Perth public servant Nadine Marie Smith charged after allegedly letting lover skip social housing queue

A public servant who allegedly let her lover skip a long social housing wait list has appeared in court charged with corruption. Nadine Marie Smith, 55, was whisked away in a car outside Perth Magistrates Court after she appeared on Wednesday charged with one court of acting corruptly as a public officer. Police allege Ms Smith was employed in a public officer role at Mirrabooka, when she became romantically involved with a social housing applicant. On September 1 last year, Ms Smith allegedly created a housing offer for the applicant “bypassing a significant number of applicants on the wait list” police said in a statement. She was arrested at a Clarkson home on Tuesday and police seized electronic devices. Ms Smith did not enter a plea and her Legal Aid lawyer asked for the case to be adjourned for six weeks. After her arrest, Det-Supt Peter Foley, Financial and Cyber Crime Division, said the alleged conduct was a serious breach of trust. “People who abuse the authority of their position, including those trusted to fairly and equitably manage housing resources, create an unfair disadvantage for the wider WA community” he said. “Applicants on the social housing waiting lists can wait up to five years. This includes vulnerable people with high-priority needs, such as those experiencing homelessness or domestic violence. “WA Police take these matters very seriously, and the financial crime squad will ensure anyone who corruptly performs their duties is brought to justice and placed before the courts.” The latest figures show that as of February 28, there were 23,237 applications on the public housing wait list.