In the long and recurring story of power and private gain, New South Wales finds itself once again before its corruption watchdog, where evidence has emerged that Liberal operatives allegedly accepted $2 million from a fugitive property developer in exchange for steering his projects through a government fast-track approval process. The inquiry, heard by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, places three conservative political figures at the centre of arrangements that — if proven — would represent not merely personal enrichment, but the quiet bending of public planning systems toward