Overview
- On Wednesday the inquiry heard that former City of Parramatta CEO Gail Connolly texted executives her niece’s résumé and that the niece was directly appointed to a senior executive assistant role in 2025.
- Former IT head John Crawford told ICAC that group manager Roxanne Thornton admitted to plagiarising two Australian Institute of Company Directors assignments, including first using AI, and that Connolly helped keep the matter from becoming public.
- Witnesses described using personal email accounts, advising colleagues to enable WhatsApp message deletion and being told not to put things in writing to limit records that could be accessed under public records laws.
- Exhibits shown at the hearings include group-chat messages between Connolly, Thornton and Angela Jones-Blayney that discuss planned hires, use derogatory language about the then-mayor and suggest Connolly used Thornton’s e-signature on a contract.
- The public Operation Navarra inquiry continues with further witnesses to give evidence and may lead to findings of misconduct, referrals to regulators or other actions that affect council governance.