Former Beattie Minister faces corruption charges over wastewater project ...

Courier Mail:

Gordon Nuttall faces fresh charges

25 August 2009

Fresh official corruption charges as well as five counts of perjury have been laid against jailed former Labor minister Gordon Nuttall.

Nuttall has been charged under section 87 of the Criminal Code with 5 counts of corruptly receiving payments totalling $152,700 from Queensland businessman Brendan McKennariey between December 2001 and April 2006.

He is also facing five counts of perjury in relation to evidence he gave during a CMC closed hearing.

Officials from the Crime and Misconduct Commission travelled to the Wolston Correctional Centre at Wacol this morning to serve him with a notice to appear in court.

Nuttall is currently serving a seven-year jail term after being convicted of receiving secret commissions in the form of $300,000 from businessmen Ken Talbot and Harold Shand.

The latest payments were allegedly made when Nuttall held three ministerial positions - in the industrial relations, health and the primary industries portfolios.

"The alleged payments from Mr McKennariey to Mr Nuttall were made during a period when Mr McKennariey was receiving funds (as a subcontractor) from two projects being undertaken with the Government,'' the CMC said in a statement.

These were a Workplace Health and Safety training program in Indigenous communities commissioned by the Department of Industrial Relations in 2001 and a study on waste water in hospitals commissioned by Queensland Health in 2004 and 2005.

Nuttall will appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 9 September 2009.

See - Courier Mail - Gordon Nuttall faces fresh charges.


Mr McKennariey is the managing director of GBG Wastewater Management, an Arana Hills-based company which specialises in water treatment.

Among its contracts, GBG claims to have installed the first school-based effluent waste water treatment system at Greenbank State School in December 2004.

The firm's CEO, Geoff Stevenson, previously worked as a government adviser, according to Mr McKennaiery's online business profile.

See - Brisbane Times - Disgraced Minister faces further corruption charges.