Австралиялық саяхатшының сыбайласқандық ісі

Australian politician

Gordon Richard Nuttall (born 13 June 1953) is an Australian former politician who represented Sandgate in the Queensland Parliament from 1992 to 2006. He was a member of the Labor Party and served as a minister in the Beattie Ministry from 2001 to 2005. In 2009 he was found guilty of corruptly receiving secret commissions during his time in office and jailed for seven years. In 2010, he was found guilty of five charges of official corruption and five charges of perjury and, ultimately, jailed for an additional seven years, the longest jail term for corruption handed to a Commonwealth politician. He was released on parole in July 2015.

On 16 July 2009, the CMC recommended 10 new charges relating to alleged secret cash payments to Nuttall totalling $152,700 from businessman Brendan McKennariey, between December 2001 and April 2006, regarding a government funded project subcontracted to McKennariey. Nuttall was also charged with five counts of perjury relating to his evidence at a CMC closed hearing. On 11 October 2010, in the Brisbane District Court, Nuttall pleaded not guilty to five charges of official corruption, five alternate charges of receiving secret commissions and five counts of perjury. On 12 October 2010, McKennariey gave evidence for the Crown. On 27 October 2010, a jury found Nuttall guilty of five charges of official corruption and five charges of perjury. On 16 December 2010, he was sentenced to a further five years imprisonment. On 17 January 2011, the Queensland Government announced it would appeal the "inadequacy" of the sentence. The appeal was heard in the Queensland Court of Appeal on 10 May 2011. On 7 June 2011, the appeal was upheld and an extra two years jail was handed down, extending his non parole period to July 2015. On 12 May 2011, Nuttall was brought before the bar of parliament to answer 41 charges of contempt of parliament for non disclosure, as a member of parliament, of pecuniary interests totalling $368,866.55. Parliament found him to have been contemptuous and fined him $82,000.

On 24 September 2009, the CMC commenced actions in the Supreme Court of Queensland under Queensland's Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002 to seize a property owned by Nuttall at Woodgate, near Bundaberg, having already initiated action to seize another property at Sandgate. On 12 July 2010, the Supreme Court ordered Nuttall to repay $454,000 deemed to be "proceeds of crime" to the state of Queensland and also ordered him to pay the Government's legal costs of $42,000. The legal principle for the property seizure is known colloquially as the proceeds of crime. As at July 2016 the Queensland government launched proceedings to reclaim Nutall's pension scheme account.