You could be forgiven for thinking the inquiry has been a bit of a damp squib. But high-profile resignations are not the only measure of Icac’s success

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Many people watching the Independent Commission Against Corruption hearings in Sydney over the past two months have come to admire the forensic questioning of the counsel assisting the inquiry, Peggy Dwyer SC.

As she set out the complicated allegations in detail on the opening day in July, Dwyer emphasised the central role of electoral donations laws, observing: “Money in politics, as in other spheres of life, has the potential to corrupt.”