of the applicant's official functions in relation to the ACTA and RCM Stage 2 funding influenced by her close personal relationship with Mr Maguire and her desire to maintain or advance that relationship. The conduct to which the s 11 finding relates was the applicant's failure and refusal to discharge her obligations by reporting her actual suspicions of Mr Maguire's activities in relation to the three matters described at [38] above.
93 Addressing the asserted "mischaracterisation" of the Report's findings, the Commission says that the findings of "serious corrupt conduct" arising from breaches of public trust were that the applicant exercised her functions whilst in a position of conflict of interest and duty. It submits that those findings of breach did not depend on any finding that the applicant had "deliberately preferred her private interest… over her public duty". Nevertheless, the Commission did make such a finding at [12.196], although not material to the s 8(1)(c) finding in the paragraph that follows. In relation to the breach of s 11, its findings were said to be that the applicant did not report her actual suspicions as to Mr Maguire's activities, and that she did so in order to protect either Mr Maguire's interests or her own interests, but not in furtherance of her interest in maintaining or advancing their relationship.
94 The Commission accepts that the conduct that it found constituted or involved breaches of s 8(1)(b) was the "partial" exercise of the applicant's official functions influenced by her close personal relationship with Mr Maguire and her desire to advance or maintain that relationship. Accordingly, the Commission's position is that ground of review 2 is only material to the "ultimate" findings based on a breach of s 8(1)(b) (partial conduct).
95 In reply, the applicant says that the above analysis is based on an incomplete account of the reasoning leading to the "ultimate" findings. In doing so, that argument makes reference to findings not challenged by the ground of review. First, as to the ultimate findings arising from the breaches of public trust, it is said those findings could not have been made unless the conduct in breach of s 8(1)(c) was found to answer the description of "serious corrupt conduct" (emphasis added) (s 74BA(1)). The findings supporting the Commission's conclusion to that effect in respect of the ACTA funding included that the applicant "knew [that] or was reckless as to whether" she had to notify her position of conflict, and nevertheless concealed that relationship "over an extended period of time" ([11.507]). In respect of the RCM funding, the finding was that the applicant knew she was in a position of conflict but, "wilfully and in bad faith, deliberately did not disclose it" ([12.261]).
96 Finally, in relation to the breach of s 11, the Commission found that in refusing to discharge that duty the applicant, motivated by self-interest to conceal the truth about what she knew or suspected so as to protect herself, as well as to protect Mr Maguire from further investigation, breached s 6 of the Ministerial Code ([13.387], [13.388], [13.395], cf [13.398]).
