Kate McClymont, Sean Nicholls
March 21, 2013
Dumped Nationals' candidate Richard Torbay has family and political links to the former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid and an extensive property portfolio, some of which does not appear on his pecuniary interest declarations to the NSW Parliament.
Mr Torbay resigned from the NSW Parliament on Wednesday in dramatic circumstances after being forced to quit as the Nationals' candidate for New England to take on independent MP Tony Windsor.
While the precise reason for Mr Torbay's resignation from Parliament remains unclear, it is serious enough to have been referred by the Nationals to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Sudden resignation: Richard Torbay. Photo: Denis Gregory
It is understood the decision of the Nationals to remove Mr Torbay as their candidate is related to Labor funding of Mr Torbay's campaigns against their candidates.
Fairfax Media can reveal that one of the largest property developers in the Northern Tablelands, Phil Hanna, is a first cousin of Mr Obeid's wife, Judy.
Mr Hanna was previously Mr Torbay's campaign manager and, leading up to the 2007 state election, Mr Hanna and his wife were the largest donors to Mr Torbay's campaign, giving more than $6200.
When Mr Hanna was charged with the attempted murder of his business partner in 2007, he was represented - successfully - by Sydney barrister Steven Stanton.
Mr Stanton has previously appeared for associates of the Obeid family, the most recent being for Strathfield real estate agent Joey Georges at the recent ICAC inquiry, which is investigating the $30 million windfall the Obeid family made from an allegedly corrupt government coal tender.
In 2010 Mr Torbay received a $100,000 donation from a Sydney family only two months after then planning minister Tony Kelly dropped a heritage listing on this family's north shore home.
Greens MP John Kaye said: ''In the corruption hothouse of the dying days of the NSW Labor government, a $100,000 donation from a surprising source raises serious concerns.''
Apart from his links to Mr Obeid, Mr Torbay has interests in a raft of property development companies. He also has an extensive property portfolio, including commercial buildings in Armidale, which he has failed to disclose in his pecuniary interest declarations.
Last week Fairfax Media revealed that Mr Torbay featured extensively in the 2007-09 parliamentary diaries of Mr Obeid. In one 2009 entry Mr Obeid made reference to Mr Torbay and a new mobile phone.
Mr Torbay held the seat of Northern Tablelands with a margin of more than 39 per cent. It was this popularity which led the state director of the NSW Nationals, Ben Franklin, to orchestrate Mr Torbay's candidacy for the Nationals, largely in a bid to block the ambitions of Barnaby Joyce.
Senator Joyce is viewed as a threat to the Nationals leader Warren Truss if he moves to the House of Representatives.
But some Nationals questioned Mr Franklin's judgment in drafting Mr Torbay, arguing his links to Mr Obeid were well known.
The MP for Coffs Harbour, Andrew Fraser, a senior party figure, said his warnings were ignored.
''I advised them about how close he was to Eddie and [Labor powerbroker] Joe Tripodi and was ignored,'' he said. ''I was the lone voice. I think the judgment of a number of people was poor. Their 'clever' tactics have now failed.''
Mr Torbay is known for assisting independents to run against Liberal and Nationals candidates.
The Lake Macquarie MP, Greg Piper, is close to Mr Torbay, but he is also understood to have assisted the former Dubbo MP, Dawn Fardell and Peter Draper, the former member for Tamworth.
Before the 2011 election Mr Torbay is believed to have aided the former Liberal mayor of Hornsby, Nick Berman, in his unsuccessful bid against Liberal Matt Kean.
Mr Tripodi was spotted having coffee with Mr Berman during the campaign.
