‘Are You Serious?’: Claim in ICAC Probe
The inquiry is examining whether Reformers members solicited undeclared donations and used school resources to recruit Liberal Party members.
- On Thursday, NSW Reformers co-founder Robert Assaf appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption, admitting he "just didn't think the law applied" to the faction's fundraising activities.
- Assaf conceded the group utilized "bogus" financial arrangements, including $5,000 monthly payments from hotelier Michael O'Hara to Beckington, to recruit 5,000 members for the NSW Liberal Party.
- Former colleague Dylan Whitelaw revealed Assaf spent 60 per cent of his work hours at Catholic Schools NSW on factional duties, describing the group as "very amateur" despite branch takeover success.
- Counsel Assisting Peggy Dwyer challenged Assaf's defense, stating "ignorance of the law is no excuse" while the inquiry probed whether donations exceeded applicable caps.
- The ICAC is also investigating chief executive Dallas McInerney and property developer Jean Nassif to uncover whether political donations were exchanged for specific government policy outcomes.
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Australian anti-corruption probe exposes alleged Liberal Party branch-stacking scheme
A young conservative operative at the center of an Australian political corruption investigation told the country’s anti-corruption commission Thursday that his factional group believed electoral funding laws simply did not apply to their internal party work. Robert Assaf, 30, one of two cofounders of a group called the Reformers, was the first member of the conservative faction to testify before the Independent Commission Against Corruption, kn…
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