Gordon Nuttall
Encyclopedia
Gordon Richard Nuttall is a former Australia
n 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. He is serving the longest jail term for corruption handed to a British Commonwealth
politician.
, Nev Warburton
. He was previously an organiser for the Electrical Trades Union
.
He served in the Beattie Ministry
as:
In 2004 he attempted to become Deputy Premier with a plan to overthrow the then Premier, Peter Beattie.
However, a leadership challenge received no support from then Deputy Premier Anna Bligh
, whom Nuttall proposed as the new Premier. Ms Bligh later said, "I didn't see it as any serious proposition that would have received any support from my colleagues and it didn't receive any support from myself."
In July 2005, he resigned as Minister for Health following media exposure of problems at Bundaberg Base Hospital
. In June 2010, following a number of investigations, the hospital's director of surgery, Jayant Patel
, was convicted and jailed for seven years on three counts of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm to patients in his care. Nuttall blamed the system he had inherited as well as the administrators at the hospital for the situation which had arisen, but ultimately stepped-down from the health portfolio. Premier Peter Beattie
opted to take over the portfolio himself, relocating Nuttall to the primary industries and fisheries portfolio.
In August 2005, Nuttall stepped aside from the Ministry while the Crime and Misconduct Commission
(CMC) investigated claims he had given a false answer to a Parliamentary estimates committee regarding his prior knowledge of problems with overseas-trained doctors. The Commission reported back in December 2005, recommending the Attorney-General prosecute Nuttall under section 57 of the Criminal Code. The prosecution was not proceeded with; the government decided to revoke the relevant section of the Criminal Code so Parliament could deal with such matters itself under contempt of parliament
provisions.
Nuttall resigned from the Ministry on 7 December 2005 and retired from Parliament at the September 2006 election. He resigned from the Labor Party on 12 December 2006 before he was referred to the party's Disputes Tribunal, which could have expelled him.
. On 19 January 2007, the CMC charged Nuttall with 35 counts of corruptly receiving payments totalling almost $300,000 from Talbot between 2002 and 2005. Nuttall was later charged with receiving a further secret commission of $60,000 in 2002 from businessman and WorkCover Queensland director Harold Shand. Talbot and Shand were also charged over the alleged secret commissions.
Nuttall was committed to stand trial in December 2008. In June 2009, he pleaded not guilty to all charges before the District Court
. On 15 July 2009, a jury convicted him on all 36 charges, and on 17 July he was sentenced to seven years' jail with a non-parole period of two and a half years.
Ten years earlier, on 12 May 1998, Nuttall said of his benefactor, Talbot, in Parliament,
On 14 August 2009, Nuttall lodged an appeal against his July 2009 conviction and sentence. On 12 February 2010, his appeal against conviction and sentence was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland
. On 23 March 2010, his appeal against conviction was dismissed, and his application for leave to appeal against sentence was refused.
In August 2010, the charges against Talbot were dropped due to his death in a light plane accident
. In 2011, Shand was convicted of paying Nuttall a secret commission and sentenced to 15 months jail.
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 Supreme Court of Queensland on 9 and 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 totaling $368,866.55. Parliament found him to have been contemptuous and fined him $82,000.
, 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 was also ordered him to pay the Government's legal costs of $42,000.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who represented Sandgate
Electoral district of Sandgate
The district of Sandgate is an electoral division in the state of Queensland, Australia.It is located in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, covering Sandgate, Shorncliffe, Deagon, Brighton, Bracken Ridge, Fitzgibbon, and Taigum...
in the Queensland Parliament
Queensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
from 1992 to 2006.
He was a member of the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and served as a minister in the Beattie Ministry
Beattie Ministry
The Beattie Ministry was a Ministry of the Government of Queensland, led by Labor Premier Peter Beattie. It commenced on 26 June 1998, thirteen days after the Borbidge Ministry, led by Premier Rob Borbidge of the National Party, was defeated at the 1998 election...
from 2001 to 2005. In 2009 he was found guilty of corruptly
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
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. He is serving the longest jail term for corruption handed to a British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
politician.
Political career
Nuttall won the seat of Sandgate at the 1992 state election as the Labor candidate, succeeding the retiring former Labor Opposition leaderLeader of the Opposition (Queensland)
This is a list of Leaders of the Opposition in Queensland. Prior to 1898, opposition to the government of the day was less organised. Thus the Queensland Parliamentary Record does not designate Leaders of the Opposition before then....
, Nev Warburton
Nev Warburton
Neville George Warburton was a Queensland politician, who served as leader of the opposition from 1984 to 1988, and as a minister in the Goss Ministry from 1989 to 1992.-Early career:...
. He was previously an organiser for the Electrical Trades Union
Electrical Trades Union of Australia
The Electrical Trades Union of Australia is a trade union in Australia which has a history stretching back over 100 years. In its modern form the ETU is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union , although it is possibly the most well known of the three divisions...
.
He served in the Beattie Ministry
Beattie Ministry
The Beattie Ministry was a Ministry of the Government of Queensland, led by Labor Premier Peter Beattie. It commenced on 26 June 1998, thirteen days after the Borbidge Ministry, led by Premier Rob Borbidge of the National Party, was defeated at the 1998 election...
as:
- Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier with special responsibilities for Multicultural Affairs (29 June 1998 – 17 February 2001);
- Minister for Industrial Relations (22 February 2001 – 12 February 2004);
- Minister for Health (12 February 2004 – 28 July 2005); and
- Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries (28 July 2005 – 7 December 2005).
In 2004 he attempted to become Deputy Premier with a plan to overthrow the then Premier, Peter Beattie.
However, a leadership challenge received no support from then Deputy Premier Anna Bligh
Anna Bligh
Anna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...
, whom Nuttall proposed as the new Premier. Ms Bligh later said, "I didn't see it as any serious proposition that would have received any support from my colleagues and it didn't receive any support from myself."
In July 2005, he resigned as Minister for Health following media exposure of problems at Bundaberg Base Hospital
Bundaberg Base Hospital
Bundaberg Base Hospital is the public hospital of Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia.A base hospital is a regional centre that takes referrals from outlying hospitals, and concentrates specialised skills. Australia has a universal publicly funded health insurance scheme, so a 'public' hospital is one...
. In June 2010, following a number of investigations, the hospital's director of surgery, Jayant Patel
Jayant Patel
Jayant Mukundray Patel , referred to as Doctor Death is a surgeon who is at the centre of a 2005 scandal in which he was accused of gross incompetence while working at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland, Australia...
, was convicted and jailed for seven years on three counts of manslaughter and one count of grievous bodily harm to patients in his care. Nuttall blamed the system he had inherited as well as the administrators at the hospital for the situation which had arisen, but ultimately stepped-down from the health portfolio. Premier Peter Beattie
Peter Beattie
Peter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
opted to take over the portfolio himself, relocating Nuttall to the primary industries and fisheries portfolio.
In August 2005, Nuttall stepped aside from the Ministry while the Crime and Misconduct Commission
Crime and Misconduct Commission
The Crime and Misconduct Commission is an independent Queensland Government entity created to combat and reduce the incidence of major crime and to continuously improve the integrity of, and to reduce the incidence of misconduct in, the Queensland public sector. The CMC also has a witness...
(CMC) investigated claims he had given a false answer to a Parliamentary estimates committee regarding his prior knowledge of problems with overseas-trained doctors. The Commission reported back in December 2005, recommending the Attorney-General prosecute Nuttall under section 57 of the Criminal Code. The prosecution was not proceeded with; the government decided to revoke the relevant section of the Criminal Code so Parliament could deal with such matters itself under contempt of parliament
Contempt of Parliament
In some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...
provisions.
Nuttall resigned from the Ministry on 7 December 2005 and retired from Parliament at the September 2006 election. He resigned from the Labor Party on 12 December 2006 before he was referred to the party's Disputes Tribunal, which could have expelled him.
Initial charges and imprisonment
In 2006 the CMC also began an investigation into a series of loans Nuttall received from Queensland mining magnate Ken TalbotKen Talbot
Ken Talbot was the principal shareholder and former CEO of the Macarthur Coal Ltd mining company. He was the only child of Norman and Nita Talbot...
. On 19 January 2007, the CMC charged Nuttall with 35 counts of corruptly receiving payments totalling almost $300,000 from Talbot between 2002 and 2005. Nuttall was later charged with receiving a further secret commission of $60,000 in 2002 from businessman and WorkCover Queensland director Harold Shand. Talbot and Shand were also charged over the alleged secret commissions.
Nuttall was committed to stand trial in December 2008. In June 2009, he pleaded not guilty to all charges before the District Court
District Court of Queensland
The District Court of Queensland is a court in Queensland, a state of Australia. It has jurisdiction to hear:* appeals from decisions of the Magistrates' Court of Queensland;...
. On 15 July 2009, a jury convicted him on all 36 charges, and on 17 July he was sentenced to seven years' jail with a non-parole period of two and a half years.
Ten years earlier, on 12 May 1998, Nuttall said of his benefactor, Talbot, in Parliament,
On 14 August 2009, Nuttall lodged an appeal against his July 2009 conviction and sentence. On 12 February 2010, his appeal against conviction and sentence was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland
Supreme Court of Queensland
The Supreme Court of Queensland, which is based at the Law Courts Complex, is the superior court for the Australian State of Queensland and sits around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy...
. On 23 March 2010, his appeal against conviction was dismissed, and his application for leave to appeal against sentence was refused.
In August 2010, the charges against Talbot were dropped due to his death in a light plane accident
2010 Cameroon Aero Service CASA C-212 Aviocar crash
On 19 June 2010, an CASA C-212 Aviocar crashed on a flight from Yaoundé, Cameroon to Yangadou, Republic of the Congo, killing all 11 people on board, including the entire board of Sundance Resources, an Australian mining conglomerate.-Aircraft:...
. In 2011, Shand was convicted of paying Nuttall a secret commission and sentenced to 15 months jail.
Further convictions and appearance before bar of parliament
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
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, 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 Supreme Court of Queensland on 9 and 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
Contempt of Parliament
In some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...
for non-disclosure, as a member of parliament, of pecuniary interests totaling $368,866.55. Parliament found him to have been contemptuous and fined him $82,000.
Confiscations of property
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 WoodgateWoodgate, Queensland
Woodgate, is a seaside township on the Burrum Coast of Queensland, Australia. The majority of the coastline of Woodgate consists of sandy beach, making it a popular holiday destination for people who live in nearby areas of Queensland. At the 2006 census, Woodgate had a population of 758.On the...
, near Bundaberg
Bundaberg, Queensland
Bundaberg is a city in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Local Government Area of the Bundaberg Region and is a major centre within Queensland's broader Wide Bay-Burnett geographical region...
, having already initiated action to seize another property at Sandgate
Sandgate, Queensland
Sandgate is a coastal suburb in Brisbane, Australia, located 16 km north of the Brisbane CBD. The town became a popular escape for the people of Brisbane in the early 20th century.-Geography:Sandgate is situated on the coastline, along Bramble Bay...
. 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 was also ordered him to pay the Government's legal costs of $42,000.