Source : the age
According to Proverbs 19:9, “a false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish”. Proverbs 21:6 is even more direct: “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.”
Perhaps the deeply religious Charles Perrottet forgot those particular Bible verses while preparing for his much-anticipated grilling at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. Or perhaps he suspects lying might be a helpful way to alleviate his bigger problems.
Not to the ICAC, of course. Heavens, no! He’d never do that! Perrottet eagerly told the corruption watchdog that he had, though, repeatedly lied in his frequent communications with the fugitive Sydney developer Jean Nassif. The effect of this admission was to put a softer complexion on text messages that the ICAC might otherwise see as central to its case.
Perrottet spent Monday in the witness box over his part in what the ICAC alleges was a scheme designed to rort donations laws, damage political opponents, influence government policies and line his own pockets in the process.
The Sydney Morning Herald team has been covering every inch of this public inquiry, and bringing you the exclusive news and analysis you can’t get anywhere else.
Here’s just a taste of the latest:
Hello and welcome to another day of the ICAC’s Operation Rosny public hearings.
I’m state political reporter Jessica McSweeney, and I’ll be bringing you all the latest updates as they happen from the hearing room. Today Charles Perrottet continues his stint in the witness box as counsel assisting the commission Peggy Dwyer, SC, grills the Liberal Party apparatchik on his relationship with fugitive property developer Jean Nassif.
First, let’s take a quick look at what we covered yesterday:
- Charles Perrottet was paid, via his wife Anita’s company, for advice he gave to Beckington’s Jeremy Greenwood to help Jean Nassif with his developments, which included telling him to join the Property Council and about avenues to fast track developments.
- Perrottet denied suggestions from counsel assisting that he was tailoring his evidence and “tying himself in knots”, after he was shown evidence he gave in 2025 saying he didn’t give advice to Beckington to help with Toplace matters, contrary to what he said on Monday. Perrottet denied lying to the ICAC.
- Perrottet said he often lied to Nassif to make the developer more inclined to pay money he owed to Perrottet’s friends, Jeremy Greenwood and Christian Ellis. Perrottet said he would leverage his relationship with Nassif to follow up on payments for Beckington.
- Peggy Dwyer, SC, asked Perrottet why invoices sent from his wife’s company to Beckington for significant sums didn’t include any acknowledgement that part of that money was earned from his advice to help with Toplace developments. She asked if it had occurred to him at the time that he might be participating in a joint criminal enterprise to benefit his wife, avoiding tax implications. He strongly denied this.
