"So, do you suggest that I start making contact with the Labor aldermen, or should I leave that with you?" Mr Vellar said on the recording.

Ms Hay told him she needed more information but he should leave the councillors to her.

"Yeah, because then you can go and talk to Kiril (Jonovski), Zeki (Esen) and Frank (Gigliotti)," Mr Vellar said.

"Yeah, exactly so ... I'll talk to the councillors then," she said.

Commissioner Jerrold Cripps, QC, later said Ms Hay was not a person of interest and she defended the exchange: "I stand by that conversation ... I listened to opponents of the project in my office as well and I attended some of the protest meetings."

She said after NSW Heritage got involved with the project, "I had nothing to do with it". The pavilion was heritage-listed in June 2005.

Ms Hay also denied she showed favour to Mr Vellar's proposals because she had received a $4000 political donation from his company Sebvell Living.

"I wasn't doing anybody's bidding," she said in April.

ICAC found that Mr Vellar and senior planner Beth Morgan had engaged in "serious corrupt conduct" when they engineered the approval of the Quattro development on Wollongong's Flinders St.

Mr Vellar said this week he did not recall a meeting with Ms Hay and Mr Gigliotti.

"Not that I recollect. I really can't help you," he said.

Mr Gigliotti also came under scrutiny during the ICAC hearings after he was filmed handing over a $500 case of whiskey to convicted conman Raymond Younan. The council was sacked after Commissioner Cripps found it suffered from systemic corruption.

In an earlier ICAC investigation into bribery allegations, Commissioner Cripps criticised Mr Gigliotti for giving inconsistent evidence.

Mr Gigliotti signed his statutory declaration earlier this month. He would not comment on it when contacted this week.

AN EDITED EXTRACT OF MR GIGLIOTTI'S STATUTORY DECLARATION

1) I Frank Gigliotti, (Mortgage Broker) make the following declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959:

2) In mid January 2008 I called David Lusty from the ICAC after he had a conversation with my solicitor and said to him ``Tell Frank to come clean on Noreen Hay".

3) During this conversation with David Lusty I told him about a meeting I had been called to in Noreen Hays office during 2007.

4) I explained to David Lusty that in 2007 I had received a phone call by Noreen Hay NSW Labor MP and asked by her ``Frank, Are you around today and free to pop in for a chat? I replied ``yes what time?'' Noreen said ``Can you pop in now?'' Noreen didn't tell me what the meeting was about or her reasons for wanting me to pop in to her Wollongong Office. We arranged that I would call in shortly because I was already in town and close to her office.

5) When I arrived I was greeted by Kylie Martin, Noreen's secretary, and led into Noreen's office. I was surprised to see Frank Vellar there because Noreen had not mentioned to me that he would be there and I felt very uncomfortable and apprehensive because Frank Vellar had a development proposal that had recently been rejected by me and Council. I think it was the night before this meeting that Council had declined Vellars application for a Public Private Partnership for the Bather Pavilion on Cliff Rd Wollongong. I was annoyed that Noreen would invite me to speak to her and not tell me that Frank Vellar was attending, especially under the circumstances at the time.

6) Noreen said to me ``Did you guys pass a resolution at the Council meeting against Franks application for the Bathers Pavilion?"

7) I answered ``yes, we did."

8) Then Frank Vellar said ``Frank we need you to put in a rescission motion calling on Council to rescind the previous motion for the Bathers Pavilion PPP." I had voted against this proposal because I knew the community did not want this development nor did they want part ownership of the Bathers Pavilion to go to a private developer.

9) It became very clear to me that the reason that Noreen had asked me to ``pop in'' to see her was to act on behalf of Frank. I was very uncomfortable with this request and I felt a lot of pressure because of Noreen's influence in the ALP. I had never associated with him and did not have any personal dealings or meetings with him. I never called him and I did not like Frank Vellar.

10) I said ``No mate, Im not doing it. Why don't you ask your mate Val?". I was referring to Val Zanotto who had an association with Frank Vellar up until recently; when they had had a falling out in Jan 07 regarding Ray Younan.

11) Frank asked ``Can you call Val?'' and Noreen said ``Yes I think that would be better''. So I called Val and said to him. ``I'm with Frank Vellar. Frank wants to know if you would consider putting in a rescission motion for the Bathers Pavilion?'' Val said ``No''.

12) At the completion of the call I told Noreen Hay and Frank Vellar ``Val said No; then said look I have to go Ive got work to do''.

13) The details of this meeting was given to David Lusty from the ICAC and I trusted that the ICAC ... would pursue this evidence, investigate and also use in the Public Hearing. But as far as I know they didn't. It certainly wasn't introduced at the hearing.