Former Liberal Secretary of State John Sidoti has been candid about a fiery phone conversation he had with NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet after the corruption watchdog found he was guilty of serious misconduct.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigated the ex-sports minister’s lobbying of councilors to repurpose blocks in Sydney’s outback Five Dock and found that Mr Sidioti was guilty of serious corrupt conduct ‘between late 2013 and February 2017’.
During an interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Thursday, the MP for Drummoyne promised to clear his name and denied any wrongdoing – recalling his ‘rude’ response when Perrottet demanded his resignation on Wednesday afternoon.
“It was two words and I can’t say them in front of the camera,” he said.
John Sidoti (pictured left of former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian) has vowed to fight to clear his name
When Fordham probed further into what exactly he was saying, Mr. Sidoti replied, ‘The second word may have started with F.
“I can’t remember exactly, but they were words that don’t normally appear in my vocabulary.”
A defiant Mr Sidoti said bluntly ‘no’ when asked if he would resign from parliament, adding that he would ‘absolutely’ fight the ICIC finding against him.
It comes after Mr Perrottet publicly called for Mr Sidoti’s resignation.
“I have contacted Mr Sidoti to let him know that I think he should resign from parliament,” the prime minister said in a statement on Wednesday.
“If Mr Sidoti does not resign, the NSW government will table a motion to suspend him.
‘The NSW government has also obtained legal advice about this.
‘There is no room for corruption in the NSW Parliament.’
John Sidoti has rejected Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet’s calls for him to resign
Labor leader Chris Minns said the opposition would support the motion to suspend Sidoti if he does not resign.
Sidoti has vowed to challenge ICAC’s findings against him in the Supreme Court.
The senior MP insists he would do nothing else if he had his time as MP again.
“I have always represented my constituents, my stakeholders, my community. But if you’re afraid to speak your mind and speak the truth in public, not behind the scenes but in public, you wouldn’t do anything as an MP,” he told Fordham.
“You would be voiceless.”
Senior MP John Sidoti (pictured) broke his silence on Thursday to deny any wrongdoing
ICAC found that Sidoti used his position as MP to pressure and threaten Canada Bay councilors to repurpose land in favor of his family’s property interests.
Mr Sidoti says his business interests in Five Dock, where his family owned an entertainment venue, were well known and it would be difficult to find anyone in the area who was unaware of them.
“So the idea that they somehow didn’t know or that they lost their memory is just unacceptable,” he said.
“There is no one who did not know my family property there.”
“You say why I would be committed to the Five Dock areas and that is that I was and always have been passionate about the areas. I’ve lived there all my life.’
Mr. Sidoti is convinced that he will win the battle to clear his name.
“I know in my heart what I’ve done and what I haven’t done, the reality is I’m innocent,” he said.
“I’m going to fight this. It’s on principle. I don’t want to fight. It’s three years of misery I’ve had to endure.’
“I’ve done everything I can to represent my community wholeheartedly for the past eleven years.”
ICAC also determined ‘that consideration should be given to seeking advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding the prosecution of Mr. Sidoti for the offense of misconduct in public office’.
The DPP determines whether criminal charges can be filed and carries out all prosecutions.
Operation Witney was led by Chief Commissioner Peter Hall and tabled in the NSW Parliament on Wednesday.
It investigated whether Mr Sidoti abused his position to try to improperly influence liberal councilors from the City of Canada Bay Council (CCBC) to favor his family’s property interests.
It turned out that he indulged in “a long-term policy” and used his position as MP for Drummoyne “to try” to improperly influence councilors Helen McCaffrey, Mirjana Cestar and Tanveer Ahmed.
The commission found that Mr Sidoti pressured and threatened councilors to try to interfere in the impartial exercise of their official functions, in order to further the interests of his family property.
Despite insisting that he was acting in the best interests of his constituents, “the results he wanted those councilors to produce were entirely focused on his private interest in increasing the development potential of his family’s growing number of properties in and around the city center.” of Five Dock,” the report said.
ICAC found that the results it lobbied for were also inconsistent with what had been established by the CCBC, which was informed by the recommendations of city officials and independent expert planning consultants “after extensive community consultation to be in the public interest.”
Sidoti resigned from the NSW government in March 2021 before public hearings for the ICAC investigation began
ICAC found he had violated public trust by “declaring that he acted at all times in the best interests of his constituents and the local community.”
Sidoti has also failed to declare his interest in family property from his appointment to parliament in March 2011 until April 4, 2017, in violation of his obligations under the Members’ Code of Conduct and the Ministerial Code.
ICAC made 15 recommendations for corruption prevention to improve disclosure of pecuniary and private interests, and the management and declaration of conflicts of interest for MPs and ‘to address councilors’ governance obligations, particularly with regard to lobbying, conflicts of interest and field of spatial planning’ .
Mr Sidoti stood down as Sports Minister in 2019 after the ICAC began the investigation, and later resigned from the Berejiklian government cabinet in March 2021, shortly before the public hearings began.
He denied any wrongdoing during the ICAC investigation.