The 440 times sacked council boss Gail Connolly ‘couldn’t recall’ during her ‘Spanish Inquisition’

June 17, 2026 — 5:54pm

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing room seven floors above Elizabeth Street is a windowless space where all sense of time – and, for some, memory – evaporates.

For 24 long days now, Operation Navarra has been publicly delving into the murky world of the City of Parramatta Council under the rule of now-sacked chief executive Gail Connolly and her band of cronies known as the Pink Ladies.

The inquiry has heard allegations that Connolly and her allies at the council had undermined recruitment processes to favour mates, ordered the monitoring of councillor emails and phone records, forged signatures, smeared an elderly council driver with a vicious anonymous email, organised sham conduct investigations into staff, and authorised large payouts to workers she did not like.

The claims of jobs for mates and retribution for perceived enemies have offered jaw-dropping insight for all ratepayers in NSW, not just those in Parramatta. In a sector with more than 50,000 employees, it’s difficult to conclude such suspect behaviour is confined to Connolly and her groupies in western Sydney.

But it is impossible for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald