Source : the age
Dallas McInerney has begun his second day of evidence and the commission is returning to the contract that he negotiated between Catholic Schools NSW and Beckington, the lobbying firm linked to key Reformers.
The ICAC is investigating whether the contract to pay Beckington $6000 a month for government relations services was actually a way to disguise political donations to support the work of the Reformers, the right-wing factional group working to stack Liberal branches with more conservatives.
Beckington was founded by Reformer Christian Ellis and Liberal-linked lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood.
So far, McInerney has emphatically denied the allegation and has instead told the commission that the contract was for genuine work and that he did his “due diligence”.
Despite 13 being considered an unlucky number, the 13th day of Sydney’s bombshell corruption inquiry opened with the promise that the tide of deflections and dismal recollections from previous witnesses was finally going to change.
Was there going to be a rollover witness at last?
Sitting in the witness box, with a sheen of feverish sweat across his brow, was Dallas James McInerney, who recently stepped aside as the chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW.
“I understand that you are eager to assist the commission in the conduct of this inquiry?” counsel assisting Juliet Curtin asked the 53-year-old.
The ICAC has just released the witness list for next week. It includes one of Jean Nassif’s political enemies and a sitting MP.
There won’t be a hearing on Monday or Tuesday, but when we return on Wednesday, former Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott is expected to give evidence. Elliott is not a person of interest in this inquiry. Rather, the ICAC is investigating whether Nassif made donations to Liberal Party figures Jeremy Greenwood, Christian Ellis and Charles Perrottet in exchange for pursuing his interests, including damaging Elliott’s political career.
On Thursday, we’ll hear from Cassandra Lawry, who was chief of staff to MP Eleni Petinos when she was minister for small business and fair trading in the last Coalition government.
Petinos herself is due to give evidence on Friday, the second now sitting MP to do so, after Damien Tudehope appeared last week, admitting that he leaked a confidential committee report to Greenwood.
Good morning, and welcome to another Operation Rosny public hearing. I’m state political reporter Jessica McSweeney, and along with the Herald’s senior writers, we’ll bring you all the latest news and analysis from inside the hearing as it happens.
Today, Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney will return to the witness boss to continue answering questions about lucrative contracts he awarded to government relations firms linked to the Reformers – a Liberal Party conservative factional group.
But first, let’s take a look at what we covered yesterday:
- Dallas McInerney rejected suggestions that the contract between Catholic Schools NSW and Beckington, a company linked to Liberal factional group the Reformers, was illegitimate and insisted that he was seeking genuine government relations services. The ICAC is investigating allegations that the contract was actually a way to disguise political donations to support the factional work of the Reformers.
- McInerney said he sought the advice of then-NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet when he was considering entering into a contract with Beckington. He claimed that Perrottet was favourable to the company founders Christian Ellis, a long-time Liberal Party staffer, and lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood.
- After being shown evidence that McInerney and Catholic Schools NSW staffer James Tudehope helped to correct errors in draft proposals from Beckington and suggested things that should be added into their proposals, McInerney rejected suggestions that this showed him creating a “veneer of legitimacy”. He said he was simply doing due diligence and making sure that Beckington’s services aligned with the needs of Catholic Schools NSW.
- After evidence before the ICAC earlier in the week that NSW Liberal MP Chris Rath helped the Reformers to avoid a 2023 parliamentary inquiry by keeping them abreast of the committee’s deliberations, Rath has now been stood down as NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane’s representative on the party’s state executive. He remains on the frontbench.
- McInerney denied that he asked now-federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor for money to support the Reformers. When shown texts from Reformer Dylan Whitelaw that claimed McInerney secured ongoing donations from Taylor, McInerney suggested Whitelaw may have lied or boasted.
- Taylor’s press secretary Kane Silom rebuked 10 News political editor Ashleigh Raper after she asked Taylor questions about the ICAC evidence yesterday morning. “Are your ratings that bad,” he shot at Raper, calling her questions a “disgrace”. “What? Asking questions about an ICAC inquiry?” Raper retorted.
