NOW that the Independent Commission against Corruption has found that another NSW coal exploration licence was corruptly awarded, the government should cancel the affected licences.
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If it does not, and the wealth stemming from the proven corruption is allowed to stand, then how can citizens be sure that future office-holders won't be swayed by the lure of money to risk shame or disgrace and break the rules again?
True, the government itself stands to make millions of dollars in royalties from the mines that may result from the corrupt behaviour, but surely that is all the more reason to wash its hands properly of the whole affair and return to the pre-corruption status quo.
ICAC has found, yet again, that former resources minister Ian Macdonald abused his public office to enrich his friends and contacts.
Last month he was found to have rigged a tender for the Mount Penny exploration licence to benefit the family of his political mentor and Labor ally, Eddie Obeid.
In the latest case, Mr Macdonald blatantly overrode advice from his department and awarded a coal exploration licence - without the usual public tender - to an organisation connected to a political "mate", former mining-union boss John Maitland.
Mr Macdonald has vehemently insisted he is innocent, pointing to the fact that nobody has been able to find evidence that his actions in relation to the Doyles Creek or Mount Penny coal exploration licences enriched him personally.
That's hardly relevant when all the circumstances are considered. Indeed, ICAC has suggested that, in the Doyles Creek case, Mr Macdonald had owed Mr Maitland a favour for lobbying on his behalf in 2006 when he was in danger of losing his parliamentary preselection.
It is a first principle in the handling of public assets that individuals should not interfere with established processes, especially if there is the faintest hint of a possible benefit to anybody connected with those contemplating the interference.
No matter what Mr Macdonald says to the contrary, his actions clearly appear to fail this fundamental test.
The public interest demands that, where grounds exist to charge those found guilty of corruption under the criminal law, those charges be laid and pursued with the greatest vigour.
Those who made money from the corruption should forfeit every cent as the first and most obvious step towards attempting to restore public confidence in the processes surrounding the awarding of coal exploration licences in NSW.
