'No information, no facts, no evidence': Chris Minns hits out at 'politicised' corruption watchdog referral

NSW Premier Chris Minns has hit out at a parliamentary committee's decision to refer him to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over the government's plan to redevelop Rosehill Racecourse into a housing precinct.

Reports emerged last night that the final report into the proposal, which will be released tomorrow, will recommend the Labor leader be referred to the ICAC due to his decades-long relationship with the Australian Turf Club's (ATC) head of government relations, Steve McMahon.

ATC owns the Rosehill site.

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Minns labelled the decision "completely unsubstantiated", "disgraceful" and an "old-fashioned smear" in a statement last night, and said today there was no evidence behind the referral.

"It is truly undermining the principles of investigation and the Independent Commission Against Corruption to put in place unsubstantiated rumours, dress them up as a corruption allegation... whilst providing absolutely no information, no facts, no evidence to support that exact allegation," he told reporters in Sydney.

"We have seen the politicisation of the ICAC for a very long time in New South Wales. It is a political sport, but that doesn't make it right.

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"And I think that is a leading indicator why more people don't enter politics, because if you put your head above the parapet, someone like Mark Latham is likely to come along and besmirch your character, accuse you of corruption and most importantly, stop you from advancing what could be a great idea for Sydney."

Latham is one of the MPs on the 10-person committee, which only features three government members.

While Minns will be referred to the ICAC, it will be up to the independent body as to whether the premier is investigated over the claims.

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Minns said he had "absolutely not" engaged in corrupt activity, and said the referral was a last-ditch attempt to derail the proposal to turn Rosehill into a mini-city by its political opponents.

"The suggestion must be met by some kind of credible evidence, rather than rumour or fearmongering," he said.

"The reason it hasn't been, and the reason this committee, in a politicised way, have referred it to the (ICAC), is precisely because they don't have those facts or that evidence," he added, saying that had any damning information existed, it would have been uncovered by the committee and publicised during the inquiry.

Minns said he would push ahead with the Rosehill redevelopment, labelling it a "game-changer for Sydney".

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