This was published 6 years ago
Well, what a day! I will be back live blogging from the Commission tomorrow.
Sam Dastyari will be giving evidence as will Ernest Wong.
Of course, you can catch all of today's action and analysis in tomorrow's print edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.
NSW Labor has suspended Ms Murnain as general secretary in a late-night meeting of party officials.
Senior officials called an emergency meeting for 8pm on Wednesday, after Labor leader Jodi McKay called on the party to suspend Ms Murnain saying she had lost confidence in her judgement.
Shortly after 8:30pm NSW Labor resolved to suspend Ms Murnain from her position.
Law firm Holding Redlich has issued a statement in support of partner Ian Robertson, following Ms Murnain's claims he advised her to remain quiet about alleged illegal donations to the party.
“Our partner Ian Robertson is a highly experienced legal adviser and he has the firm’s full support," the statement, issued at 8pm on Wednesday, said.
“We note that Ian will be providing his evidence to the hearing next week and that his counsel has sought leave to cross-examine Ms Murnain next week.
“It is inappropriate to make any further comment on this matter at this time.”
There's nothing quite like an ICAC inquiry to lay bare the fragility of political alliances.
Jodi McKay seized the NSW Labor leadership only two months ago, with the backing of Ms Murnain and the party's head office machine.
Ms McKay was elected in a dual vote of the party's MPs and the grassroots members, but she was Ms Murnain's preferred pick over rival Chris Minns.
It took mere hours after Ms Murnain's evidence on Wednesday for Ms McKay to call for her suspension.
The withdrawal of her support renders Ms Murnain's position untenable.
NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has issued a statement calling for Ms Murnain to be suspended as general secretary, saying she "no longer" has confidence in her judgement.
"Tonight I am taking steps to clean up the mess at ALP head office. I am appalled by the evidence of the past three days," Ms McKay said in the statement.
"I have therefore asked the party officers to convene a meeting tonight to suspend Kaila Murnain as General Secretary, as I no longer have confidence in her judgement.
"Pat Garcia will act in the role of General Secretary. I will have more to say about governance within the party at the conclusion of the inquiry."
Senior Labor officials have been locked in crisis talks since 5pm to deliberate over Ms Murnain's future as general secretary.
A senior party source said Ms Murnain was demanding $309,000, a year's salary, as part of severance package.
Party insiders were touting Rail, Train and Bus Union secretary Bob Nanva and federal party staffer Andrew Downes as the frontrunners to replace Ms Murnain.
Ms Murnain recently took a leave of absence from her position and it is understood "background negotiations" have been underway for the past two months to devise an exit strategy.
Labor stalwart Graham Richardson has defended Ms Murnain, telling Sky News it was "if anything has gone wrong it's in the reign of her predecessor not her."
"It knocks you around you know, going before ICAC and that sort of thing is not for everyone," Mr Richardson said.
"It's difficult and I think she's had a pretty hard time but she didn't do anything wrong, she just heard about something that might have gone wrong."
Mr Richardson served as general secretary of the NSW Labor Party between 1976 to 1983, before entering federal parliament as a NSW Senator.
In a sensational end to the day's proceedings, Ms Murnain has claimed the party's lawyer advised her to keep quiet about the revelations of the prohibited donation.
She said she met with lawyer Ian Robertson, a partner at Holding Redlich, at the MLC Centre in Sydney's CBD around 7:20pm that night, following her meeting with Mr Wong and Mr Dastyari.
She said she told Mr Robertson there had been a "massive f--k up" and relayed the details of her conversation with Mr Wong.
According to Ms Murnain, Mr Robertson asked her if Mr Wong had supplied her with any evidence to support his assertion that Mr Huang was the source of the donation.
After meeting with Mr Wong, Ms Murnain's first phone call was to NSW Labor Senator Sam Dastyari for advice.
Ms Murnain said Mr Dastyari drove and met her behind NSW Parliament. The pair talked inside Mr Dastyari's car.
She said she was crying as she confided in Mr Dastyari, and conveyed to him the information that Mr Wong had just told her.
"I mainly went to him because he was a predecessor who had dealt with Mr Huang and Mr Wong," Ms Murnain said.
Mr Dastyari, she said, advised her to contact the party's lawyers.
Mr Dastyari was general secretary of the Labor Party between 2010 and 2013.
Ms Murnain has told the inquiry she first discovered Mr Huang was behind the donation in September 2016, when then-Labor MP Ernest Wong confided in her outside the NSW Parliament.
She said she met with Mr Wong in the Domain, near hospital road, behind NSW Parliament around 6:45pm on September 16, 2016.
Ms Murnain said Mr Wong appeared "distressed" and was sweating.
“He was hot, and agitated and speaking quickly,” Ms Murnain said.
The inquiry was shown text messages between Ms Murnain and Mr Wong showing the pair arranging to meet outside the parliament that evening.