New South Wales’ anti-corruption watchdog has been shown text messages which suggest Angus Taylor “had paid some money to the Reformers … or was refusing to”, according to the lawyer assisting the inquiry.
Taylor, the federal opposition leader, is not named in Icac’s allegations and has previously denied making payments to the hard-right factional group the Reformers.
Jean-Claude Perrottet, a member, was on Thursday read text messages sent by Reformer cofounder Christian Ellis in September ۲۰۲۱. Ellis says the group has “zero dollars at the moment” in one message.
Jean-Claude asks why and Ellis replies: “Because Michael O’Hara hates the vax campaign, and Angus Taylor hates Rob.”
The counsel assisting Icac, Juliet Curtin, asked: “That seems to be suggesting that Mr Taylor had paid some money to the Reformers too, doesn’t it, or was refusing to?”
Jean-Claude replied: “It sounds like that’s the suggestion.” Curtin then said: “Do you know anything about that?”
“Look, I’ve heard it come up [at the inquiry], but until that came up, I hadn’t recalled that at all,” the younger brother of the former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said.
Dominic Perrottet is not named in Icac’s allegations and is not accused of wrongdoing.
The inquiry has previously heard evidence, including from Reformers cofounder Robert Assaf, that hotelier Michael O’Hara threatened to end an arrangement in which he paid lobbying company Beckington for Reformers factional work after the group adopted an anti-vaccination stance.
Jean-Claude, earlier on Thursday, told the corruption inquiry he did not know why he received monthly payments of $۵,۰۰۰ from a lobbying company alleged to have accepted prohibited political donations.
The corruption watchdog is investigating whether the Reformers solicited or accepted illegal donations for the recruitment or renewal of members to the Liberal party.
That practice, known as branch stacking, is not illegal. On Wednesday, Jean-Claude, ۲۹, told the inquiry he had done factional work while employed as an electorate officer by NSW Liberal upper house member Damien Tudehope.
On Thursday, he was questioned about his time with the Reformers after his departure from Tudehope’s ministerial office in ۲۰۱۹.
Curtin asked about invoices for four monthly payments of $۵,۰۰۰ and one payment of $۵,۵۰۰ from registered lobbying company Beckington between April and August ۲۰۲۱. Jean-Claude Perrottet at the time was employmed at Medallion Financial on a base salary of $۵۵,۰۰۰.
The inquiry has previously heard that Beckington, set up by Ellis and fellow Reformer Jeremy Greenwood in ۲۰۱۹, received payments from prohibited donor and hotelier O’Hara for factional work after issuing fake invoices for consulting advice.
Asked about the “substantial injections of cash” into his account, Jean-Claude said: “I’m honestly trying to do my best here. I honestly don’t recall why I might have done some work for them [Beckington].”
“I don’t know. I mean, it could have been for work. I mean, maybe, maybe Christian owed me money. I don’t know,” Jean-Claude told the inquiry.
The presiding commissioner, Fabian Gleeson SC, asked if his inability to remember why he had been paid was due to “the possibility that in fact you weren’t doing any work of a consulting nature or marketing nature for Mr Ellis in ۲۰۲۱”.
“It may be,” Jean-Claude Perrottet said. “I mean, Christian [Ellis] may have owed me money. Like we’re all, you got to understand, we’re all mates and ۲۰-year-olds.”
Curtin later read messages between him and Ellis that suggested the two had discussed how he should include GST in his invoice.
In a message from Ellis after Jean-Claude Perrottet had asked him for payment, Ellis wrote: “Alright. But it’s ۵k, not five and a half, you sneaky man.”
Ellis wrote to Jean-Claude Perrottet: “O’Hara pays GST, but it’s included in the five”. Curtin put it to him that the money O’Hara was paying to Beckington was being used to pay him. “I honestly don’t recall whether that’s the case,” he said.
Jean-Claude Perrottet, whom the commission had previously heard travelled to Fiji to avoid summons to appear at a parliamentary inquiry in ۲۰۲۳, said he “was going through a very stressful time” at the start of that year.
On Thursday, Icac heard that the late former federal Liberal vice-president Teena McQueen may have paid money to support Reformers work.
Reformers associate Dylan Whitelaw had previously told the inquiry McQueen would “pay for a bar tab” for Reformers events. Assaf previously gave evidence that McQueen had provided a venue for training sessions and a call centre for recruitment.
“I think … we used Teena McQueen’s boardroom, God rest her soul,” Assaf told Icac.
On Thursday, Jean-Claude was read messages between Reformers which suggested McQueen may have donated $۵۰۰ directly to the group via McInerney, who has been named in Icac’s allegations. Jean-Claude said he did not know if McQueen donated to the group.
The watchdog revealed its witnesses for next week, including Greenwood, who has been named in two allegations.
The corruption watchdog is examining an allegation that between ۲۰۲۰ and ۲۰۲۳ Liberal figures, including Greenwood, Ellis and another Perrottet brother, Charles, solicited or accepted donations from fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and his company, Toplace, in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Nassif.
McInerney was expected to give evidence next week. Icac is investigating an allegation that prohibited donations were made by the schools governing body, arranged and approved by McInerney, including through Beckington and a lobbying company controlled by Greenwood, JPG Advisory.
Last week, the inquiry heard that a screenshot of a message from Dallas McInerney, the then chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, was sent to Reformers members in which McInerney said he planned to “shake down Angus for ۱۰k” during a breakfast meeting with ministers.
The message was allegedly sent in March ۲۰۲۱ when Taylor was energy minister in the Morrison government.
Dylan Whitelaw, another Reformers associate, was read a later-intercepted text message in which he claimed McInerney had told him he had secured a commitment from Taylor for a “۱۵k injection and a ۳k monthly donation!”
Whitelaw couldn’t recall sending the message and told the inquiry he would be “very surprised” if Taylor made any contribution. McInerney, who is a factional ally of Taylor, will appear at the inquiry next week.
Contacted for comment on Thursday, Taylor’s office pointed to previous statements made by the Liberal leader: “I have already made my position clear. No payments were made. The commission has made no allegation that I engaged in any wrongdoing or unlawful conduct. It would be wrong and misleading to suggest otherwise.”
Icac’s inquiry continues.
