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ICAC has killed my career: Gallacher

Former NSW police minister Mike Gallacher is continuing to protest his innocence following ICAC's damning finding that he tried to evade donations laws.

Former NSW police minister Mike Gallacher
Former NSW minister Mike Gallacher is continuing to protest his innocence following ICAC's findings. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Former NSW police minister Mike Gallacher is continuing to protest his innocence as the fallout from the state corruption watchdog's explosive report into political donations continues.

Mr Gallacher was one of the highest-profile scalps of the Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) inquiry into an illegal donation scheme during the 2011 NSW election.

While he escaped any serious findings of corruption, ICAC's Operation Spicer report found Mr Gallacher had tried to evade electoral laws, which banned developers making political donations.

Mr Gallacher has accused the ICAC of trying to "kill his career".

"I might as well not have given evidence to the ICAC because everything I said, everything I put forward to them, they just dismissed," he told 2GB radio on Wednesday.

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"(They've said) 'let's kill his career'. And that's exactly what they've done," he said.

Mr Gallacher has been sitting on the crossbench for two years since the ICAC accused him of "hatching a corrupt scheme" to funnel money from banned donors to Liberal campaigns during the 2011 state election.

The long-awaited report said the ICAC "did not consider Mr Gallacher was always a truthful witness and places no reliance on his evidence".

Premier Mike Baird stopped short of calling on Mr Gallacher to resign on Tuesday, saying he had "paid a very heavy price".

The former MP was ruled out from making a political comeback however and was removed from the cabinet and the parliamentary Liberal Party.

Mr Gallacher says he will continue in his role as a member of the Legislative Council.

"I can assure you I'm not going anywhere," he said.

The rebellion could test the Baird government in the upper house where Coalition numbers are vital.

Greens MP Jamie Parker says the premier should call on Mr Gallacher to resign, and has also urged Mr Baird to revisit political donations laws in light of the report.

The ICAC found nine other former Liberal MPs also evaded electoral donations laws in the lead up to the 2011 election which saw the Coalition come to power.

Those MPs are unlikely to face prosecution as the time frame within which prosecutions for donations breaches can be launched has expired as the offences were committed in 2010.


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