ICAC's John Hatzistergos seems reluctant to investigate the fishy smell surrounding Top Education Group and the NSW LPAB- Meanwhile, students, potential students will pay the price

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Top Education Group Ltd is  advertising for potential students to enrol for its  next intake into its Sydney City School Of Law in Aug 2024.  However, Top's accreditation  to issue LLB's expiries in June 2024. 

Neither Top nor the NSW LPAB have said anything about re-accreditation. The NSW LPAB has maintained its silence despite Top's advertisement, which is based on its NSW LPAB accreditation:

 Applications open for 2024 enquire today

Our program is meticulously crafted to empower students with not just legal knowledge, but also the intellectual, critical, and professional skills essential for thriving in the ever-evolving legal landscape and beyond. Upon successful completion, students can enrol in another institution for the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, and after successful completion may apply to the Legal Profession Admission Board for admission as legal practitioners. 

The NSW LPAB has a record of covering-up for the managers of the institutions it is meant to regulate, regardless of student welfare. Its accreditation and re-accreditation in 2019 of Top's  Sydney City School Of  Law, despite the scandal surrounding Top, its late founder Zhu Minshen, and despite the fact that accreditation of law schools had been hitherto limited to Australia's top universities, all  add to what China analyst Clive Hamilton has referred to as as the "fishy smell around Zhu Minshen's Top Education Institute".

Despite that record, the NSW ICAC , even under new chairman  John Hatzistergos, seems reluctant to investigate the LPAB's Board, its executives,and other employees.  

TO BE READ WITH 

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

NSW ICAC chief John Hatzistergos wants reforms to corruption laws, cites Chinese Friends of Labor, Sam Dastyari matters but will Hatzistergos ignore the matter of the NSW LPAB's dealings with CCP linked Zhu Minshen and his Top Group, like his predecessor and fellow judge of the NSW Sup Crt Peter Hall despite the evidence

 by Ganesh Sahathevan

The Daily Telegraph quoting former NSW Supreme Court judge, NSW Labor Attorney General ,and current Chief Commissioner of the NSW ICAC John Hatzistergos  has reported: 

A former NSW Labor attorney-general says political parties are circumventing NSW’s strict rules on donations by funnelling prohibited cash through federal campaign accounts.

Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) chief commissioner John Hatzistergos has called for uniform donation rules across the country to avoid parties skirting the rules, a practice that was highlighted during a 2019 inquiry into NSW Labor banking Aldi bags full of cash from a prohibited Chinese donor.

He noted that in evidence to ICAC’s investigation into the Chinese Friends of Labor fundraising dinners, former NSW Labor secretary Sam Dastyari said donations banned at a state level could be banked in federal accounts.

However, he said politicians could also be improperly influenced without any money changing hands.

“They (politicians) have to use their position in the public interest and we make that point clearly to them all the time,” he said. “It’s not their electoral interests, it’s not the interests of their friends or their donors or anyone else.” Mr Hatzistergos also reiterated ICAC’s call for political parties to be subject to certain “governance” standards in order to get funding for administrative purposes.(Time to close loophole on political donations
EXCLUSIVE JAMES O’DOHERTY STATE POLITICAL EDITOR,21 November 2023
Daily Telegraph)

It is left to be seen if Hatzistergos will pursue or ignore the matter of the NSW LPAB's  dealings with the Communist Party China linked  donor Zhu Minshen and his Top Group.Readers will recall that his predecessor and fellow judge of the NSW Supreme Court  Peter Hall refused to do so despite the evidence before him.

TOE BE READ WITH 

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Amen Lee, ICAC witness, is now chairman of Top Education Group Ltd, licensed by the NSW LPAB to grant law degrees in NSW

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Amen Lee, ICAC witness, is now chairman of Top Education Group Ltd, which is licensed by the NSW LPAB to grant law degrees in NSW.

TO BE READ WITH

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Amen Lee is part of Top Education Group's Controlling Shareholder Group: Fresh questions for NSW LPAB,AG Speakman ,and NSW Libs over issuance of Top's LLB license and political donations ; Peter Hall's position at ICAC increasingly untenable

by Ganesh Sahathevan

In his current inquiry into Chinese donations to the Labor Party ,ICAC Commissioner Peter
Hall QC(picture above) seems reluctant to go anywhere near the matter of Zhu Minshen and his Top Group,whose
donations to the NSW Liberal Party may have consequences for Hall's former colleagues at the NSW Bar and Bench who manage the Legal Profession Admission Board, the body that has provided Zhu the status of a law school vice chancellor.


While Liberal Party donor Zhu Minshen has been, this far, the focus of attention with regards Top Education Group and its license to issue LLB degrees, f Dr Amen Lee, former Executive Chairman of the Australia China Trade, Economic and Cultural Association's (ACETCA), appears to have had an equal even if less prominent role in the matter.

In August this year Amen Lee told ICAC:

"If I do attend these (fundraising) events they are paid for by Top Education or ACETCA. I have not and would not attend as an individual," Dr Lee said. Top Education is a company of which Dr Lee said he was a director and shareholder.

Top's 2019 Annual Report includes these disclosures: 

 The Company made history as it founded the very first Law School within a private higher education institute when both TEQSA and NSW LPAB officially accredited its degree program in Law.

Members of the Controlling Shareholders Group are parties acting in concert and on 13 October 2017, they entered into a confirmation deed to, among others, confirm that they have been acting together with an aim to achieving decisions at general meetings of the Company on a unanimous basis. Members of the Controlling Shareholders Group are the founding Shareholders or have invested in the Company at an early stage. Dr. Zhu and Mr. (Amen) Lee are the members of the Controlling Shareholders Group. As at 30 June 2019, all the members of the Controlling Shareholders Group together controlled 855,468,000 Shares. Under the SFO, each of Dr. Zhu and Mr. Lee is deemed to be interested in the Shares beneficially owned by the other members of the Controlling Shareholders Group.

As at 30 June 2019 Zhu controlled 38.16% of Top's shares, while  Amen Lee controlled 33.46%. 

https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2019/1028/ltn20191028147.pdf

The above suggests that there is some overlap between Top Group and ACETCA.
All of the above raises many questions as to who else supported Top's introduction into state and federal political ,and legal circles.

The LPAB and the AG Mark Speakman have refused to answer any questions about the license issued Top Group. In addition ICAC chairman Peter Hall has refused to call Minshen Zhu as a witness to the ongoing inquiry into Chinese political donations, despite Amen Lee's testimony. Hall would be required to call Zhu, and those responsible within the LPAB, which is chaired by the Chief Justice of NSW Tom Bathurst, and overseen by the AG, MArk Speakman. 

Hall's position is as chairman of the ongoing inquiry and of ICAC seems increasingly untenable. He should resign.

END 

NSW ICAC chief John Hatzistergos wants reforms to corruption laws, cites Chinese Friends of Labor, Sam Dastyari matters but will Hatzistergos ignore the matter of the NSW LPAB's dealings with CCP linked Zhu Minshen and his Top Group, like his predecessor and fellow judge of the NSW Sup Crt Peter Hall despite the evidence

 by Ganesh Sahathevan

The Daily Telegraph quoting former NSW Supreme Court judge, NSW Labor Attorney General ,and current Chief Commissioner of the NSW ICAC John Hatzistergos  has reported: 

A former NSW Labor attorney-general says political parties are circumventing NSW’s strict rules on donations by funnelling prohibited cash through federal campaign accounts.

Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) chief commissioner John Hatzistergos has called for uniform donation rules across the country to avoid parties skirting the rules, a practice that was highlighted during a 2019 inquiry into NSW Labor banking Aldi bags full of cash from a prohibited Chinese donor.

He noted that in evidence to ICAC’s investigation into the Chinese Friends of Labor fundraising dinners, former NSW Labor secretary Sam Dastyari said donations banned at a state level could be banked in federal accounts.

However, he said politicians could also be improperly influenced without any money changing hands.

“They (politicians) have to use their position in the public interest and we make that point clearly to them all the time,” he said. “It’s not their electoral interests, it’s not the interests of their friends or their donors or anyone else.” Mr Hatzistergos also reiterated ICAC’s call for political parties to be subject to certain “governance” standards in order to get funding for administrative purposes.(Time to close loophole on political donations
EXCLUSIVE JAMES O’DOHERTY STATE POLITICAL EDITOR,21 November 2023
Daily Telegraph)

It is left to be seen if Hatzistergos will pursue or ignore the matter of the NSW LPAB's  dealings with the Communist Party China linked  donor Zhu Minshen and his Top Group.Readers will recall that his predecessor and fellow judge of the NSW Supreme Court  Peter Hall refused to do so despite the evidence before him.

TOE BE READ WITH 

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Amen Lee, ICAC witness, is now chairman of Top Education Group Ltd, licensed by the NSW LPAB to grant law degrees in NSW

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Amen Lee, ICAC witness, is now chairman of Top Education Group Ltd, which is licensed by the NSW LPAB to grant law degrees in NSW.

TO BE READ WITH

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Amen Lee is part of Top Education Group's Controlling Shareholder Group: Fresh questions for NSW LPAB,AG Speakman ,and NSW Libs over issuance of Top's LLB license and political donations ; Peter Hall's position at ICAC increasingly untenable

by Ganesh Sahathevan

In his current inquiry into Chinese donations to the Labor Party ,ICAC Commissioner Peter
Hall QC(picture above) seems reluctant to go anywhere near the matter of Zhu Minshen and his Top Group,whose
donations to the NSW Liberal Party may have consequences for Hall's former colleagues at the NSW Bar and Bench who manage the Legal Profession Admission Board, the body that has provided Zhu the status of a law school vice chancellor.


While Liberal Party donor Zhu Minshen has been, this far, the focus of attention with regards Top Education Group and its license to issue LLB degrees, f Dr Amen Lee, former Executive Chairman of the Australia China Trade, Economic and Cultural Association's (ACETCA), appears to have had an equal even if less prominent role in the matter.

In August this year Amen Lee told ICAC:

"If I do attend these (fundraising) events they are paid for by Top Education or ACETCA. I have not and would not attend as an individual," Dr Lee said. Top Education is a company of which Dr Lee said he was a director and shareholder.

Top's 2019 Annual Report includes these disclosures: 

 The Company made history as it founded the very first Law School within a private higher education institute when both TEQSA and NSW LPAB officially accredited its degree program in Law.

Members of the Controlling Shareholders Group are parties acting in concert and on 13 October 2017, they entered into a confirmation deed to, among others, confirm that they have been acting together with an aim to achieving decisions at general meetings of the Company on a unanimous basis. Members of the Controlling Shareholders Group are the founding Shareholders or have invested in the Company at an early stage. Dr. Zhu and Mr. (Amen) Lee are the members of the Controlling Shareholders Group. As at 30 June 2019, all the members of the Controlling Shareholders Group together controlled 855,468,000 Shares. Under the SFO, each of Dr. Zhu and Mr. Lee is deemed to be interested in the Shares beneficially owned by the other members of the Controlling Shareholders Group.

As at 30 June 2019 Zhu controlled 38.16% of Top's shares, while  Amen Lee controlled 33.46%. 

https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2019/1028/ltn20191028147.pdf

The above suggests that there is some overlap between Top Group and ACETCA.
All of the above raises many questions as to who else supported Top's introduction into state and federal political ,and legal circles.

The LPAB and the AG Mark Speakman have refused to answer any questions about the license issued Top Group. In addition ICAC chairman Peter Hall has refused to call Minshen Zhu as a witness to the ongoing inquiry into Chinese political donations, despite Amen Lee's testimony. Hall would be required to call Zhu, and those responsible within the LPAB, which is chaired by the Chief Justice of NSW Tom Bathurst, and overseen by the AG, MArk Speakman. 

Hall's position is as chairman of the ongoing inquiry and of ICAC seems increasingly untenable. He should resign.

END 

Despite the Top Group , Sydney City School Of Law license trading, pump and dump scandal engulfing even the PwC scandal , Paul Brereton's NACC seems unconcerned

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

     National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton. The NACC received nearly 200 online referrals in just four                      days. (Edwina Pickles/SMH)

 Despite the Top Group , Sydney City School Of Law license trading, pump and dump  scandal  including even the PwC scandal ,  the  National Anti Corruption Commission headed by former NSW judge Paul Brererton  seem unconcerned. 

Meanwhile, Top Group continues to enjoy access to Commonwealth Government  funding, and its Sydney City School Of Law, to produce law graduates who qualify for admission to practise before the NSW Supreme Court, in which Brererton served as a judge. 

The matter of Top Group and its Sydney City School Of Law has been in the public domain for more than 7 years. The NACC and Brererton should not need a referral to commence investigation.

TO BE READ WITH 

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

PwC scandal extends to Top Education Group's pump and dump IPO - ABC says PwC and PwC partners acquired pre-IPO shares, while PwC was advising TEQSA : Top's IPO relied on the TEQSA and NSW LPAB approvals

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Top Group's IPO was a classic pump and dump

Linton Besser and Echo Hui of ABC Investigation reported this morning: 

PricewaterhouseCoopers began work on a top-level consulting contract with the federal government's regulator of tertiary colleges 24 hours before agreeing to acquire a $5.5 million stake in one such college, the controversial Top Education Group.

In addition, eight senior partners of PwC — including two who oversaw the firm while it misused confidential Treasury data, prompting a global crisis — personally invested another $2.5 million in the company a year later.

The investments in 2016 and 2017, totalling $8 million, were made in the run-up to the May 2018 float of the company on the Hong Kong securities exchange. PwC's former chief executive Tom Seymour sat on Top Education Group's board until last year.

Despite this significant shareholding in the college, PwC continued to take on consulting work for the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), even though Top Education Group was directly impacted by TEQSA's regulatory decisions.

The ABC Investigations revelation add to the evidence that the Top Group IPO was a case of license trading that involved a classic pump and dump (see story below), enabled by the NSW LPAB and TEQSA. Top Group's IPO relied on the TEQSA and NSW LPAB approvals, dislcosed prominently in the IPO prospectus. 

Top's share price has never recivered, and keeps testing new lows.

To Be Read With 

Monday, March 20, 2023

HK listed Top Group's IPO was a classic case of license trading, and questions remain about any contributions to the NSW Liberals political fund - NSW AG Mark Speakman who issued the license remains silent

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Mark Speakman

As First Law Officer of the state, Mark oversees 
the administration of almost 200 Acts of Parliament, 
the most of any minister in the NSW Government

The Top Group IPO was a classic pump and dump, and it was based on the license to award law degrees granted by NSW Attorney General Meak Speakman and his NSW Legal Profession Admission Board. Much has transpired to complicate matters since the IPO and the collapse in share price and market capitalisation, but the Speakman remains silent.

In Hong Kong and other Asian markets there will be questions raised and an investigation intot he pump and dump and political funding,  but in Australia there has been nothing of that sort. Of course, Speakman is also the minister in charge of the state corruption agency, and is part of the panel that determines who heads it. 

TO BE READ WITH 

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Top Group IPO a classic case of license trading: Post IPO spike & collapse in market cap raises obvious questions about any political party beneficiaries ,but Peter Hall & ICAC not interested

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The graph above shows the movements in Zhu Minshen's Top Group's share price since its IPO and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

It is easy to see that there was an initial spike after which share price and market capitalisation collapsed.

Anyone familiar with Asian markets will see that the Top Group listing and movement in share price follows the well trodden path of companies that list as soon as hard to get approvals are obtained and then sold via an IPO. In the case of Top Group the relevant approval was the "first and only" license to grant Australian law degrees granted a private company, granted by the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board,after consultation with the Law Council Australia.




It has already been shown on this blog that the granting of that license coincided with donations from Top and Zhu to the NSW Liberal Party. Consequently a inquiry into who the beneficiaries of the IPO were seems a logical step for an inquiry into political donations in NSW, but not it seems for Peter Hall QC and ICAC.




See
Peter Hall QC and ICAC have been provided information about Top Group by Dr Amen Lee, but ICAC will still not call Zhu Minshen




AND



TOP Education Institute's Bachelor of Laws : Political donations,HK Stock Exchange IPO seem to have left regulators confounded, speechless

END 

Friday, May 26, 2023

Former NSW Speaker has become director of penny stock company that has lost 90 % of IPO high -Jonathan O'Dea appointment as non-executive director of the Communist Party China linked Top Education Group Ltd a reflection of former ICAC head Peter Hall's incompetence in investigating political donations

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The former Speaker Of The NSW Legislative Assembly Jonathan O'Dea has been appointed non-executive director of the Communist Party China linked Top Education Group Ltd. His choice of post political employment  is intriguing , for Top Group  has lost over  90 % of its market capitalisation since its listing in 2018. 

Top Group continues to be a source of scandal due in part to the incompetence of former ICAC chief Peter Hall. Hall refused to call Top Group's founder , principal and major shareholder  Zhu Minshen in the course of his investigation into political donations by the Communist Party Of China, despite the evidence before him that clearly linked Top Group to that scandal. 

To Be Read With 

Monday, May 22, 2023

Former Speaker Of The NSW Legislative Assembly Jonathan O'Dea appointed non-executive director of the Communist Party China linked Top Education Group Ltd -Another NSW Liberal link to the scandal plagued Top Education Group

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                     

Liberal MP Jonathan O'Dea at an ACETCA event.         

The former Speaker Of The NSW Legislative Assembly Jonathan O'Dea has been appointed non-executive director of the Communist Party China linked Top Education Group Ltd. 

O'Dea was Liberal member for Davidson, and an ally of Gladys Berejiklian.  Top Group received approval from the NSW LPAB to award law degrees around the time Top and its founder Zhu Minshen donated AUD 44 275 to the NSW Liberal Party. That apporval was renewed under the watch of former NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman, who is the crurrent leader of the NSW Liberals,and Leader Of The Opposition.

Monday, March 20, 2023

HK listed Top Group's IPO was a classic case of license trading, and questions remain about any contributions to the NSW Liberals political fund - NSW AG Mark Speakman who issued the license remains silent

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Mark Speakman

As First Law Officer of the state, Mark oversees 
the administration of almost 200 Acts of Parliament, 
the most of any minister in the NSW Government

The Top Group IPO was a classic pump and dump, and it was based on the license to award law degrees granted by NSW Attorney General Meak Speakman and his NSW Legal Profession Admission Board. Much has transpired to complicate matters since the IPO and the collapse in share price and market capitalisation, but the Speakman remains silent.

In Hong Kong and other Asian markets there will be questions raised and an investigation intot he pump and dump and political funding,  but in Australia there has been nothing of that sort. Of course, Speakman is also the minister in charge of the state corruption agency, and is part of the panel that determines who heads it. 

TO BE READ WITH 

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Top Group IPO a classic case of license trading: Post IPO spike & collapse in market cap raises obvious questions about any political party beneficiaries ,but Peter Hall & ICAC not interested

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The graph above shows the movements in Zhu Minshen's Top Group's share price since its IPO and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

It is easy to see that there was an initial spike after which share price and market capitalisation collapsed.

Anyone familiar with Asian markets will see that the Top Group listing and movement in share price follows the well trodden path of companies that list as soon as hard to get approvals are obtained and then sold via an IPO. In the case of Top Group the relevant approval was the "first and only" license to grant Australian law degrees granted a private company, granted by the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board,after consultation with the Law Council Australia.




It has already been shown on this blog that the granting of that license coincided with donations from Top and Zhu to the NSW Liberal Party. Consequently a inquiry into who the beneficiaries of the IPO were seems a logical step for an inquiry into political donations in NSW, but not it seems for Peter Hall QC and ICAC.




See
Peter Hall QC and ICAC have been provided information about Top Group by Dr Amen Lee, but ICAC will still not call Zhu Minshen




AND



TOP Education Institute's Bachelor of Laws : Political donations,HK Stock Exchange IPO seem to have left regulators confounded, speechless

END 

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Amen Lee, ICAC witness, is now chairman of Top Education Group Ltd, licensed by the NSW LPAB to grant law degrees in NSW

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Amen Lee, ICAC witness, is now chairman of Top Education Group Ltd, which is licensed by the NSW LPAB to grant law degrees in NSW.

TO BE READ WITH

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Amen Lee is part of Top Education Group's Controlling Shareholder Group: Fresh questions for NSW LPAB,AG Speakman ,and NSW Libs over issuance of Top's LLB license and political donations ; Peter Hall's position at ICAC increasingly untenable

by Ganesh Sahathevan

In his current inquiry into Chinese donations to the Labor Party ,ICAC Commissioner Peter
Hall QC(picture above) seems reluctant to go anywhere near the matter of Zhu Minshen and his Top Group,whose
donations to the NSW Liberal Party may have consequences for Hall's former colleagues at the NSW Bar and Bench who manage the Legal Profession Admission Board, the body that has provided Zhu the status of a law school vice chancellor.


While Liberal Party donor Zhu Minshen has been, this far, the focus of attention with regards Top Education Group and its license to issue LLB degrees, f Dr Amen Lee, former Executive Chairman of the Australia China Trade, Economic and Cultural Association's (ACETCA), appears to have had an equal even if less prominent role in the matter.

In August this year Amen Lee told ICAC:

"If I do attend these (fundraising) events they are paid for by Top Education or ACETCA. I have not and would not attend as an individual," Dr Lee said. Top Education is a company of which Dr Lee said he was a director and shareholder.

Top's 2019 Annual Report includes these disclosures: 

 The Company made history as it founded the very first Law School within a private higher education institute when both TEQSA and NSW LPAB officially accredited its degree program in Law.

Members of the Controlling Shareholders Group are parties acting in concert and on 13 October 2017, they entered into a confirmation deed to, among others, confirm that they have been acting together with an aim to achieving decisions at general meetings of the Company on a unanimous basis. Members of the Controlling Shareholders Group are the founding Shareholders or have invested in the Company at an early stage. Dr. Zhu and Mr. (Amen) Lee are the members of the Controlling Shareholders Group. As at 30 June 2019, all the members of the Controlling Shareholders Group together controlled 855,468,000 Shares. Under the SFO, each of Dr. Zhu and Mr. Lee is deemed to be interested in the Shares beneficially owned by the other members of the Controlling Shareholders Group.

As at 30 June 2019 Zhu controlled 38.16% of Top's shares, while  Amen Lee controlled 33.46%. 

https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2019/1028/ltn20191028147.pdf

The above suggests that there is some overlap between Top Group and ACETCA.
All of the above raises many questions as to who else supported Top's introduction into state and federal political ,and legal circles.

The LPAB and the AG Mark Speakman have refused to answer any questions about the license issued Top Group. In addition ICAC chairman Peter Hall has refused to call Minshen Zhu as a witness to the ongoing inquiry into Chinese political donations, despite Amen Lee's testimony. Hall would be required to call Zhu, and those responsible within the LPAB, which is chaired by the Chief Justice of NSW Tom Bathurst, and overseen by the AG, MArk Speakman. 

Hall's position is as chairman of the ongoing inquiry and of ICAC seems increasingly untenable. He should resign.

END 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Corruption in issuance of NSW coal mining licenses inevitable, but issuance of a "first and only" license to grant law degrees to a Communist Party China linked entity perfectly normal -NSW ICAC

  by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Nine and others reported in 2013:

It was almost inevitable that coal mining licensing in NSW would be exploited because the system was so conducive to corruption, the state's watchdog says.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has slammed the department of resources licensing process, saying it would have been "inconceivable" for any other portfolio to have been so open to exploitation for the benefit of a select few.

It comes after the ICAC found earlier this year that former mining minister Ian Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process for a coal licence in the Bylong Valley, which financially benefited the family of his then colleague Eddie Obeid

Then in 2018 former ICAC chief David Ipp was reported to have  said:

David Ipp, QC, formerly a judge of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), believes the New South Wales Government’s mining licence approval process is at risk of corruption, particularly given its handling of the Ridgelands coal mine renewal in the state’s Upper Hunter region.

“When a government goes to the trouble of creating an elaborate procedure for the granting of mining tenements and doesn’t respect its own laws it’s a recipe for corruption,” he told NSW paper Newcastle Herald.

“There is little point in creating this elaborate process if the government doesn’t comply and respect its own procedures. It becomes an illusion.”

On 20 December 2022. former NSW Labor mining minister Ian Macdonald faces a fresh prison sentence after being found guilty of misconduct in public office for bypassing a competitive process to give a lucrative coal licence.

Meanwhile NSW ICAC has remained silent about the issuance, and then renewal of a license to grant law degrees to the Communist Party China linked Zhu Minshen (recently deceased)  and his Top Education Group. Zhu described it as the "first and only" license to issue law degrees granted a private company that is not a university.  The license was renewed even after Zhu's involvement in the Sam Dastiyari scandal led to Dastiyari's resignation from the Senate. 

TO BE READ WITH 

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Zhu Minshen's law school has approval of TEQSA, the NSW LPAB (chaired by NSW Chief Justice Bathurst),but not certified by the Council Of Australian Law Deans -Inconsistency raises questions afresh about professional standards at the NSW LPAB, TEQSA and Law Council Australia

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

From left to right: Prof Eugene Clark, Hon George Brandis, Dr Minshen Zhu

In "Silent Invasion" Professor Clive Hamilton describes how Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Institute(and other Chinese entities) interfere in Australian politics.The section on Zhu and Top begins :
"Few people noticed, but the fishy smell around Zhu Minshen's Top Education Institute was noticeable a few years before it began wafting from the front pages of the newspaper (such as the AFR in 2013)".

In 2012 the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board , a statutory body chaired by the Chief Justice NSW and under the purview of the Attorney General NSW ,began the process that led to Zhu and his Top Group being granted the "first and only" license to issue law degrees granted a private company that is not a university.

The notoriety that Zhu and Top Group had gained since 2013,and especially in 2016 seems to have been ignored in the process of evaluating Zhu's application, despite the very high standards of probity the LPAB ,the Chief Justice and the AG profess for anyone seeking admission to practice in NSW.


It has also been reported by this writer that

Zhu Minshen's new Chinese website says the Law Council of Australia "officially approved" Top Education Institute's application to issue law degrees


Now it has been discovered that Zhu Misnhen's Top Education Group Law School, also known as the Sydney City School Of Law, is not certified by the Council Of Australian Law Deans and its Australian Law Schools Standards Committee.

The Australian Law Schools Standards Committee (ALSSC) is established under Standard 12 of the Australian Law School Standards. The ALSSC’s functions are to:
consider and determine applications from law schools for certification as compliant with the Standards; and keep the Standards under review and to propose to CALD amendments from time to time.

The ALSSC is comprised of eight committee members from both within and outside the law school sector.

A list of the Australian Law Schools that are certified as at 9 March 2020 is available here.

https://cald.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Certified-Law-Schools-as-at-9-Mar-2020.pdf

Readers can see for themselves from the PDF link above that Zhu Misnhen's Top Education law school is not among those listed as being certified by the CALD.

That Zhu Minshen's law school has been approved by TEQSA, the NSW LPAB which is chaired by NSW Chief Justice Bathurst),but not certified by the Council Of Australian Law Deans is an inconsistency that raises questions afresh about professional standards at the NSW LPAB, TEQSA and Law Council Australia.

END

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Only public hearings of a Federal ICAC can uncover misconduct at quasi-judicial bodies such as the NSW LPAB, and the anomalies in its business with the Communist Party China linked Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

While debate continues about the extent to which the proposed Federal ICAC's inquiries ought be public, the mystery that continues to surround the apparent misconduct at  the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board and the anomalies in its dealings with the Communist Party China linked Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group serve to provide a useful case study  for the argument that the inquiries ought to be public. 

The NSW LPAB is a quasi-judicial body which is chaired by the Chief Justice Of NSW. As detailed in the story below, the secrecy that it is afforded given its status allowed it to grant Zhu Minshen favours never granted any other individual and private entity. In this case the favours were granted despite Zhu's Communist Party China ties, and the political donation scandal that he was embroiled in.

TO BE READ WITH 

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Did the Law Council Australia and the NSW LPAB ignore ASIO advice in granting Zhu Minshen the right to grant LLB degrees, and entree into Australia's legal system?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

From left to right :Prof Eugene Clark, Hon George Brandis, 

Dr Minshen Zhu.Politicians constantly change their position

on matters and their allegiances, so Brandis being critical

of Zhu while being happy to be photographed with him is not

inconsistent, for a politician. 

AAP reported in November 2019:

Retired ASIO chief Duncan Lewis has accused the Chinese government of using 'insidious' foreign interference operations to 'take over' Australia's political system.

Anyone in political office could be a target, the former spy chief told the political journal Quarterly Essay in an interview to be published next week.

Mr Lewis claimed Chinese authorities were trying to 'place themselves in a position of advantage' by in political, social, business and media circles, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday, citing the interview.

Despite that warning, the NSW LPAB renewed Zhu Minshen's  right to grant LLB degrees, and entree into Australia's legal system:

Zhu Minshen announces that NSW LPAB review "went smoothly": AG NSW Mark Speakman and officers unconcerned by Clive Hamilton's disclosures of threats, intimidation and defiance of AFP directives ,share price collapse

In fact, questions about Zhu Minshen were raised by the former Commonwealth Attorney General George Brandis as early as 2016:


Former AG George Brandis raised questions about Zhu Minshen and Top Education Group which remain unanswered, but Zhu and Top are today even more entrenched in the NSW and Australian legal system, thanks to the NSW LPAB and its chairman the CJ NSW, and the AG NSW

Despite all of the above, the Law Council Australia as well as NSW LPAB seem determined to continue supporting Zhu and Top Group:


Zhu Minshen's new Chinese website says the Law Council of Australia "officially approved" Top Education Instituter's application to issue law degrees

The NSW LPAB and Law Council Australia may  attempt  to deflect questions about all of the above by asserting that they are not required by law to seek the advice of ASIO when determining who may or many not grant law degrees in Australia. If they did, and even if the answer is legally correct, it would demonstrate poor judgment; entree into the legal system is always a matter of national security:

“....perhaps the only accredited degree program in Australia that counts agitating for a foreign power towards its qualifications": Why the Law Soc Australia & NSW LPAB's business with Zhu Minshen is a matter of national security

END 

Retiring ASIO boss issues a chilling warning that China seeks to 'take over' Australia

• Retired ASIO boss Duncan Lewis has warned of Chinese takeover of Australia
• Mr Lewis has claimed Chinese authorities wanted to be in 'position of advantage'
• His comments come after Liberal MPs were denied visas to travel to China 

By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 07:52 AEDT, 22 November 2019 | UPDATED: 11:30 AEDT, 23 December 2019

Retired ASIO chief Duncan Lewis has accused the Chinese government of using 'insidious' foreign interference operations to 'take over' Australia's political system.

Anyone in political office could be a target, the former spy chief told the political journal Quarterly Essay in an interview to be published next week.

Mr Lewis claimed Chinese authorities were trying to 'place themselves in a position of advantage' by in political, social, business and media circles, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday, citing the interview.

'Espionage and foreign interference is insidious. Its effects might not present for decades and by that time it's too late,' he said.

'You wake up one day and find decisions made in our country that are not in the interests of our country.'

In the interview, Mr Lewis warns covert foreign intrusion into the heart of Australian politics is 'something we need to be very, very careful about'.

His remarks come after Liberal MPs Andrew Hastie and Senator James Paterson were denied visas to travel to China for a study tour after they criticised its human rights recordIn an opinion piece published in The Australian on Thursday, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Xining accused the MPs of having double standards and showing disrespect.

'It is cynical that in a country boasting freedom of speech, different views from another nation are constantly and intentionally obliterated,' Mr Wang wrote.

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In the interview, Mr Lewis warns covert foreign intrusion into the heart of Australian politics is 'something we need to be very, very careful about' (pictured is a reeducation centre in Xinjiang province)