Disgraced former NSW minister Eddie Obeid has lost his final bid to get out of jail with the High Court refusing to give him the green light to challenge his misconduct conviction.
The 74-year-old former ALP powerbroker was jailed in December 2016 for at least three years after being found guilty of misconduct in public office between August and November 2007.
He was found to have lobbied a public servant to secure lease renewals for two lucrative Circular Quay businesses without revealing his family's financial interests in the outlets.
Last year five judges in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed his appeal against his conviction and sentence.
On Friday, the High Court refused to give him the go-ahead to challenge his conviction.
"In our opinion, there are insufficient prospects that the appeal would succeed to warrant the grant of special leave," said Justice Virginia Bell, sitting with Justices Patrick Keane and James Edelman.
In contending there was a miscarriage of justice, Obeid's lawyers said the misconduct claims were for parliament not for the Supreme Court and also referred to the "duty" the ex-MP was said to have breached.
In its ruling, the appeal court said the jury was entitled to conclude Obeid knew what he was doing was wrong in law.
Or that he at least recognised the risk that it was unlawful and proceeded in any event.
At the time, Obeid had been an MP for 16 years and a state minister for four of those years.
"It is inconceivable that a politician of that standing and experience did not know that his duty was to serve the public interest and that he was not elected to use his position to advance his own or his family's pecuniary interests," Chief Justice Tom Bathurst said.
Australian Associated Press
