The fifth week of ICAC’s Operation Rosny has the inquiry delicately placed as the focus shifts toward those alleged to have linked political influence, property developers, and the machinery of government.
The transition follows a head-turning week four that left counsel assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer SC, among others, stunned at regular intervals. Former police minister David Elliott fired verbal broadsides at his opponents, describing a branch-stacking “cult” and developer intimidation.
Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney was relieved of his duties after an emergency board session. It was a swift attempt to insulate the church after McInerney admitted to factory-resetting his mobile devices a days earlier, wiping years of potential evidence. McInerney denied this was intentional.
Attention now shifts to a pivotal week of testimony that could unite the inquiry’s central strands.
On Monday, former ministerial chief of staff Chris Spence takes the stand. Spence, who worked for then-planning minister Anthony Roberts, is expected to be asked whether he leveraged his friendship with MP and former minister Eleni Petinos to push for Building Commissioner David Chandler’s removal, and whether a damaging material was used as a factional weapon. Evidence given last week revealed a video involving Chandler was discussed by political staffers on a Parliament House garden bench.
Following a recess on Tuesday, Anita Perrottet appears on Wednesday, moving the inquiry into financial territory after Dr Dwyer identified her as a director of a company that received funds from fugitive developer Jean Nassif.
Chandler himself is set to give evidence on Thursday, before Charles Perrottet is scheduled for Friday. ICAC is examining whether Charles was involved in an alleged scheme to solicit prohibited donations from Nassif for Liberal factional work in return for pursuing the developer’s commercial interests.
Who said what on Week 4 of Operation Rosny
Dallas McInerney
The device reset justification: Wiped all messages, emails, and data from his corporate iPhone and iPad by performing a factory reset , claiming he did so because his bank notified him of a security compromise via Apple Pay, despite knowing the Commission had just ordered him to produce critical WhatsApp communications.
Oral over written communication: Admitted that he deliberately conducted sensitive corporate and political business in person or verbally rather than in writing, testifying that “it’s safer”.
Corporate-to-factional funding: Strongly defended the “mission alignment” of the newly-formed PR firm Beckington, denying that its $6000-a-month corporate retainer from Catholic Schools NSW was a vehicle to support “The Reformers,” despite admitting that his primary contacts at the firm performed extensive factional work during regular office hours.
Federal ‘shakedown’ texts: Struggled to explain text messages in which he requested updates on state council delegate numbers from factional organisers in order to “shakedown” federal minister Angus Taylor for a $10,000 contribution. Taylor has repeatedly denied any payment was made and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Cassandra Lawry
The Parliament Garden Setup: Recounted a tense May 2022 meeting on a Parliament House garden bench where Chris Spence (chief of staff to Minister Anthony Roberts) proactively showed her a video of Building Commissioner David Chandler and alleged bank details on his phone, telling her: “If you want to get rid of him, this might help.”.
Omission of key collaborators: Admitted she deliberately left Spence’s name out of her formal referral to the ICAC because “Chris knows people” and she feared the political blowback of getting on the wrong side of powerful figures who were close to key right-faction powerbrokers like Charles Perrottet.
Scapegoating and sacking anger: Furious over the sacking of Petinos, describing her dismissal by Premier Dominic Perrottet on a Sunday night as “bullshit” and claiming the minister was “thrown under the bus” as a scapegoat to deflect media pressure from embattled colleagues.
The inherent suspicions: Admitted that after seeing the site video of Chandler leaked to The Australian’s Max Maddison, she realised it was a coordinated “ploy to get rid of him” and confessed that “something doesn’t feel right about this.”.
Eleni Petinos
The Sunday night sacking: Described the “cold” and clinical Sunday night telephone call from Premier Dominic Perrottet on July 31, 2022, when she was told “you’ve got to go” in the wake of leaked bullying allegations and the resignation of Chandler.
A ‘shitshow’ routine: Characterised her reaction upon first hearing of the existence of the Chandler video as “here we go, another shitshow”.
A shattered friendship: Reacted with deep disgust to evidence showing her longtime political ally and friend Spence had been covertly pulling strings and showing “dirt” to her chief of staff to orchestrate Chandler’s removal, stating: “that’s not someone that you would call a friend.”.
David Elliott
The factional “cult”: Declared before the Commission that a branch-stacking “cult” took over local Liberal Party branches in his northwest Sydney electorate, leading directly to his political ousting from parliament in the lead-up to the 2023 election.
Maxwell Smart lives: Mocked Shane De Kauwe, the private investigator hired by fugitive developer Jean Nassif to spy on him, as the “Maxwell Smart of private investigators,” revealing the spy was so incompetent he spent days monitoring the wrong car and a house Elliott had already moved out of.
Developer intimidation and threats: Disclosed that Nassif, who has since fled to Lebanon on the eve of a parliamentary inquiry and whose company Toplace collapsed with $1.6 billion in debt, had left “death threats” on his phone and cornered him in a local shopping centre and a Parramatta pub.
Factional muscle pullers: Described Dominic Perrottet’s brother Charles Perrottet as the factional “muscle” of the right who “did the dirty work” and pulled the strings behind the scenes, while calling the sacked Catholic Schools NSW CEO McInerney as “duplicitous”.
ICAC has made no findings in Operation Rosny. All individuals named are the subject of allegations being examined at a public inquiry.
The ICAC is investigating allegations concerning people associated with the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division), the CEO of Catholic Schools NSW Dallas McInerney, property developer Jean Nassif, hotelier Michael O’Hara, certain Strathfield councillors and others. To read the allegations in full, go to the dedicated ICAC Operation Rosny page
