Labor has seen better days, says Iemma

Former NSW Premier Morris Iemma admitted Labor has seen "better days", during an ICAC hearing. Source: AAP

FORMER NSW Premier Morris Iemma has admitted Labor has seen "a lot better days", after giving evidence at a corruption inquiry.

Speaking to reporters outside the hearings in Sydney, Mr Iemma lamented the latest scandal to dog his party in which former MP and right factional powerbroker Eddie Obeid allegedly reaped millions on dodgy mining deals.

The quietly spoken former premier was careful not to comment specifically about corruption claims.

But asked if Labor had seen better days, he wryly noted, "A lot better days, yes."

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating former resources minister Ian Macdonald's decision to open up the Bylong Valley, in central NSW, to coal mining.

The decision, and Mr Macdonald's rigging of the tender process, profited Mr Obeid and his family to the tune of $100 million, ICAC has heard.

Mr Iemma told the hearing it was "unusual" Mr Macdonald had limited the tender process to smaller miners, and had not advertised the tender but only invited certain companies to participate.

The decision, relating to coal resources worth hundreds of millions of dollars, should also have been raised with cabinet, something Mr Macdonald failed to do, he said.

"If a minister made a decision which could cost the people of NSW tens of millions of dollars, which had the effect of prohibiting the participation by the giants BHP, Xstrata and the like, which closed off open advertising of the process altogether, and did that without referring it to cabinet ... to the budget committee (or) the caucus, would you think that was unusual?" asked counsel assisting the inquiry Geoffrey Watson SC.

"Yes," Mr Iemma replied.

"That's ... something in the sense of the dollars involved that a budget committee at a minimum ought to be made aware of."

Neither Mr Macdonald nor Mr Obeid, who owned a farm in the Bylong Valley, had declared that conflict of interest, Mr Iemma also said.

Mr Obeid made $13 million from the sale of Cherrydale Park alone, and for $60 million offloaded his hidden interest in the company which eventually won the exploration licence for the area.

Another former premier, Nathan Rees, who succeeded Mr Iemma, told the inquiry he would have been "concerned" if he had known Mr Macdonald had limited the tender for some mining exploration licences.

He said he could not recall Mr Macdonald drawing the attention of cabinet or its budget committee to decisions to limit tendering on mining exploration licences.

If he had been aware of Mr Macdonald's actions, Mr Rees said, there would have been a spirited discussion about whether it was going to deliver the best result for the people of NSW.

Speaking to reporters outside ICAC, Mr Rees said he was shocked by the corruption allegations.

"I was staggered by the magnitude of what was revealed yesterday," he said.

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