Inside Operation Rosny: ICAC alleges web of money, influence and political ambition
What happened on Day One of the eight-week inquiry.
A property developer living in Lebanon. A political operative now based in London. Secretly intercepted phone calls. WhatsApp messages. Alleged schemes involving lobbyists, political donations and factional power.
That was the dramatic picture painted by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption as it opened Operation Rosny on Monday - an inquiry expected to run for eight weeks into allegations involving people connected to the NSW Liberal Party, Catholic Schools NSW, Sydney developer Jean Nassif and others.
None of the allegations have been proven.
Counsel Assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer SC said the inquiry would examine allegations that political donations and factional organising were used to build influence inside the NSW Liberal Party.
“We expect that the Commission may see the confluence of personal greed and political ambitions,” she said.
The inquiry will also examine allegations that prohibited political donations made by or on behalf of Mr Nassif were linked to efforts to advance his commercial interests, including attempts to remove Building Commissioner David Chandler and damage the political career of former minister David Elliott.
“Mr Nassif wanted the Building Commissioner removed because he had been focused on defects in a number of Toplace developments, and was standing in the way of Nassif’s developments being certified,” she said.
Dwyer said the inquiry expanded well beyond the allegations first raised in Parliament, drawing on evidence from NSW Police, intercepted communications and material recovered from mobile phones.
She said NSW Police provided ICAC with “lawfully intercepted phone calls between Jean Nassif and others”, along with a download of his phone containing WhatsApp conversations with Charles Perrottet, a former senior official in the NSW Liberal Party and brother of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet,
According to the opening statement, those communications suggested Charles Perrottet “may have used his position within the Liberal Party to benefit the business interests of Mr Nassif” — an allegation that will now be tested during the inquiry.
Dwyer detailed how several key figures are now overseas, and have not made themselves available to give oral evidence.
Jean Nassif, whose former development company Toplace later collapsed into administration, left Australia in December 2022.
Dwyer said he was alleged to have left Australia “owing more than a billion dollars” before fleeing “to a small village in his birth country of Lebanon”.
Christian Ellis, another central figure in the inquiry, is “apparently living in London”.
Former Catholic Schools NSW employee James Tudehope has relocated to New Zealand.
ICAC says it remains willing to hear evidence from all three by video link.
Central to the inquiry is a group known as the Reformers, which ICAC says sought to reshape the NSW Liberal Party from within.
The opening statement described the organisation’s mission as “Taking back our nation through good government”, while a strategy document outlined a goal of recruiting “5,000 Christian conservatives” to eventually “control the NSW division of the Liberal Party”.
ICAC will investigate whether political donations were allegedly used to fund membership recruitment and renewal activities associated with those efforts.
ICAC alleges it will examine whether donations from prohibited donors and other funding arrangements helped bankroll those efforts through companies including Beckington Group and JPG Advisory.
The inquiry is expected to hear evidence over the next eight weeks.
Who’s Who
Ray Williams: The entire ICAC investigation was sparked by Ray Williams, the Liberal MP for Kellyville. In a late-night speech to parliament in June 2022, Williams alleged that fugitive developer Jean Nassif paid “significant funds” to senior Liberals to dump sitting Hills Shire councillors and replace them with people supportive of his developments. One of the newly installed councillors was Virginia Ellis, the mother of key suspect Christian Ellis.
The Reformers: The hard-right faction group on the Liberals founded in 2018 with a specific mission: to recruit 5000 Christian conservatives to take control of the NSW division of the Liberal Party. Among its ranks are power players Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, Robert Assaf and Jean-Claude Perrottet - all named by ICAC.
Dallas McInerney: A right-wing Liberal powerbroker, stood aside from his role at Catholic Schools NSW pending the inquiry and resigned from his board position on the state government’s NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). A focus of the inquiry’s broader investigation into the links between hard-right Libs and fugitive Sydney property developer Jean Nassif.
Dylan Whitelaw: A surprise addition to the inquiry is 25-year-old Whitelaw. He previously worked for Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW), lived in the apartment of its CEO Dallas McInerney, and was the secretary of the Mittagong Liberal Party branch where McInerney was president. Avoided being served a summons for a previous parliamentary inquiry into the scandal.
Michael O’Hara and Damien Tudehope: O’Hara, a publican and banned political donor, was allegedly introduced to The Reformers by senior Liberal MP Damien Tudehope. Tudehope has stepped down from the Liberal frontbench for the duration of the inquiry because he is a witness, though he is heavily connected to several targets, he is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Robert Assaf: Worked at Catholic Schools NSW as a policy and communications officer, linked to NSW Reformers. Had previously worked for Tony Abbott. Declined to appear before the 2023 parliamentary inquiry into the Hills Shire Council.
Jean Nassif: Toplace owner and managing director, alleged to have colluded with senior Liberals to install councillors on The Hills Shire Council. Wanted by NSW Police over fraud allegations, he has been in Lebanon since February 2023. He was a client of Liberal lobbyist Christian Ellis.
ICAC has made no findings in Operation Rosny. All named individuals are the subject of allegations at a public inquiry.
If you’re interested in Operation Rosny, you may also like our coverage of Operation Scandi here.