WHISTLEBLOWER Rebecca Connor says she is "deeply disappointed" with assurances from the NSW government and the opposition over her claims of corruption at the Hunter-based mining titles office.
The Department of Mining, Exploration and Geoscience, which is part of Regional NSW, said it was "considering" the release of a NSW Ombudsman's report into the claims in response to an application under the Government Information (Public Access) Act.
The Newcastle Herald made that application following Deputy Premier Paul Toole's refusal to release the full report.
A heavily-redacted copy of the NSW Ombudsman's report, provided to Ms Connor, confirms many of her claims and confirms the content of her public interest disclosures were never properly investigated.
Ms Connor spent two years at the Maitland-based mining titles office, as it was then known, as Manager, Titles Operations.
She was shown the door the day after she revealed the unlawful approval of the world's first scandium mine in Nyngan.
Her claims of corruption involve billion-dollar mining operations and allegations of the serious misconduct of senior public servants.
A spokesperson for the opposition said the matters raised were serious and, if elected at the March 25 poll, NSW Labor would "consult" with the NSW Ombudsman and relevant authorities on an appropriate course of action, including releasing the report.
In an earlier response, a NSW government spokesperson said they were continuing to work with the Ombudsman on "these historical matters".
"I disagree, the matters are unresolved and still very much relevant," Ms Connor said.
"After five years, the department's new Titles Management System still has limited functionality despite them spending millions of dollars on that project with in-house systems designers, when proven off-the-shelf software was available at a fraction of that cost.
"Software that is used by many governments around the world."
She asked what specific checks were in place regarding records management to ensure all records were captured appropriately and appropriate reasons were provided whenever they were accessed.
"I call on the state government to demonstrate its accountability [and commitment to improving public trust] in mining regulation by holding a ministerial inquiry.
"As long as the office remains at Maitland there is little oversight and limited internal culture change."
Others who left the Maitland-based mining titles office at or about the same time as Ms Connor include other senior staff, such as Mitch Stitt, an intelligence analyst who alleged he was "used up and spat out" by the NSW Department of Planning after raising serious concerns about mining titles systems.
Lee Shearer's job as the state's top mining regulator also came to an abrupt end just days after being named NSW businesswoman of the year in 2019.
