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Corrupt former NT government staffer walks free after guilty verdict Corrupt former NT government staffer walks free after guilty verdict
(about 2 hours later)
The former chief of staff to a Northern Territory government minister won’t spend any time behind bars after being found guilty of corruptly receiving travel kickbacks.The former chief of staff to a Northern Territory government minister won’t spend any time behind bars after being found guilty of corruptly receiving travel kickbacks.
Paul Mossman was convicted of two counts of corruptly receiving a benefit from Latitude Travel’s Xana Kamitsis in 2014 while he was chief of staff to the then Country Liberals minister Bess Price.Paul Mossman was convicted of two counts of corruptly receiving a benefit from Latitude Travel’s Xana Kamitsis in 2014 while he was chief of staff to the then Country Liberals minister Bess Price.
Justice Peter Barr sentenced Mossman to a 12-month suspended sentence in the NT supreme court on Tuesday. Justice Peter Barr sentenced Mossman to a 12-month suspended sentence in the NT supreme court on Tuesday. Mossman was facing a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment.
Barr said while Mossman abused a senior position of trust, he was the primary carer of a teenage daughter and jail time would impact on his role.Barr said while Mossman abused a senior position of trust, he was the primary carer of a teenage daughter and jail time would impact on his role.
In his sentencing submissions, crown prosecutor David Morters compared Mossman’s crimes to those of the disgraced former New South Wales minister Eddie Obeid.In his sentencing submissions, crown prosecutor David Morters compared Mossman’s crimes to those of the disgraced former New South Wales minister Eddie Obeid.
He said Mossman should receive a similar penalty to the former Labor powerbroker, who in December was sentenced to a maximum five years in jail for misconduct in public office.He said Mossman should receive a similar penalty to the former Labor powerbroker, who in December was sentenced to a maximum five years in jail for misconduct in public office.
Barr said the 44-year-old showed an “undignified eagerness” to ingratiate himself with the travel agent by offering her more than $300,000 in exclusive government contracts.
Mossman made it clear he’d be grateful to accept any travel benefits as a reward for favouring Kamitsis with significant commercial advantage, Barr said.
“Corruption is corrosive and ultimately destructive of good governance,” he said. “You were in a senior position of trust vis-a-vis the minister and the government of the Northern Territory. You betrayed that trust.”
Last October a jury found Mossman guilty of having service fees waived and a deferral of full payment for return flights to Sydney with his daughter and to New York with his son in 2014.
Barr said the fact that Mossman had no prior convictions and was of otherwise good character bore little relevance.
Morters argued that a harsh sentence was vital to send a message to other politicians and bureaucrats, who abuse powerful positions.
“That message [must be] sent loud and clear ... so the people of the Northern Territory can have confidence in their elected members and the people they employ,” he said.
The prosecution also argued Mossman should receive a similar sentence to Kamitsis, who in 2015 got a two-year jail term for a related offence. The sentence was suspended after 19 months.
But defence lawyer Tom Berkley said Kamitsis was motivated by long-term greed whereas Mossman’s crimes were purely opportunistic.