Former NSW Labor minister Ian Macdonald "maliciously" abused his power when in office, a court has heard.
Mr Macdonald and ex-union boss John Maitland are charged with wilful misconduct in public office and being an accessory to the misconduct, after the Doyles Creek mine licence, in the Hunter, was directly allocated to a company Mr Maitland chaired while Mr Macdonald had the mining portfolio in 2008.