Criminal offences

The big news is ICAC has recommended criminal charges be considered against former NSW energy minister Chris Hartcher for the offence of larceny, and former Labor MP Joe Tripodi for the offence of misconduct in public office.

Operation Spicer briefly crossed party lines and investigated allegations that Tripodi leaked a confidential Treasury report to an executive at Buildev, a property development company majority owned by Nathan Tinkler.

ICAC also recommended that criminal charges be considered against former Liberal MP Andrew Cornwell and his wife Samantha Brookes.

The findings are in

The ICAC findings are in and they make for unpleasant reading for a number of current and former NSW Liberal MPs. While no corruption findings have been made against them, former MPs Chris Hartcher, Tim Owen and Andrew Cornwell have been found to have acted with the intention of evading political donations laws.

So has former police minister Mike Gallacher, who remains in state Parliament and had hoped to return to cabinet.

ICAC has recommended criminal charges be considered against Andrew Cornwell and his wife Samatha Brookes for giving false or misleading evidence to ICAC.

It's on

Look at those boxes of fresh reports. That fancy carpet. The anticipation.

Pre-emptive strike

While ICAC has yet to release its findings in Operation Spicer, the Electoral Commission has already swooped. The Herald's state political editor, Sean Nicholls, and senior investigative reporter, Kate McClymont, revealed on Tuesday that the Electoral Commission has written to some targets of the inquiry and asked them to repay donations.

Read the full story here.

The characters

Former NSW energy minister Chris Hartcher and former police minister Mike Gallacher were among the high-profile Liberal figures embroiled in Operation Spicer.

Federal Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos, who also gave evidence in a related inquiry into controversial infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings, appeared as a witness.

All of the state MPs but Mr Gallacher have since left Parliament.

Public hearings ran for nine weeks and concluded almost two years ago in September 2014. The report was expected to be released last year but was delayed by a series of court battles.

The inquiry

Operation Spicer was the explosive ICAC inquiry into allegations NSW Liberal Party candidates accepted illegal donations from property developers before the 2011 election.

In his opening address, counsel assisting the ICAC, Geoffrey Watson, SC, said the inquiry was "mainly concerned with political fundraising in the Liberal Party, and the way in which unscrupulous businessmen sought to buy political influence".

The inquiry caused a storm of controversy and resulted in 11 state and federal Liberal MPs resigning or standing aside from Parliament.

Judgment day

Hello and welcome to the Herald's live blog from NSW Parliament, where the Independent Commission Against Corruption is poised to deliver its hotly-anticipated report on Operation Spicer, its inquiry into alleged political donations rorts before the 2011 state election.

The report, two years in the making, is set to be tabled at 10am. Follow us live for all the highlights and lowlights.