A group of young conservative power brokers in the New South Wales Liberal party, under investigation by the corruption watchdog, created a document disparaging a minister from a rival faction, claiming he had an extramarital affair, an inquiry has heard.
Icac Hearing Details
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) held its third day of hearings on Wednesday as part of Operation Rosny, which is investigating allegations of corruption against people associated with the NSW Liberal party. The inquiry is examining whether a group known as the Reformers allegedly solicited or accepted illegal donations to recruit or renew party members—a practice known as branch stacking. The group sought more conservative policies on same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia.
Former Liberal staffer and associate of the Reformers, Dylan Whitelaw, finished giving evidence to the inquiry on Wednesday. The morning's hearing focused on a document about former NSW Liberal minister David Elliott, shared among the Reformers and allegedly titled 'David Elliott shit sheet.' The document included a section alleging Elliott had an affair, which Elliott vehemently denies. Whitelaw accepted under cross-examination from Elliott's lawyer that no affair had taken place.
Allegations of Donations and Influence
The inquiry is investigating allegations that members of the Reformers took donations from fugitive property developer Jean Nassif in exchange for outcomes including damage to Elliott's career and the removal of then-building commissioner David Chandler. In response to questions from counsel assisting Juliet Curtin, Whitelaw told the commission the Reformers—part of the Liberal hard-right faction—had a 'large distaste' for Elliott, who belongs to the centre-right faction.
Whitelaw said he initially believed the document was part of 'standard factional warfare that occurs inside political parties,' but later came to believe it was prepared at Nassif's instruction. He said he did not recall Reformer Jeremy Greenwood asking him in December 2020 to prepare the document with negative stories about Elliott. However, Whitelaw accepted that messages between him and Greenwood showed he was asked to write about a 2020 incident where Elliott, as police minister, was criticized for firing a prohibited machine gun at a corrections facility. Whitelaw told the commission he did not recall writing a section with the sub-heading 'extramarital affair' but remembered being told by Greenwood and Reformer Christian Ellis that they had photographic evidence of Elliott having an affair.
Elliott's Response
In a statement reported by the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, Elliott said he rejected 'all the accusations made by the young boy, Dylan, and his colleagues on the religious right of the Liberal Party.' He added, 'As most of Sydney knows I'm a devoted husband of 30 years to a beautiful woman who doesn't deserve to be treated like this by the party she has sacrificed so much for. Needless to say I'm looking forward to the possibility of providing my own observations should the Commission see fit to invite me to give evidence.'
Questions About Angus Taylor
On Wednesday, Whitelaw was asked about payments federal opposition leader Angus Taylor purportedly agreed to make to the Reformers. On Tuesday, the inquiry heard a message from Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney in March 2021, in which he allegedly said he would 'shake down Angus for 10K,' followed by a message from Whitelaw claiming Taylor had agreed to pay the group a '15k injection plus a 3k monthly donation.' Taylor has denied making any payments to the Reformers and is not accused of wrongdoing.
Curtin asked if monthly payments of $3,000 purportedly agreed to by Taylor were reflected in an increase around that time in the monthly retainer paid by Catholic Schools NSW to registered lobbyist Beckington, controlled by Reformers members Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood. 'I wouldn't be able to talk to that,' Whitelaw told the commission. He said that a contract between Catholic Schools NSW and Beckington was 'absolutely an agreement where Mr McInerney, Mr Ellis and Mr Greenwood knew that very minimal work would be conducted in exchange,' and that money was being paid for the Reformers' work.
Alleged Video of Building Commissioner
Whitelaw also gave evidence about working as a staffer for then-Liberal planning minister Anthony Roberts. He described an incident where Roberts' chief of staff, Chris Spence, claimed to have a potentially damaging video of building commissioner David Chandler. Spence said he planned to give it to then-NSW fair trading minister and current Liberal shadow minister Eleni Petinos to use in a budget estimates hearing. Whitelaw told the commission he was not aware if Spence spoke to Petinos about the video, saying the two 'were very close.' He never saw the video, which he alleged included the imputation that Chandler was racist and referenced a list of 'dodgy' developers or certifiers that Chandler had passed to banks. Spence never told him where he obtained the video.
Asked if Spence's alleged plan to discredit Chandler at budget estimates 'came to fruition,' Whitelaw said he did not believe it did, recalling a subsequent conversation where Spence said, 'I can't believe it, Eleni fucked it up,' or words to that effect.
Nassif's Alleged Claims
On Monday, the inquiry heard a phone call featuring Nassif in which he allegedly claimed he had paid for Chandler's removal and that 'the fair trading minister is gonna to be one of my girls.' Two months after the call, then-Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet appointed Petinos as fair trading minister in a reshuffle. In July 2022, Chandler resigned after an investigation into his conduct requested by Petinos, which later cleared him of any wrongdoing. The watchdog heard evidence would determine if Nassif's call was 'an incidence of wishful thinking that serendipitously came to pass' or the result of work by the Reformers. Spence and Petinos, who is now on maternity leave, are not accused of any wrongdoing. On Tuesday, NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane said she had checked in on Petinos but has not asked her to stand aside from shadow cabinet during the inquiry.
