A WATER licensing specialist who was suspended after arguing with Eddie Obeid's eldest son was told by her boss not to inspect a property owned by the family of the former minister.
Sue Heaney, who worked in the water authority for more than 10 years, gave evidence at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Friday.
The watchdog is investigating whether Obeid used his position to influence the review and granting of water licences for Cherrydale Park, a property his family owned in the Bylong Valley.
An assessment of the valuable unrestricted licences was triggered when the Obeids bought the farm for $3.65 million in November 2007.
After almost a year of inactivity, Ms Heaney was asked by her manager, Hemantha Desilva, to assess the property's water use and impose an annual quota.
In November 2008, she called Obeid's eldest son looking for details of the farm's water use for irrigation.
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Her conversation with Damian Obeid became "heated" and "ended in a disagreement", the ICAC heard.
Damian Obeid earlier told the ICAC he "possibly" spoke to his father and brothers about the call with Ms Heaney.
Within a few days of the argument, Ms Heaney was suspended from work on full pay.
Ms Heaney initially thought her suspension was "harassment and bullying from senior managers" but she now believes it was due to an error she made in her paperwork.
Before her suspension, she had arranged to inspect Cherrydale.
On November 20, Ms Heaney emailed her boss, Brian McDougall, seeking approval to visit the property.
"The only way to resolve this confusion was to actually go out there myself," she told the ICAC.
Mr McDougall authorised the trip, but on November 25, the day Ms Heaney was due to visit, she found a note on her desk telling her not to go, the ICAC heard.
Ms Heaney eventually took a redundancy and now works as a remedial masseur.
Despite an August 2008 draft document from the water authority recommending Cherrydale Park's water use should not exceed 150 megalitres, a licence for an annual consumption of 860 megalitres was granted in October the same year.
The inquiry is expected to continue for another week.
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