The NSW corruption watchdog has cleared a senior planning official over allegations she used inside information to profit from major changes to the state's zoning rules.
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Department of Planning bureaucrat Katie Joyner was stood down in February from her role as director for the City of Sydney and eastern district after claims were aired that she tried to cash in on a state government-driven housing overhaul.
Shadow attorney-general Alister Henskens used parliamentary privilege to make the allegations against a then-unnamed official, accusing her of buying a home on Sydney's north shore before details of the Minns government's housing plan were publicly known.
The official was later revealed to be Ms Joyner and the matter was referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for investigation.
Ms Joyner categorically denied the accusations against her, saying through her lawyer in February that she had "at all times always acted with the utmost propriety".
On Monday, ICAC said it was satisfied there was no evidence Ms Joyner or any other person engaged in corrupt conduct and had closed its investigation.
"During the course of its investigation, the commission obtained and reviewed relevant records ... conducted a number of interviews, including with Ms Joyner, and conducted forensic reviews of electronic devices," the corruption watchdog said in a statement.
"The commission also undertook a review of the timeline of the transport-orientated development (TOD) process and when Ms Joyner became aware of the relevant TOD affecting the area in which she purchased property."
Mr Henskens referred to the allegations against Ms Joyner in parliament as recently as Thursday, when he named her and detailed messages she allegedly sent to a neighbourhood WhatsApp group after her house purchase.
"I am happy to share what information I can (verbally) as the information is due to go in the NSW Dept of Planning website by the end of this week," one of her messages said, according to the Liberal MP.
Planning Minister Paul Scully called on opposition leader Mark Speaker to direct Mr Henskens to apologise.
"This is an extremely embarrassing situation for the shadow attorney-general," Mr Scully said.
"His assessment and judgment of what he identified as a 'highly circumstantial case' has proved to be nothing more than a baseless political attack."
Mr Henskens has been contacted for comment.
Australian Associated Press
