Advertisement

Obeid stripped of Order of Australia

Disgraced former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid had been stripped of his Order of Australia (OAM) by Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove.

The former NSW minister has been at the centre of several inquiries and has been found corrupt by the ICAC on a number of occasions.

• I am innocent, declares defiant Obeid
• ICAC to front High Court

“It is notified for general information that the Governor General has cancelled the award of the medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division made to Edward Moses Obeid,” a government gazette published on Tuesday said.

The news comes days after Obeid and fellow corrupt former Labor minister Joe Tripodi were stripped of their “honourable” titles by NSW Governor Sir David Hurley.

Liberal MP Gareth Ward, who had written to Mr Hurley asking Obeid be stripped of his Order of Australia medal awarded more than 30 years ago, said the former minister no longer deserved the honour.

“If you’ve been found to be corrupt, you should not be able to hold titles like ‘the honourable’ when clearly you are not and you shouldn’t be part of an Order of Australia which is reserved for our very best,” he told AAP.

Just three people have previously been stripped of the OAM honour.

They include corrupt former Western Australia premier Brian Burke, fraudulent businessman Alan Bond and former  Federal Court justice Marcus Einfeld – all of whom served jail time.

Obeid faces prosecution for alleged misconduct in public office over the extension of leases for family-owned businesses in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

He was served with a court attendance notice in November in relation to ICAC’s Operation Cyrus, which was completed in June.

Obeid’s former ministerial ally, fellow ex-Labor MP Ian Macdonald, is also being prosecuted for misconduct in public office over his handling of a lucrative mining licence at Doyles Creek in the Hunter Valley.

Both are due to face a Sydney court on December 18.

Advertisement
Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter.
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.