liberal Party members and interrogated my family, to arrive at the conclusion that, as the elected local member, I engaged with my local Liberal councillors having robust communications for the sake of the community [was] corrupt.
"Three years ago, I was referred to [the] ICAC with the express allegation that I had special knowledge about Metro rail station locations at Five Dock and Rouse Hill, not one question was put to me."
Mr Sidoti also said he would continue to "clear his name" by lodging an application in the Supreme Court.
Earlier today, Premier Dominic Perrottet said there was no place for corruption in parliament and called for Mr Sidoti's resignation.
"I have contacted Mr Sidoti to inform him that I believe he should resign from the parliament," Mr Perrottet said in a statement.
"Should Mr Sidoti not resign, the New South Wales government will move a motion to have him suspended.
"The New South Wales government has also sought legal advice in relation to this matter."
In an interview with Nine News, Mr Sidoti responded to the Premier by saying he wasn't going anywhere.
"I'm not going to do what those prior to me did and just go and curl up in a corner," he said.
"There's no way, absolutely no way. I've worked too hard. And I know what I've done. And what I haven't done.
"I'm going to fight this. I'm going to fight this all the way. I'm not going anywhere."
In 2013, Canada Bay Council was exploring ways to revitalise the town centre of Five Dock.
Mr Sidoti, who owns a 620-square-metre shopfront in the area that was not disclosed until 2017, pushed to lift height restrictions so that a third storey could be added, the ICAC found.
"This position suited his family's property interests but was inconsistent with the desire of the Five Dock Chamber of Commerce," the ICAC noted in its report.
Over the next two years to 2015, Mr Sidoti's family purchased the property next door and behind it.
His attention then turned to rezoning the Waterview block his properties occupied, the ICAC said, engaging in a "protracted course of conduct" that would influence how Liberal councillors Helen McCaffrey, Mirjana Cestar and Tanveer Ahmed voted.
He did this by persistently calling and emailing councillors, meeting with them before planning matters, and advocating for outcomes that would stand to benefit his family's property interests.
Mr Sidoti would berate councillors who didn't attend his meetings, the ICAC said, and threatened their position as councillors if they didn't vote accordingly.
"The outcomes that Mr Sidoti wanted those councillors to deliver were entirely directed to his private interest in increasing the development potential of his family's growing number of properties in and around the town centre," the ICAC said in its report.
"Those outcomes were also inconsistent with what had been determined by the council — informed by the recommendations of its staff and the independent expert planning consultants engaged by (Canada Bay Council) following extensive community consultation — to be in the public interest."
The ICAC has sought the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on whether any prosecution should be commenced.
The DPP determines whether any criminal charges can be laid, and conducts all prosecutions.
Mr Sidoti stood aside as New South Wales sports minister in September 2019 after ICAC began investigating his property investments.
In March last year he announced he would "remove himself from the Liberal Party room" while the investigation was underway and join the crossbench.
He has denied any wrongdoing throughout, maintaining he was representing the views of constituents.
The ICAC said it had made 15 recommendations to prevent similar corruption in the future.
