WHEN Paul Obeid, son of former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid, was asked by a Sydney corruption inquiry whether his younger brother might have been a conduit for inside information relating to a coal mining deal in the Hunter, he laughed.
"No, not Gerard. Gerard would have been the driver," he scoffed on Wednesday.
Now Gerard has taken the stand at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and confirmed that his role in the family business was to ferry his brothers about.
The ICAC is investigating whether former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process for coal exploration licences in the Bylong Valley, and whether fellow ex-minister Eddie Obeid and his family gained substantial financial benefit from it.
Under questioning from counsel assisting the commissioner, Geoffrey Watson SC, Gerard Obeid said on Thursday that he was not aware of any information shared by Mr Macdonald with the Obeid family relating to coal exploration licences in the Valley.
"I suggest that you did know that Macdonald, in cahoots with your family, was doing these favours," Mr Watson said, prompting a denial from the witness.
Gerard Obeid was unable to answer several questions relating to his family's accounts and businesses.
The Obeid family trust loaned him $2.5 million for his house but he could not explain where the funds came from, first venturing that the money "was in the bank", then offering that perhaps "the tooth fairy" helped pay for his house.
"I get the impression you really have no idea," Commissioner David Ipp QC said.
"Absolutely I don't," the witness responded.
Asked by barrister Graham Turnbull who usually drove the Obeid brothers to and fro, Gerard Obeid said, "Me."
"Would it be true to say that your principal function was as a gofer?" Mr Turnbull asked.
"Yes," Gerard Obeid replied.
His brother Damien Obeid also took the stand on Thursday, testifying that he had talked his family into buying land at Mount Penny and had been "shocked" to discover there was coal underneath and a mine could be operating nearby within five or 10 years.
"It was actually an 'oh my God moment'," he said.
"I think people who do live near coal mines will tell you that it's not a very nice experience ... I thought, 'Oh, what have I done.'"
The inquiry will continue on Monday.
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