Eddie Obeid asked department lackey to investigate water limits on land he owned but didn't have licence for, ICAC hears DISGRACED ALP powerbroker Eddie Obeid was yesterday referred to as a "slimy" man who "just couldn't help himself" as the Independent Commission Against Corruption turned its focus to water licences on a property purchased by Mr Obeid. When farmer John Cherry agreed to sell his Bylong Valley farm to Mr Obeid in 2007, part of the deal was that Mr Cherry retained ownership of the valuable water licences until payment was finalised in November of that year. But Mr Cherry told the ICAC inquiry yesterday he was "livid" when he found out Mr Obeid had spoken to bureaucrats about the licences. He said the former MP was slimy and just couldn't help himself. Mr Cherry sold Cherrydale Park to Obeid family company Locaway P/L for $3.65 million in September 2007 with the expectation that ownership of the water licences associated with the property would remain with Mr Cherry until the finalisation of the sale. Eddie Obeid bought Cherrydale Park and wanted to increase the limits of water extraction because he believed the resource would become much more precious in time. ICAC heard evidence that Mr Obeid was concerned the licences had an unrestricted extraction limit. He wanted "firmness" and "clarity" about the volume. Mr Cherry said that on September 27, 2007, he received a phone call from Hemantha De Silva, a senior natural resource officer from the department of water and energy, who wanted to talk about establishing volumetric controls on the licences. Mr Cherry said: "Your boss asked you to do this, didn't he?" Mr De Silva confirmed he did. Mr Cherry was furious and told Mr Obeid to "keep your bloody nose out of it" because he did not yet own the water licences, which he valued at $500,000 and were an important part of his superannuation. He feared the department could impose a low extraction limit, thus reducing their value. According to Mr Cherry's notes of the conversation, Mr Obeid told him he had spoken to a "mate" who was the head of the department of water and energy and "wanted to establish something now while I still had influence" because "water is going to get more difficult in the future." Seven months later, when Mr Cherry and his wife had moved from the farm to Queensland, Locaway P/L was informed the extraction limit on two licences would be limited by the department to five megalitres per year, a quite small amount. Three months later in August 2008, the farm's groundwater allocation was again altered to an annual limit of 860 megalitres.