Former staffer drops Joe Tripodi in the soup over Eddie Obeid's interest in Circular Quay FORMER Labor minister Joe Tripodi will be grilled by corruption investigators today over allegations he knew Eddie Obeid had a secret interest in Circular Quay when he granted lucrative leases to harbourside businesses. Lynne Ashpole, Mr Tripodi's former deputy chief of staff, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption yesterday Mr Tripodi told her in 2006 Mr Obeid "had an interest" in "one or two" of the waterfront diners. Former Finance Minister Joe Tripodi Source: News Limited This contradicts Mr Tripodi's previous claim he was unaware of Mr Obeid's commercial interest in Circular Quay when he granted extended 10-year leases to existing retailers in 2009. Ms Ashpole said Mr Tripodi was initially in favour of putting the leases to public tender after they expired in 2005. Former Minister Joe Tripodi. Paul Scanlan, who was hired by Circular Quay retailers to negotiate with maritime officials over the leases, said he received a phone call "out of the blue" from Mr Tripodi on July 16, 2006, and the pair met nine days later. He did not know how Mr Tripodi got his number and he was surprised by the call because his lobbying of the department had not been fruitful. "It's occurred to you, I suppose, at least as a possibility, that Mr Obeid Sr asked Mr Tripodi to meet with you and hence the call?" counsel assisting the commission Ian Temby QC asked. "It is a possibility," Mr Scanlan said. After the July 25 meeting, Mr Tripodi said he was prepared to "look at the issue" but Mr Scanlan's subsequent letters went unanswered by the minister's office, ICAC was told. Mr Scanlan said he met with then-NSW Maritime deputy CEO Steve Dunn about the leases in August 2007, less than a fortnight after Mr Dunn was appointed to the role. ICAC has previously heard Mr Dunn ordered the draft commercial lease policy be changed to favour direct negotiation with sitting tenants. Mr Temby said yesterday that annual rent dropped by $100,000 under the new leases. ICAC is investigating claims Mr Obeid misused his position as an MP to lobby four ministers over Circular Quay retail leases. Witness Lynne Ashpole Source: News Limited THE state's former Labor treasurer denies knowing anything of ex-ALP powerbroker Eddie Obeid's business interests in Circular Quay and said he should have been told. Eric Roozendaal outside the ICA inquiry. Mr Roozendaal became the first of four former Labor ministers to give evidence at the latest ICAC inquiry when he took the stand yesterday. He said Mr Obeid had been an "influential" member of parliament and had backed him in the cabinet vote to become ports and waterways minister in August 2005. Mr Roozendaal also said that Mr Obeid later spoke to him about the long-running lease issue at Circular Quay but he had "no information at all" that the Obeid family owned two of them. "He felt they (tenants) were being poorly treated because they had invested a lot of goodwill in their businesses in the lead-up to the Olympics and if there was going to be a market valuation of those leases they should get the first right of refusal," he said. Mr Roozendaal said he could only recall speaking to Mr Obeid about leases on occasion but he admitted that it was "quite possible" there were other times.