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

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 to get them to leave.

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 anti-corruption watchdog to investigate all 128 councils across the state, and in Connolly, the ICAC has found itself a rich cautionary tale of what happens when someone in charge of a public organisation may not always play by the rule book.

Unsurprisingly, Connolly has not enjoyed the scrutiny. Sitting in the witness box over seven days, she has often appeared frustrated by questions and annoyed when pressed for more direct answers. Chief commissioner John Hatzistergos has on several occasions had to tell Connolly to listen and respond to the question she has been asked rather than the rambling answer she opted for.

She has also struggled at times to turn her mind to key events and conversations. Transcripts show Connolly relied on the words “can’t recall” or “don’t recall” at least 440 times in the witness box. Connolly repeatedly insisted her memory blanks were due to the passing of time.

Connolly’s tough-it-out approach was in stark contrast to another Pink Ladies member, Roxanne Thornton, who helped three friends secure jobs at the council through a “charade” application process. In her evidence, Thornton fessed up to wrongdoing.

“I know I’m gonna lose my job. I’ve done the wrong thing,” she told the commission in late May. “There’s people watching that are going to get heaps of joy out of this. F---ing good times. I’ve admitted to everything.”

There was no such concession from Connolly. In her final d