Kelly must wait after ICAC probe ends

SYDNEY (AAP) - Former NSW lands minister Tony Kelly must wait to learn if he has been cleared of corruption allegations after an 11-day probe into a multimillion-dollar government property deal.
Mr Kelly appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to answer allegations he backdated a letter knowing that it would later be used to misrepresent a $12.2 million government deal to buy Currawong, a former union-owned retreat at Pittwater in Sydney's north.
The deal was concluded on March 15, when the state government was in caretaker mode, two weeks before the state election. Guidelines forbid major transactions being carried out in the caretaker period.
ICAC's inquiry, which ended on Monday, also investigated whether senior bureaucrat Warwick Watkins bought the property without obtaining permission from the then premier Kristina Keneally.
Mr Watkins previously told the inquiry that he had purchased Currawong in his former role as chief executive of the Land and Property Management Authority (LPMA) after misunderstanding instructions from Ms Keneally.
The inquiry was shown a letter in which Ms Keneally gave instructions to begin negotiations with a view to concluding a deal.
Mr Watkins said he'd understood it gave him permission to finalise the transaction.
He admitted using the letter backdated by Mr Kelly to justify the transaction during an internal inquiry carried out by the government's Internal Audit Bureau, which was launched at the end of March.
On Monday, Mr Kelly described the moment that he backdated the letter at a cafe in Sydney's Martin Place.
But he denied having done so knowing that Mr Watkins would later use it to justify his position.
"I wasn't aware that's what he was going to use it for," Mr Kelly told the inquiry.
Mr Kelly said he went to the cafe on March 18 with LPMA chief financial officer Robert Costello.
"I said: 'Have you got Warwick's letter?'" Mr Kelly told the ICAC hearing.
"I read it ... and signed it.
"I asked: `What date's this to be?'
"Mr Costello confirmed it needed to be around the 25th (of February).
"He pulled out his calendar and said the Monday is the 28th, so I signed it and put that date on."
The inquiry also heard a phone conversation, intercepted by ICAC investigators on June 28, a day after the inquiry began, in which Mr Kelly was heard talking to his son John.
"They have established that those ... that I didn't type the letter. I didn't draft the letter," Mr Kelly was heard saying, referring to the start of the ICAC inquiry.
"I had no bloody idea, really, exactly when it was done.
"Not sure they're still ... if everyone's telling a hundred per cent the truth.
"But that works in your favour?" John Kelly asked.
"Most of it's worked in my favour, yep," Mr Kelly replied.
ICAC Commissioner David Ipp QC is expected to report his findings from the case later this year.
He has the power to make findings of corrupt behaviour against individuals, as well as recommending prosecution.
Mr Kelly left Monday's hearing without speaking to reporters.