Matt Kean is the Member for Hornsby in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, a member of the Liberal party and served as the Treasurer for New South Wales between 2021 and 2023. Sky News Host, Peta Credlin, has previously referred to Mr. Kean as “ultra-woke” and “the real power” in the NSW Liberal Party.
Gladys Berejiklian’s ICAC Challenge
In September of 2023, Former-NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, launched a legal challenge against the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) finding that she engaged in "serious corrupt conduct."
Mr. Kean, a long standing supporter of Ms. Berejiklian, expressed his support for her legal challenge stating:
“I think she was wronged…At the end of the day it’s her reputation and only she can decide what value she places on it. Her brand matters to her.”
Criticism of NSW ICAC
Mr. Kean was highly critical of the NSW ICAC in the lead-up to and aftermath of the release of the Operation Keppel report. One of his major criticisms was the report’s public release being repeatedly delayed.
In the Special Report 2023/02: Investigation into the time taken by the ICAC to furnish its Operation Keppel Report to Parliament released in August of 2023, a document investigating the report’s delays, compiled by Gail Furness SC, Inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, a section on the NSW ICAC’s budget states:
“The adequacy of funding had been a long-standing issue between the Commission and the Government. The current Chief Commissioner told me “… consequent to 2015-2016 budget the Commission suffered a significant reduction in its financial allocation with staffing across the agency reduced and no corresponding reduction in workload. In the 2022-23 budget the Commission obtained further funding. Together with other steps taken moving forward, the Commission has been able to provide at least two lawyers to assist in report preparation with the aim of producing the reports in a timelier manner.” “
Liberal MP’s Andrew Constance and Gladys Berejiklian each served as Treasurer, from April 2014 to April 2015 and April 2015 to January 2017 respectively, and were therefore the stakeholders responsible for NSW ICAC Funding,