Liberal party corruption claims & fugitive backers: ICAC’s Operation Rosny explained

Summary

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7am Podcast Summary

Episode Title: Liberal party corruption claims & fugitive backers: ICAC’s Operation Rosny explained
Date: August 4, 2026
Host: Ruby Jones
Guest: Kate McClymont, Chief Investigative Reporter, Sydney Morning Herald

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Episode Overview

This episode of 7am delves into ICAC’s (Independent Commission Against Corruption) ongoing Operation Rosny, which investigates serious corruption allegations within a right-wing Christian faction of the New South Wales Liberal Party known as the “Reformers.” The episode unpacks an intricate web of power, secretive donations, fugitive developers, shakedowns, and efforts to shape the party’s future, featuring on-the-ground reporting from Kate McClymont, the journalist who dubs the case “ICAC’s Game of Thrones.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to ICAC and Operation Rosny

• ICAC, the state’s corruption watchdog, has a history of exposing high-level corruption, previously leading to the downfall of NSW premiers ([00:01]).
• Operation Rosny zeroes in on a secretive right-wing Christian group, the Reformers, and their network of well-funded backers ([00:27]).

Notable Quote:

"We expect that the Commission may see the confluence of personal greed and political ambitions."
— ICAC Commissioner ([00:38])

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2. The Reformers: Who Are the Major Players?

• Founders & Operatives: Rob Assaf and Christian Ellis spearheaded the faction, supported by Jeremy Greenwood, and the Perrottet brothers (Jean Claude and Charles), siblings of former Premier Dominic Perrottet ([01:40]).
• Notable Associates: Disgraced developer John Nassif (now a fugitive in Lebanon), former Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney, and lobbyist-linked Michael O’Hara.
• Goal: Large-scale recruitment (up to 5,000 members) to shift the Liberal Party towards conservative Catholic values ([02:56], [03:12], [06:46]).

Notable Quote:

“They basically shared a right wing religious view of the world that they wanted to impose on others...”
— Kate McClymont ([06:46])

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3. Money, Corruption, and Influence

• Funding Sources:
  • John Nassif, seeking to replace resistant council members with allies for his developments, allegedly funneled cash into the faction ([03:52], [04:37]).
  • Michael O’Hara contributed through lobbying fronts with no real services provided ([05:02]).
  • Evidence that donations from prohibited entities (developers, hoteliers) were disguised as legitimate expenses ([03:36], [05:29]).
• Money Laundering:
  • Allegations that lobbying companies served as fronts to wash illicit funds ([05:33]).
• High-Profile Targets:
  • The group sought donations from senior Liberal figures, including an ultimately unfulfilled $15k request to Federal MP Angus Taylor ([05:54]).
  • Bombshell texts discussed the “commitment from Angus for a 15k injection plus a 3k monthly donation."
    • Christian Ellis denies any payment was made ([06:27]).

Memorable Exchange:

"I'm not going to give a running commentary on all of this. I'm not a party to the proceedings. But no payment was made."
— Christian Ellis ([06:27])

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4. The Ideological Drive

• The Reformers advocate hardline Christian conservative values: anti-abortion, anti-trans, and anti–same-sex marriage stances ([06:46]).
• Many members attended Redfield College, linked to Opus Dei, sharing tight-knit religious ties ([06:46]).

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5. Branch Stacking, Blackmail, and Dirty Tricks

• Branch Stacking:
  • Targeted the Hillshire Council, aiming to replace council members with those loyal to Nassif’s interests ([07:51], [08:19]).
• Blackmail and Surveillance:
  • Private investigators allegedly followed Police Minister David Elliott to gather blackmail material ([10:38]).
  • Tactics included compiling defamatory “shit sheets” on adversaries (notably a dirt file on David Elliott) to discredit or threaten opponents ([11:23]).

Notable Quote:

"The shit sheet was basically making accusations... hoping that somebody would pick it up."
— Kate McClymont ([11:30])

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6. Fugitive Developer’s Continuing Influence

• While in Lebanon, Nassif continued to fund investigations, instruct private investigators, and block parliamentary summons ([10:38]).

• Intercepted phone calls confirm Nassif’s intent and animosity toward public officials blocking his interests ([12:23]).

Notable Quote:

"I've got my hand on the state government and you're going to see changes... I'm gonna step on his neck and strip him from his job. Just give me two months, Kate."
— (Excerpt from tapped call, Christian Ellis quoting Nassif) ([13:03], [13:12])

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7. Implications and Precedents

• ICAC is investigating the possible breaches of electoral funding laws, laundering of prohibited donations, and use of fake invoices for non-existent services ([13:42]).
• Unlawful disguising of donations as payments and exceeding caps are at the heart of the alleged misconduct ([13:42]).
• ICAC has a track record of unseating top politicians as collateral in prior cases ([14:36]).

Notable Quote:

"It does have a way of capturing people unintentionally, so you don't know what surprises lay in store."
— Kate McClymont ([14:59])

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• ICAC’s Legacy and Introduction to Operation Rosny: [00:01] – [00:44]
• Key Players & Faction Details: [01:40] – [03:12]
• Money Flows and Alleged Laundering: [03:36] – [05:39]
• Shakedown Attempts & Internal Communications: [05:54] – [06:40]
• Ideological Motivations: [06:46] – [07:51]
• Branch Stacking & Developer Influence: [07:51] – [10:31]
• Blackmail Attempts & “Shit Sheets”: [10:38] – [12:23]
• Phone Taps & Explicit Threats: [12:23] – [13:20]
• ICAC’s Focus & Precedents: [13:42] – [15:35]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “ICAC’s Game of Thrones”: Kate McClymont characterizes the internal party conflict as a “Game of Thrones” battle ([00:44]).
• Branch stacking as a tool:

  "It was actually quite a small operation... but they needed money to branch stack."
  — Kate McClymont ([03:12])

• Dismissal of Paper Trail:

  "A lot of the witnesses seem to have a lot of trouble recalling until they're shown a text message or, you know, an intercepted call."
  — Kate McClymont ([11:30])

• ICAC’s Breadth:

  "There was no way that ICAC was targeting Barry O’Farrell, but there are traps waiting."
  — Kate McClymont ([14:59])

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Episode Takeaways

• Operation Rosny exposes deep-seated attempts by a right-wing faction of the NSW Liberal Party to entrench their influence using illicit funding, branch stacking, personal smears, and external manipulation.
• Senior political figures and party operatives have been swept into the inquiry, though as of broadcast, no direct criminal allegations have been laid against the top-level politicians (e.g. Angus Taylor and Dominic Perrottet referenced, but not accused).
• ICAC’s investigation remains ongoing, with the potential to bring significant consequences for NSW’s political landscape.

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For listeners:
This episode provides a gripping dive into the intersecting worlds of political intrigue, ideology, and corruption, highlighting the ongoing significance and unpredictability of ICAC investigations in Australian politics.

Transcript

[Ruby Jones]

For decades it's shone a light on corruption of the highest order, even toppling premiers.

[Christian Ellis]

I still can't recall the receipt of a gift of a bottle of 1959 Grange. I can't explain what happened.

[Kate McClymont]

My resignation as Premier could not occur at a worse time. But the timing is completely outside of my control as the ICAC has chosen to take this action during the most challenging weeks of the most challenging times.

[Ruby Jones]

Now, New South Wales icac, the state's corruption watchdog, has set its sights on a secretive right wing Christian faction of the Liberal Party, the Reformers, and its cashed up group of backers.

[ICAC Commissioner]

We expect that the Commission may see the confluence of personal greed and political ambitions.

[Ruby Jones]

Already the public inquiry, codenamed Operation Rosny, has heard of shitsheets, sham payments, phone taps and dodgy deals with fugitive developers, with the Reformers connections reaching all the way to the top of the Liberal Party. I'm Ruby Jones and you're listening to 7am today, Sydney Morning Herald's chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont unpacks the tangled web of players at the centre of what she's calling ICAC's Game of Thrones. It's Wednesday, august 5th. Kate, let's begin by talking through some of the major players in this case. Could we start with this group of Conservatives, the right faction of the Liberal Party known as the quote unquote Reformers? Who are they?

[Kate McClymont]

Well, the two key people who started the Reformers are Rob Assaf and Christian Ellis and then we've got a lobbying outfit connected to them, which is Jeremy Greenwood. Christian Ellis is connected with them and also two brothers of former Premier Dominic Perrotay. We've got John Claude Perrotay and we've got Charles Perrotay. And then as a sideline, we've got disappeared developer John Nassif, who is in Lebanon, but there's a warrant out for his arrest over serious fraud matters. And we also have Dallas McInerney, who is the. Was up until recently basically the boss of Catholic Schools New South Wales. And another person of interest is a young employer, Dylan Whitelaw, although he hasn't been mentioned in the terms of reference allegation 1.

[ICAC Commissioner]

This involves an investigation into potential breaches of the electoral funding laws between 2019 and 2023 by a number of persons who were interested to bolster the recruitment of Conservatives into branches of the state Liberal Party.

[Ruby Jones]

And so by the sounds of it, this group of men, they had some pretty big ambitions. They were trying to recruit as many as 5,000 people and completely change the direction of the New South Wales Liberal Party. So how big of an operation were they building?

[Kate McClymont]

Look, it was actually quite a small operation. But in order to achieve their goals, which was basically to have people elected to either state executive or to Parliament or to councils, people of a like minded worldview, and that is basically conservative Catholic values. But they needed money to branch stack,

[ICAC Commissioner]

including from prohibited donors in amounts that were not declared and exceeded applicable donation caps for purposes that included the recruitment and or renewal of members to the Liberal Party.

[Ruby Jones]

Okay, so tell me a bit more about where the money was coming from.

[Kate McClymont]

Well, the money was coming from John Nassif, the developer. Now, John Nassif was having trouble in Castle Hill. He had some very big developments. But the Building Commissioner, David Chandler, had issued rectification orders. And also local MPs David Elliot and Ray Williams had expressed concerns from their constituents about these developments. So we've heard that some of the money from John Nassif was being channelled through these people to ruin the careers of Elliot and Chandler. We've also heard that some of the money was coming through just to bankroll the activities of the reformers.

[ICAC Commissioner]

Mr. Nassif wanted the removal of the Old Hills Council linked to the centre right faction and Mr. David Elliot MP, so as to replace them with members of the Liberal Party whom he thought would support his developments. And that may well have motivated him to make certain payments to Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood and Charles Perrottet.

[Kate McClymont]

We've also heard evidence from Michael o', Hara, who is a Conservative Catholic and he was also a hotelier and developer and being involved in the liquor business and development. He too was a band developer. So he was putting in, you know, like quite considerable sums of money to a lobbying group associated with these people for work that was never done.

[Ruby Jones]

So the allegation is essentially money laundering through this lobbying company?

[Kate McClymont]

Yes, I guess it was. It was washing money to make it look like it was to be used for something else.

[Ruby Jones]

And ICAC also heard claims that Dallas McInerney, the former Catholic Schools New South Wales CEO, had wanted to shake down Angus Taylor for thousands of dollars. Tell me what exactly the inquiry heard about that.

[Kate McClymont]

Well, it was interesting because they were always trying to get money from somewhere. So there was a text message, shared bombshell. Text messages in a Reformers Group chat boasted that Angus Taylor committed funds, got the commitment from angus for a 15k injection plus a 3k monthly donation. But there has been no evidence that that money was actually forthcoming. It was just that they were all chatting with excitement about the possibility of receiving it.

[Christian Ellis]

I'm not going to give a running commentary on all of this. I'm not a party to the proceedings. But no payment was made.

[Kate McClymont]

But they produced text messages claiming that

[Christian Ellis]

you were donating to them.

[Kate McClymont]

Do you dispute these?

[Christian Ellis]

I said no payment was made.

[Ruby Jones]

Can you tell me a little bit more about the ideological bent here, what they actually wanted to see happen within the Liberal Party?

[Kate McClymont]

Look, I think that they wanted to see Christian conservative values, anti abortion, anti trans, anti same sex marriage. And it's interesting that we've heard that quite a few of the people actually went to school at Redfield College, which is in the Hills area, and that is associated with Opus dei, which is a right wing group within the Catholic Church. A lot of the people shared those values and in fact that's where some of them met. And this includes the Perrot brothers. Dominic Perrotet, the former premier, was school captain in the year 2000. Now, there's no suggestion that Dominic Perrotay was involved in any of the activities of his brother, but they basically shared a right wing religious view of the world that they wanted to impose on others, share with others, but that's what their goal was.

[Ruby Jones]

Still to come, shit sheets, wiretaps and branch stacking. Kate, the reformers are also accused of branch stacking at the Hillshire Council, replacing the old members with people that they hoped would approve the developments of one of their main backers, the fugitive property developer Jean Nassif. Can you tell me a bit more about Nassif?

[Kate McClymont]

Well, yes, John Nassif was at one stage one of the biggest private developers in the state. But things started to go awry for him when the Building Commissioner put rectification orders. It just basically meant, you have got a lot of problems with your buildings, there are serious defects, we won't let you sell any more of these until they are fixed. In June 2022, Ray Williams, who was a member from the Hills area, got up and made an explosive speech to

[Christian Ellis]

Parliament Member for Kellyville. Ray Williams making astonishing claims about those in his own party who were paid significant funds in order to arrange to put new councillors on the Hillshire Council who would be supportive of future top place development applications.

[Kate McClymont]

Now, it was interesting, at the same time, John Nassif was under investigation by strike force Kulool, which was a New South Wales organised crime strike force and they were examining serious fraud allegations about Nassif and his daughter. And at the end of 2022, after Ray Williams's speech, it was decided that New South Wales Parliament would have its own inquiry into these allegations. Now, I think the parliamentary inquiry, I think summons were issued on 8th December and John Nassif departed this country to Lebanon on 9th December. A couple of months later, there was a warrant issued for his arrest for serious fraud offences. Basically he was getting financial backing for his buildings by bodging up sales, like pretending that he'd sold a lot more, but they were to friends and family. Since leaving the country in December 2022, there is no indication that Nassif is going to come back for either of the four charges or for the ICAC inquiry.

[Ruby Jones]

Ok, so despite all of this and having left the country, it seems like he was still trying to influence politics here.

[Kate McClymont]

Well, we heard that John De Sif was a person that seemed to have access to a lot of money and he was also funding private investigators. So we've heard that private investigators followed the then police Minister, David Elliott, trying to find something with which to blackmail him. We've also heard that through Gene Nassif, the private investigators were also trying to stop summons being served by Parliament for people to appear at that parliamentary inquiry that we were talking about. So it seems that Naseef was still perhaps pulling the strings, perhaps still injecting money while overseas.

[Ruby Jones]

Can you tell me any more about David Elliot and the so called shit sheet that was compiled?

[Kate McClymont]

Yes, well, the shit sheet was supposedly compiled by young Dylan Whitelaw, who I think was sort of like about 21 at the time. Although even though he was shown it, he had very little recollection. Like a lot of the witnesses seem to have a lot of trouble recalling until they're shown a text message or, you know, an intercepted call. So this shit sheet was basically making accusations. You can see that the attachment is David Elliot sheet. DocX, the watchdog has dug up a 2020 dirt file allegedly written by the so called reformers. In it, a list of negative media stories and allegations Mr. Elliot was having an extramarital affair. But they were shopping this around media hoping that somebody would pick it up.

[Ruby Jones]

And Kate, we know that Jean Nassif's phone calls were being tapped. Some of those conversations have been played out at icac.

[Kate McClymont]

Yes, some of them have been played out and interestingly, some of those were from 2021. So this is before either ICAC was looking or Ray Williams made his famous speech to parliament in 2022. So some of the phone taps that we've heard, and these came from John Nassif, they were rather explicit about how much he hated David Elliot. And the building commissioner, David Chandler.

[Christian Ellis]

I've got my hand on the state government and you're going to see changes.

[Kate McClymont]

And exactly what he was going to do to get them out of the way.

[Christian Ellis]

I'm gonna step on his neck and strip him from his job. Just give me two months, Kate.

[Ruby Jones]

The reformers in this case, they began by saying that they wanted to to change the Liberal Party from within. And there is nothing illegal or inherently corrupt about recruiting members to a political party. But stepping back, what does ICAC alleged this operation had become by the time we had Jean Nassif calling himself its godfather?

[Kate McClymont]

Well, I think there's a breach of possible electoral laws, which means that donations have to be accounted for. We've got allegations that Dallas McInerney from Catholic schools New South Wales, whatever his donations were for, and there were invoices given for government services which apparently didn't happen, they could be classified as donations and therefore exceeding the donation cap. With regard to hotelier Michael o' Hara and developer John Masih, they are prohibited donors. So by trying to disguise them as proper work, say for government relations or things like that, which aren't true, it's a way of circumventing electoral laws, donation laws. So that's the kind of thing that ICAC is looking at.

[Ruby Jones]

And in the past, ICAC hearings have ended some very high profile careers. Famously, two New South Wales premiers, Barry o' Farrell and Gladys Bereziklian, lost their jobs after hearings that weren't really originally supposed to be about them. So how worried would you be if you were Angus Taylor or any senior lib right now?

[Kate McClymont]

Look, it does have a way of capturing people unintentionally, so you don't know what surprises lay in store. There was no way that ICAC was targeting Barry o', Farrell, but there are traps waiting. And look, you know, we have to say about Angus Taylor, although that he has been mentioned, both he and Dominic Perrotet, whose brothers are involved, there have been no allegations about them at all. They've been mentioned in passing, but nothing so far.

[Ruby Jones]

Well, looking forward to hearing whatever else is to come in the next few weeks.

[Kate McClymont]

Oh, me too. Me too.

[Ruby Jones]

Kate, thank you so much for your time.

[Kate McClymont]

My pleasure.

[Ruby Jones]

Also in the news, the gambling industry has denied claims it offered drugs and escorts as inducements to people experiencing gambling harm. Former NRL player Luke Bateman and anti gambling advocate Tim Costello made the allegations at a Senate inquiry into gambling reforms, claiming high spending customers were supplied drugs, alcohol and sex workers to keep them betting Sportsbet and Tabcorp. Say they have zero tolerance for the alleged conduct and are calling for any evidence to be referred to authorities. And a pro Palestinian protest held outside the Sydney Opera House two days after the October 7th Hamas attacks and a neo Nazi rally outside New South Wales Parliament are under scrutiny of the anti Semitism Royal Commission. The inquiry is examining police responses to the events, including allegations allegations of anti Jewish chants and threatening behaviour at the Opera house rally and how the 2025 Neo Nazi gathering was allowed to proceed. Commissioner Virginia Bell says peaceful protest is fundamental to democracy, but the commission will consider whether police responses to anti Semitic conduct can be improved. I'm Ruby Jones, this is 7:00am thanks for listening, Sam.