Source : the age
As the commission comes to evidence from Chris Spence, it’s worth taking a look back at this piece from Kate McClymont in week one, when Spence’s name was first mentioned in evidence:
A sickening feeling of deja vu from the ghosts of ICAC past is likely to be haunting some Liberal Party figures tuning in to the daily drama of the Operation Rosny corruption inquiry.
For the second day in a row, Dylan Whitelaw, 25, a former member of an ultra-conservative right-wing faction of the party called the Reformers, had difficulty recalling crucial events.
When shown a “shit sheet” on then-Liberal police minister David Elliott, which Whitelaw was allegedly involved in compiling, he replied, “It doesn’t refresh my memory. There’s components in there that I have zero recollection of.”
This week we’ll hear evidence from one of the main alleged victims of a plot to damage the careers of those who stood in the way of Jean Nassif’s developments, and one of the main persons of interests to the ICAC.
As we’ve reported this morning, today’s hearing will feature Chris Spence, the former MP and political staffer. The commission has previously heard Spence had multiple conversations with fair trading minister Eleni Petinos and her chief of staff where he pushed negative stories about the building commissioner David Chandler.
The ICAC won’t sit on Tuesday, but on Wednesday Anita Perrottet, wife of Charles, will be sworn in and asked about invoices she sent to Beckington Group, the company under investigation by the ICAC. Counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer said in her opening address she expects the commission to hear evidence that invoices Anita sent to Beckington weren’t for consulting work, but to receive Charles’s cut of funds paid by Nassif.
Chandler will take to the witness box on Thursday when he is expected to be asked about the sustained campaign to discredit him, including from figures inside the Liberal Party, allegedly at the behest of Nassif.
Charles Perrottet, who is a person of interest to the ICAC, will give evidence on Friday. He is being investigated in connection with allegedly illegal donations made by Nassif to support factional work in the Liberal Party.
Hello and welcome to another week of public hearings in the ICAC’s Operation Rosny.
I’m state political reporter Jessica McSweeney, and along with the Herald’s senior writers, I’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens in the hearing room today.
We’re starting the week with Chris Spence, a former MP and more relevantly to the ICAC today, former chief of staff to Anthony Roberts, who was a minister in Dominic Perrottet’s government.
Before we jump in, let’s take a quick look at what we covered last week:
- Eleni Petinos, fair trading minister in the Perrottet government, told the commission she was disgusted by the thought she was being used in a plot to get former building commissioner David Chandler sacked. She said she suspected Chris Spence leant on his friendship with her to push negative stories about Chandler.
- The ICAC heard evidence last week that Spence had discussed negative rumours about Chandler with Petinos and her chief of staff, and told them about a video supposedly damaging to Chandler. Chandler would later name Petinos in his resignation letter.
- Dallas McInerney was sacked as Catholic Schools NSW chief executive by his board after his appearance before the ICAC. McInerney revealed he had performed a factory reset on his phone and iPad after discovering an issue with his banking, but said his bank never asked him to wipe the devices and he didn’t discuss it with his lawyers. He denied suggestions from the counsel assisting that his actions were an attempt to destroy potentially critical evidence.
- David Elliott, a former MP and enemy of Jean Nassif, told the commission he was subjected to death threats and was followed by a private investigator after he was critical about Nassif’s development projects in his electorate.
- Elliott said the Liberal Party was taken over by a “cult” when describing the factional power plays at the hands of what he described as the “religious right”. The ICAC is investigating allegations Liberal Party figures solicited unlawful donations, including from Nassif and through bogus contracts with Catholic Schools NSW, to support branch stacking activities to boost conservative numbers in the party.
