Thousands of people lost money as John Maitland was thrown in jail. He wants the NSW government to make up for it

A former Hunter mining executive who spent two years in jail before he was cleared of corruption says he won’t give up on achieving compensation for thousands of coal investors who lost money over the accusations. 

John Maitland, former chairman of Doyles Creek Mining (DCM), was cleared of corrupt activity in obtaining Mining Licence 7270 near Jerrys Plains in a judge-only retrial which wrapped up this year.

“I haven’t chased an apology,” he said.

“The injustice that was rained down upon me is just part of what has taken place.

“I’ve been more concentrating on making sure that the people who were very much affected by what I was accused of, the mum and dad people in the Hunter Valley, were looked after first.”

Mr Maitland was accused of conspiring with convicted former Labor MP Ian Macdonald to obtain the licence in 2008.

It triggered an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), a criminal trial and change in law that allowed then NSW premier Barry O’Farrell to seize the licence in 2014.

At the time it belonged to NuCoal, and thousands of people who invested in the company and its proposed underground mine lost their money as its share price tanked.

Mr Maitland has no plans to lead a quiet life.

He is determined to see the NSW government make amends with devastated shareholders.

‘Difficult journey’

Mr Maitland, who is also a former union boss, was accused of being in a corrupt arrangement with former NSW resources minister Ian Macdonald.

Mr Macdonald granted EL 7270 to DCM without a competitive tender process in 2008.

The two were convicted in 2017 by a jury before it was overturned on appeal in 2019.

A judge-only retrial, which wrapped up this year, affirmed Mr Macdonald was guilty of wilful misconduct in public office, while Mr Maitland was found not guilty of being an accessory to the offences.

Mr Maitland said legal proceedings over the years cost him his property near Kempsey, and he ended up representing himself in the retrial.

 “I had to run my own case at the end of 2022, the one that I won and found me not guilty of any wrongdoing,” he said.

“So it’s been a difficult journey.

“Certainly for my family, it’s been a difficult journey.”

He estimated it would cost up to $453 million to compensate the affected shareholders.

NuCoal has long maintained that no-one at the company, or any of the investors, did anything wrong and they were entitled to compensation by the NSW government, which was recommended by ICAC.

A spokesperson for Premier Chris Minns’ office said the previous government followed advice from ICAC to cancel the mining licence and under current legislation compensation was not payable by the state.

They said there has been no further information to justify the NSW government reaching a new position.

Investor pain

Newcastle resident Peter Harvey invested $110,000 into NuCoal before the share price plummeted.

He said most of the money was gone, but he couldn’t say exactly how much.

“I don’t look at it because you can’t,” he said.

“It’s not good for our mental health to talk about it.”

Mr Harvey said he made the investment to support his daughter so she could have specialist disability accommodation when she was older.

“You think you’re investing for the right reasons,” he said.

“You do all the due diligence because of what the infrastructure was going to be and what the capability of the company was — only to have it stolen [by] the New South Wales government.”

Mr Harvey said he was disappointed that members of parliament from the Hunter had not addressed the issue since the state election this year.

“The number of Labor MPs who endorsed compensation whilst they were in opposition is alarming,” he said.

“Now they’re in government, they changed their tune.

“Rip the Band-­Aid off and get it done because our Band­-Aid just stays there. It’s a wound that never heals.”

MPs back out of parliament meeting

Mr Maitland said he had spoken with crossbench MLCs John Ruddick and Rod Roberts about compensation for NuCoal shareholders.

“They’re happy to keep pushing this issue because they recognise that there has been certainly an injustice done to these shareholders who are guilty of nothing,” Mr Maitland said.

But he said he was disappointed a contingent of Labor MPs from the Hunter region cancelled plans for a meeting at NSW Parliament.

The ABC has contacted Cessnock MP Clayton Barr, who called it off, but he declined to comment.

“It has been a real turn-off for me as far as members of parliament is concerned,” Mr Maitland said.

“But I’m not giving up. I’m going to continue.”