THE FORMER chief executive of a domestic violence and homelessness organisation was not trying to be "deceitful" when she authorised her own pay rises, a court has heard.
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Janet Marjorie McDonald was flanked by supporters when she fronted Newcastle District Court for a conviction appeal hearing on Friday.
McDonald was found to have defrauded Maitland not-for-profit Carrie's Place in 2018 when she approved changes to her pay while she was the boss of the organisation.
Defence lawyer Natasha Konic argued in the district court that McDonald was not trying to do anything underhanded, and the pay changes came in the context of a "full-blown" dispute which involved the governance committee.
"This is a dispute ... it's out in the open rather than something that's deceitful," Ms Konic said.
"She wasn't seeking to do anything underhand, she believed that she was acting in a way that she was allowed to act.
"Our submission is that it's a dispute, it's not a deception."
The court heard one of the three pay rise requests came after the Carrie's Place governance committee was ultimately stood down in August 2018.
"There did not seem to be anyone who Ms McDonald could refer to," Ms Konic said.
"It's her pay - it's not like she's not working for this."
McDonald had pleaded not guilty and fought the charge during a complex day-long hearing in May, which involved several witnesses and bundles of documents.
The court heard at that time that McDonald and the governance committee of Carrie's Place had been in negotiations about a pay increase for months when she emailed the organisation's accountants approving a pay rise for herself in March 2018.
McDonald had given evidence at the hearing that she'd spoken on the phone to the organisation's chairperson the month before, who she said agreed to approve back pay as a goodwill gesture while problems with McDonald's contract were sorted out.
The local court magistrate found McDonald had emailed the accountants again a few months later when negotiations had "clearly broken down" and while she was off on worker's compensation, and authorised another pay rise.
The local court was told at the time that McDonald had been a hard-working person for Carrie's Place for many years and had never been before the court.
Judge Wass heard submissions on Friday and said she would hand down her judgment at a later date.
The court heard that depending on her findings, there would be a severity appeal on the sentence McDonald was handed in the local court in July this year, which involved a good behaviour order, a criminal conviction an order to pay more than $10,000 in compensation.
McDonald became distressed when Judge Wass adjourned the matter to March next year.
"I know this has gone on for some time ... there's a lot to go through and I want to do it properly, or as properly as I can," Judge Wass said.
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Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
