Council staff dubbed the ‘Pink Ops’ surveilled other workers, NSW anti-corruption watchdog hears

Ex-Parramatta council chief executive Gail Connolly and ‘close network’ allegedly promoted friends while targeting others for reprisals

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A New South Wales anti-corruption inquiry is investigating whether three friends in powerful positions at a western Sydney council, who called themselves the “Pink Ops”, subverted recruitment and promotion processes to benefit friends.

The NSW Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) held its first day of public hearings on Monday into allegations concerning Parramatta council’s former chief executive Gail Connolly, as well as council employees Roxanne Thornton and Angela Jones-Blayney and other staff.