The criminality involved in Eddie Obeid's latest conviction exceeded that of the case in which the NSW Labor powerbroker served three years behind bars, a judge has been told.
The 77-year-old, his 52-year-old son Moses and 72-year-old fellow former minister Ian Macdonald were found guilty in July of conspiring for Macdonald to engage in misconduct as a minister between 2007 and 2009.
The men, whose bail was continued after verdict, faced a sentence hearing in the NSW Supreme Court before Justice Elizabeth Fullerton on Wednesday.
Their conspiracy related to the then mining minister's actions in establishing and granting a coal exploration licence over the Obeids' family property at Mount Penny, in the Bylong Valley near Mudgee, for the family's financial benefit.
The misconduct led to a $30 million windfall for the Obeid family.
Prosecutor Sophie Callan SC on Wednesday referred to the five-year jail term imposed on Eddie Obeid by another judge for misconduct in public office.
His parole expires in December after he was released in 2019, after serving the minimum three-year term.
The misconduct involved lobbying a public servant to secure lease renewals for two lucrative Circular Quay businesses in 2008 without revealing his family's financial interests in the outlets.
Ms Callan submitted that both the seriousness and criminality of the conspiracy matter "exceeds in a material way" the type of misconduct for which he was previously sentenced.
But she accepted that Justice Fullerton was in "relatively uncharted territory" for sentencing due to the lack of previous comparable cases.
The hearing continues.
