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Corruption flows around Sydney Harbour

Xinhua, May 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Corruption has hit the body responsible for Australia's most lucrative harbour side assets after a senior manager was stood down over allegations she received bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

New South Wales state minster for Finance, Services and Property, Dominic Perrottet said his department is investigating "as a matter of urgency" allegations of corruption in the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA).

"Yesterday I was made aware of allegations of corruption involving a current SHFA employee and certain contractors engaged by SHFA," Perrottet said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This government has zero tolerance for corruption."

SHFA owns and manages the harbour's most significant assets, including heritage and cultural precincts at tourist havens The Rocks and Darling Harbour.

It also provides asset management services and manages commercial and retail leases for close to 100 items on the NSW State Heritage Register, according to the authority's website.

Fairfax Media reported the woman had confessed in a NSW Supreme Court case to taking 300,000 Australian dollars (220,647 U.S. dollars) in kickbacks from "very experienced bribers" for lucrative taxpayer funded contracts for services such as pest control and cleaning.

The latest corruption scandal involving the SHFA is only raising further questions over its management after the authority was involved in a separate corruption scandal in 2011.

The NSW state Independent Commission Against Corruption found former SHFA officer Andrew Kelly acted in conflict with his official duties by being in private business with the Kazal family while they were leased properties in The Rocks owned by the SHFA. Endit