The child sex monster hidden in plain sight in the halls of power for seven years: How a court blunder concealed a senior Labor insider

A former senior government adviser has been secretly tried and found guilty of more than a dozen sex crimes against children while his name was suppressed ‘by error’ for more than seven years.

Craig Munnings was on bail from his arrest in February 2019 until a jury’s guilty verdicts earlier this month, allowing him to continue working as a consultant in Australia and overseas.

Munnings was once described as corrupt NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald’s ‘right-hand man’ during an ICAC inquiry into the Labor politician’s dealings with crooked parliamentary colleague Eddie Obeid.

He served Labor ministers John Aquilina, Di Beamer and Harry Woods in the regional development, rural affairs, local government, infrastructure and planning portfolios during a 12-year political career.

The married father-of-two has maintained access to the corridors of power in NSW through his ongoing presence on the official register of authorised lobbyists.  

For the past seven years, Munnings has lived freely in the community while facing accusations he sexually abused two girls, with his identity protected by a suppression order that was made accidentally.

The 61-year-old had repeatedly been set to stand trial as early as 2020, only for proceedings to be continually pushed back or aborted after commencing in front of a jury.

Munnings has variously claimed to have prostate cancer, to have suffered a heart attack and to require heart surgery. He has also made late and unsuccessful applications for Legal Aid and been representing himself since about 2022.

The Central Coast resident is also an ordained Anglican priest who has previously been involved in the Woy Woy, Umina and Terrigal churches. 

The suppression order over his name – put in place when Munnings first faced a magistrate in March 2019 – was only lifted after he was found guilty of 14 child sex offences at Gosford District Court on August 7.

The order should have covered just the names of his two victims or anything which might tend to identify them.

A Department of Communities and Justice spokesman said the expanded order had mistakenly been put into the digital electronic case management system used across NSW courts.

‘There was a suppression order made in error over the name of the accused,’ the spokesman said. ‘It has now been lifted. 

‘The order suppressing the name of the accused (now offender) was entered into Justicelink in error.’

A source familiar with the case said: ‘When it was entered into the database, someone clicked “suppress all”.’

Munnings represented himself again at his final trial where he pleaded not guilty to nine counts of sexual assault, four of aggravated indecent assault of a victim under 16, and one of carnal knowledge of a girl aged between 10 and 16.

The victims’ evidence and their cross-examination by a barrister acting on Munnings’s behalf had been recorded for his first scheduled trial in 2020 and was tendered at all subsequent hearings.   

A jury took four hours and 46 minutes to find Munnings guilty of all 14 offences committed against the two girls – one of whom was just 10 when his abuse began – in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.

Munnings had first come to police attention when detectives from Brisbane Water launched an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse at Woy Woy in September 2016.

He was a 19-year-old youth leader when he started abusing his first victim and an ordained pastor by the time he began assaulting a 15-year-old girl who came forward in 2020.

Munnings was not named in the initial meagre media coverage of his arrest, when he was referred to as a 54-year-old church volunteer and Labor Party member. 

The party suspended his membership the day of his first court appearance, with a spokesman saying: ‘NSW Labor has zero tolerance of any behaviour which harms children.’

Trial dates were set nine times between August 2020 and July 2026, with three juries discharged for various reasons. On one occasion in 2024, a trial was aborted after the Crown raised concerns Munnings’s opening address was prejudicial.

Observers of the Munnings case were initially perplexed – then angered – when there was almost no media coverage as his prosecution dragged on through the courts for years.

The Daily Mail understands that when it emerged during the final month-long hearing that Munnings had mistakenly been protected by a non-publication order, authorities decided to leave it in place until the trial concluded.

The case had been delayed so many times – including once early on when Munnings said his wife had been diagnosed with cancer – that any further interruption was considered too risky.

A couple of stories about the case were published during the final trial, but Munnings could only be referred to as a ‘former pastor’ in local Central Coast media. 

While at liberty, Munnings was able to continue running his consultancy businesses and even managed to have his bail altered so he could travel overseas. 

His company Crakyl Pty Ltd, which Munnings owns with his wife, is still listed on The Lobbyists Register, granting him access to political decision-makers.

That entry states Crakyl’s employees – Munnings and his wife – are ‘authorised to communicate and meet with NSW Government Officials for the purpose of lobbying’ from August 2024. 

Crakyl’s clients include another family business, Munnings and Associates, Australian Chinese Consultancy Service, and south coast property development company Sealark.

The Daily Mail can also reveal that Munnings flew to China in April last year for a trip which included attending a business conference in Guangzhou as a representative of the Australian Guangdong Chamber of Commerce (AGCC). 

Munnings was even interviewed by local reporters after viewing a demonstration of Chinese robots and commented on Australia’s relations with international trading partners.

‘Australia’s future lies in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes countries like China, India, and Indonesia,’ he said. ‘Personally, I think we will be dealing more and more with China than with the United States.’ 

Munnings was the AGCC’s government relations adviser and had been described by the chamber as playing ‘a vital role in supporting China–Australia trade and investment initiatives’.

Until Monday, he featured on the AGCC’s website but, after being contacted by the Daily Mail, the chamber completely distanced itself from him. 

‘Before receiving your email, the current leadership and Secretariat were not aware of the recent outcome of the criminal proceedings or the custodial matters described in your inquiry,’ an AGCC spokesperson said. 

‘Our review has not identified any record showing that the 2019 charges had previously been brought to the Chamber’s attention. 

‘We have found no record of any salary, consultancy fee or other remuneration being paid to him, nor any record of him being given executive, governance, financial, signing or decision-making authority within AGCC.

‘Mr Munnings does not hold any current position or advisory role with AGCC and has no authority to act or speak on the Chamber’s behalf. The website has now been updated, and Mr Munnings is no longer listed as holding any role with AGCC.’

Following his arrest, Munnings had been granted bail by police on conditions including that he surrender his passport and not approach any international points of departure.

He was able to travel to China after successfully seeking a bail variation in February last year whereby his expired passport was returned so he could obtain a new one. 

Munnings was permitted to leave Australia between April 14 and April 29, 2025, after providing an itinerary with proof of a return airfare within that date range to the DPP and police.

While living in the Central Coast Peninsula district at Booker Bay, Munnings ran as a Labor candidate for what was then called Gosford Council in September 2008, receiving just 249 votes.

In a press release, he boasted of his links to local churches, as well as the Bays Progress Association and Woy Woy and Ettalong Scouts.

‘I have also been involved with the local schools where my children attended being Woy Woy Primary and Brisbane Water Secondary College,’ Munnings said.

‘I have also taken the opportunity to become involved politically and at various community forums where the opportunity has presented itself.’

Munnings gave evidence in 2012 and 2013 at an ICAC inquiry into Ian Macdonald and Eddie Obeid’s roles in a corrupt coal mining deal from 2008 for which both politicians were ultimately jailed.

At that inquiry, Munnings, who had been Macdonald’s chief-of-staff, denied he was ever the minister’s ‘right-hand’ man, stating ‘that’s someone else’s view’.

He technically remains an Anglican priest until the Diocese of Newcastle is provided with a certificate of conviction, which will allow his removal from holy orders.

Munnings is being held at Parklea Correctional Centre in Sydney’s north-west ahead of a sentencing hearing in October.