Icac concludes for the day as Jean-Claude Perrottet admits to travelling to Fiji to avoid ‘sham inquiry’

Jean-Claude Perrottet has now concluded two days of evidence before Icac’s Operation Rosny. Under the final questions from counsel assisting Juliet Curtin, he was asked about whether he received a leaked confidential draft report from a 2023 parliamentary inquiry which preceded Icac’s probe.

On Wednesday, the NSW Liberal upper house member Damien Tudehope admitted leaking the report to Reformer Jeremy Greenwood, but Jean-Claude Perrottet says he does not recall the report being passed on to him. He is shown an email from Greenwood to him in February 2023 which includes the report as an attachment and the message “Do not share with anyone”, and his own response.

The inquiry has previously heard that Jean-Claude Perrottet travelled to Fiji to avoid being served a summons to appear at the inquiry. Asked about this, he says:

Yes, I went to Fiji. I was not in a good place, and I didn’t want to partake in what I believed was a sham inquiry.

Finally, following evidence by Reformer Robert Assaf earlier this week that Greenwood may have coached Jean-Claude Perrottet about the evidence he would give to Icac earlier this year, he says he may have spoken to Greenwood about Icac, “but I don’t remember Jeremy saying that”.

Icac witness says developer’s claim of promise to remove building commissioner was ‘crazy talk’

In the third phone call that Icac hears between Jean-Claude Perrottet and fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, Nassif can be heard complaining about the building commissioner David Chandler who had been scrutinising his developments for defects.

“I’ve been promised that the commissioner will be fucking stopped or chased or fucking done something to him,” says Nassif, who goes on to to describe Chandler as “the worst bulldog bully”.

In the call, Nassif asks if Jean-Claude Perrottet “can take a message to Charlie or or to Dom, the building commissioner, we need to stop him”, making a subsequent request to “get Charlie to do something please”.

Under questioning, Jean-Claude Perrottet accepts that Nassif made frequent references to his brother Charles Perrottet, but describes the call as “crazy talk”.

He has the following exchange with counsel assisting Juliet Curtin:

Curtin: “And when you say it’s crazy talk, we take from that that you were completely surprised when Mr Nassif suggested that you should convey these messages to Charles?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Yes.”

Curtin: “And you have never heard of Charles agreeing to do anything for Mr Nassif?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “No, I haven’t.”

Charles Perrottet, who has been named in Icac’s allegation, has previously denied any wrongdoing, while Dominic Perrottet is not accused of any wrongdoing.

NSW man fined $5,000 over threats to kill federal MP and family

A Sydney man has been sentenced after being found guilty of sending online threats to a federal parliamentarian.

It comes after federal authorities investigated two emails sent to the parliamentarian’s office that threatened to kill the politician and their family.

The 31-year-old was arrested after police seized electronic devices during a search of his Bankstown home in December last year.

He was sentenced to a Community Corrections Order and fined $5,000.

Man arrested after stabbing in Sydney’s west

A 38-year-old man has been arrested after an alleged stabbing outside a shopping centre in Sydney’s west.

Emergency services responded to reports of a stabbing on Thursday morning at Lalor Park, where they treated a 53-year-old man before taking him to Westmead Hospital in a serious condition.

A crime scene was established and after searching a nearby unit, NSW Police arrested a 38-year-old man.

Anyone with dashcam or mobile footage of the incident has been urged to contact Blacktown Police Station or Crime Stoppers.

Continuing from the previous post…

In a second call, played on the first day of the inquiry, Nassif can be heard to claim that he “fucked him [David Elliott] sideways”, forcing “the boys” to get rid of the former Liberal MP’s seat of Baulkham Hills, and sent “Castle Hill fucking hundreds of new members”.

In the call, in which Nassif claims to have “been speaking to your brothers every day” about Covid lockdowns, Jean-Claude Perrottet also thanks Nassif for “all the support for the family”. Today, he says the call is “nonsensical”.

Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin asks:

One way that he could have sent hundreds of new members to Castle Hill was by providing financial support for those who were attempting to recruit new members to Castle Hill?

Jean-Claude Perrottet says: “Yes, he could have done that, but I’m not aware of that.”

Asked about the comment he made to Nassif about support for his family, he said:

That’s a throwaway comment that gets used all the time.

Nassif, who fled Australia for regional Lebanon in 2022, is not expected to appear at Icac’s inquiry and has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Icac hears more phone messages from fugitive property developer

Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet does not have much longer in the witness box at Icac today. The inquiry has heard more intercepted phone calls from fugitive property developer Jean Nassif for the first time since the opening day of the inquiry.

The corruption watchdog is examining a second allegation that between 2020 and 2023, Nassif and his company Toplace made prohibited donations solicited or accepted by Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood and Charles Perrottet in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Nassif, including damage to the career of former Liberal Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott, and the removal of the then-building commissioner David Chandler.

Elliott retired after his seat was abolished and he was unable to convince local branches in Castle Hill to make him the candidate.

But the inquiry has yet to focus extensively on the allegation. At the close of play, Jean-Claude Perrottet has been played three phone calls between him and Nassif in 2021, when he was managing shares for Nassif while working at Medallion Financial.

In one call, Nassif can be heard to ask Jean-Claude Perrottet to withdraw “100” from his portfolio to give to “to your brother, to Jeremy or Chris”.

Nassif says, “I was thinking to give it to your brother for pre-selection for now, and ... I’ll give you a million in a couple of weeks’ time,” but Jean-Claude Perrottet says “wow, that’d be great”, but tells him it is not possible to withdraw money from his portfolio.

Asked about which brother Nassif was proposing to give $100,000 for pre-selections, he says: “I don’t. I don’t know what he’s talking about, to be honest with you ... it makes no sense.” He rejects the suggestion that the money was to support the Reformers recruitment work. “I just don’t agree with that characterisation. This is obviously just nonsense.”

Asked about which brother Nassif was proposing to give money for pre-selections, he says:

I don’t. I don’t know what he’s talking about, to be honest with you ... it makes no sense.

He rejects the suggestion that the money was to support the Reformers recruitment work.

I just don’t agree with that characterisation. This is obviously just nonsense.

ABC’s head of investigations leaves national broadcaster

The head of investigations and current affairs at the ABC, Jo Puccini, has resigned after more than two decades with the national broadcaster.

In an email to staff on Thursday afternoon, acting news director of the ABC, Donna Field, wished her “every success in whatever comes next”:

After more than 25 years, Head of Investigations and Current Affairs, Jo Puccini is leaving the ABC. Jo’s journalistic contribution includes her early award-winning work at Four Corners and senior roles at Media Watch, Lateline, 7.30, the National Reporting Team and ABC Investigations. Jo has helped shape significant public interest journalism and built high-performing teams, leading to numerous Walkley awards.

A statement attributed to Puccini in the all-staff email said she was “proud of the journalism” she’d helped produce, describing her time there as an “adventure and a privilege”.

It’s now time for a new chapter in my career. I’ll be watching and cheering you all on to great success and important journalism that will continue to benefit the Australian public.

Puccini had faced backlash for overseeing the former-bikie turned journalist, Mahmood Fazal, during his time at Four Corners. An investigation into the veracity of sources used on two programs hosted by Fazal, that aired in 2023 and 2024, are ongoing. Guardian Australia is not suggesting this was why she left the ABC.

Realestate.com.au sees ‘early days’ of housing market recovery

The head of realestate.com.au has called out early signs the housing market could be stabilising, with new listings falling and home buyers still watching the market.

Cam McIntyre, REA Group’s chief executive, told shareholders that the website had recorded rising homebuyer interest, in a call announcing the company’s financial results. McIntyre said:

Customers are starting to settle, and they are coming back to loan applications, and we are gradually seeing improvements in application volume. I’d say a little bit early days, but we have definitely seen improvement there over recent weeks.

McIntyre reported high web traffic, suggesting hopeful buyers were engaged, while new listings were falling in Melbourne and Sydney, the two cities that have led the price falls. Indicators of future seller interest were flat or falling, he said.

House prices are falling in part because fewer people are interested in buying but more are selling. Reversal of those trends would limit the extent of price falls.

Ray White, the real estate agency, has reported rising numbers of investors and active bidders at its auctions.

Cotality, the property data company, has reported new listings have fallen to levels seen in July 2025 as sellers adjust to meet the market. Melbourne’s auction clearance rate last week rose to a 12-week high of 54.7%, though the national rate fell to 48.9%, as conditions vary across the country.

Albanese to welcome president of Vietnam next week

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will welcome the general secretary and president of Vietnam, To Lam, to Australia next week.

The leaders will meet in Canberra on Tuesday, 11 August to “discuss opportunities to deepen cooperation” as part of the Vietnamese leader’s first visit to Australia.

The prime minister said in a statement:

I look forward to welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam to Australia and discussing how we can strengthen cooperation between our two nations.

The Vietnam-Australia relationship is grounded in deep strategic trust, mutual interests, and a shared ambition for the future of our region.

Our two nations share deep cultural ties and around 350,000 Australians have Vietnamese heritage.

The inquiry has previously heard evidence that Beckington, set up by Reformers Christian Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood in 2019, received payments from prohibited donor, hotelier Michael O’Hara, for factional work, after issuing fake invoices for consulting advice.

O’Hara admitted to the arrangement last week, but disputed whether the payments counted as political donations.

Curtin says Ellis wrote to Jean-Claude Perrottet: “O’Hara pays GST, but it’s included in the five”. She puts 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 says.

‘You sneaky man’: messages suggest Reformers quibbled over GST on $5,000 payments, inquiry hears

The NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny has resumed after lunch. Questions have returned to $5,000 payments received by Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet from lobbying company Beckington, controlled by fellow Reformer Christian Ellis.

Earlier the inquiry heard he received an initial monthly payment of $5,500, followed by four monthly payments of $5,000, between April and August 2021, but he said he could not recall doing any work for Beckington.

This afternoon, he has been read messages between him and Ellis, in which he wrote to Ellis: “Any chance you can send the money today?”, to which Ellis responds, “What money?”. After Jean-Claude Perrottet writes “please”, Ellis responds: “All right. But it’s 5k, not five and a half, you sneaky man”.

Counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin suggests that this indicates confusion between Ellis and Jean-Claude Perrottet about how to manage the GST in invoices. She reads further messages discussing GST in which Ellis calls Jean-Claude Perrottet a “slippery man”. Jean-Claude writes: “Yeah, I’m easy, I just thought I had to include it.” Ellis calls him a “slippery man” again, to which Perrottet writes back: “Haha, get out”.

That’s all from me. Achol Arok will take the lead from here. Enjoy your Thursday.

Introducing the Alan Jones on Trial podcast

For decades, Alan Jones was one of Australia’s most powerful radio shock jocks. Now the veteran broadcaster is on trial facing 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. Jones has denied any wrongdoing and is defending the charges.

Join host Nour Haydar and Guardian Australia’s media correspondent, Amanda Meade, every Friday for weekly courtroom updates and a breakdown of the evidence in Alan Jones on Trial.

Disability advocates warn billions of NDIS funding is flowing overseas

A Senate inquiry examining the NDIS reforms has been told the NDIS funding model has seen billions of taxpayer dollars flow into the profit of overseas companies, while leaving disabled Australians under-resourced.

People with Disability’s Sam Connor, who got a $1 NDIS plan a few weeks ago, said:

The waste that goes towards occupational therapists is ridiculous. I was born disabled. When I was told by the NDIA I had to hire a wheelchair, that means you have to have a lease agreement; there are only two places here that do that.

She said huge companies, many based overseas, have “hoovered” up smaller players in the disability market and now dominate – sending profits overseas.

They’ve aggressively rolled up NDIS care and equipment providers …. $5bn is being siphoned offshore as profit rather than being reinvested in care.

Analysis from Spinal Life has previously revealed $20bn of NDIS funding is flowing to providers owned by overseas private equity firms, delivering a 25% profit margin, or $5bn.

Victorian cult inquiry refers itself to information commissioner after it accidentally shares email address of anonymous survivors

A Victorian parliamentary committee investigating “cults and organised fringe groups” has referred itself to the state information commissioner after accidentally sending the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of those groups and to journalists.

Last week the committee tabled its final report in parliament and emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after to inform them it had been published. However, they erroneously left the recipients’ email addresses visible.

Recipients included whistleblowers who trusted their anonymity would be maintained even as they spoke out about their experiences.

In an email this afternoon, the committee chair, Labor MP Ella George, said the clerk of the legislative assembly voluntarily reported the disclosure of private information to the office of the Victorian information commissioner on behalf of the committee. She said:

The committee continues to take this matter very seriously. Work is ongoing to review the circumstances of the incident and to strengthen processes to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future.

George said the committee has also arranged a free counselling support service for those affected until Sunday.

Read more:

Records smashed as Australian share market pushes higher

Australia’s share market has soared to record heights for a second straight day, shrugging off a weak US session as gold stocks shine, AAP reports.

The S&P/ASX200 gained 50.2 points by midday, up 0.56%, to 9.279.5, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced 53.9 points, or 0.57%, to 9.459.3.

The top-200 hit a fresh intraday record of 9,296.7 in early trade and was on track to top Wednesday’s record close.

The exchange shrugged off a weak Wall Street session and dips across indices in Japan and South Korea as chip stocks sold off, while Australian mining stocks continued to rally on hopes of an imminent US-Iran peace deal.

The Australian dollar is buying US70.57 cents, up from US70.49 cents on Wednesday.

Greens question return of some welfare payment cancellations

In response to some payment cancellations being turned back on, the Greens’ spokesperson on social services, senator Penny Allman-Payne, has said there is nothing in the secretary’s statement that gives confidence to the system now running lawfully.

She said:

There was nothing about improving DEWR’s capacity to monitor providers’ misconduct. They told the ombudsman that they had an ‘app’ for that, which turned out to be a new dashboard on their existing system. There is no mention of any improved capacities in this regard anywhere.

Providers use threats of payment suspensions and cancellations to force people to comply, in some cases to bolster the provider’s incentive payment.

If these sanctions are resumed, the providers will be administering them. How can Minister Rishworth or her department trust these providers to do the right thing when they are financially incentivised to do otherwise? The TCF appears fundamentally at odds with lawful and fair decision-making.

The minister and the department’s failure to communicate these matters in a timely, effective or comprehensible fashion is characteristic of all the worst Robodebt-style governance.

Welfare cancellations back on, but some question legality of system

There is big news for jobseekers this week, with the government announcing it will be slowly turning back on payment cancellations.

Many of you will remember that payment cancellations are currently switched off because the Targeted Compliance Framework – the automated system that runs mutual obligations – has been paused since January last year after the government found it was working illegally.

On Tuesday, Simon Duggan PSM, secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, announced that from 26 October the system will start suspending and cancelling payments for a refusal or failure to accept an offer of suitable work and a failure to “reconnect” with a provider within four weeks.

He said:

Resuming these decisions on 26 October 2026 is contingent on successful completion of assurance activity and system testing to ensure the necessary IT changes, improved guidance for decision-makers and additional safeguards to ensure decision-making under these provisions align with the law.

The department has a responsibility to ensure the systems we administer are operating within the law as enacted by the Australian parliament, and this is an important step in returning the TCF system to lawful operation.

Two other types of cancellations, those relating to persistent MO failures and work refusal failures, will still be turned off as the government works to ensure they are overseen by a human who can make a legal decision.

It’s unclear exactly how many people had their payments illegally cancelled but, speaking at Senate estimates earlier this year, representatives for DEWR said the number of illegal cancellations, where people were not given enough time to reconnect to a job provider after missing a compulsory activity as part of their mutual obligations, was in “the vicinity” of 300,000.

Late former Liberal party vice-president Teena McQueen may have made payments to the Reformers, inquiry hears

Icac’s Operation Rosny has heard about the ways in which the late former Liberal vice-president Teena McQueen may have supported conservative factional group the Reformers.

McQueen, who served as the federal Liberal party vice-president from 2017 to 2023, died in June this year after battling severe sickness. McQueen, known for her conservative commentary and long-term membership of the Liberal party, had defected to One Nation in May.

Previously, Reformers associate Dylan Whitelaw said McQueen would “pay for a bar tab” for Reformers events. Reformer Robert Assaf told the inquiry 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 said.

Today, Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet has been read messages between Reformers which suggest McQueen may have also donated $500 directly to the group via the Catholic Schools NSW chief executive, Dallas McInerney, who has been named in Icac’s allegations. Perrottet says he does not know if McQueen donated to the group.

Pauline Hanson details who she wants to remove from the country under mass deportation push

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was interviewed on Sky News a moment ago, where she detailed more about her plans for a mass deportation of some 75,000 people she says have overstayed their visas.

She said she wasn’t concerned about those who she is targeting with the move, and was focused on Australians:

I don’t care. My concern is for those Australians that can’t get a roof over their head and a decent standard of living and way of life …

When asked who she would target if in government, Hanson had this to say:

They had a contract to come out here for only a certain period of time. That was a visa that was given to them. They’ve overstayed.

I’m not against migration … never have been. But we’ve got to bring in people who are going to make the country prosperous, that they have something to offer, that they want to be Australians …

We don’t need any more Uber drivers, nail technicians, dog walkers. These people, gone, stop all that.

Police official says suspected murder-suicide in outback Queensland town confronting for officers and small community

Matthew Vanderbyl, the southern region assistant commissioner for Queensland police, said police responding to a suspected murder-suicide in an outback town overnight were confronted with a “terrible” scene.

Vanderbyl said the investigation was still in its very early stages, with officials still heading to the remote town of Charleville, and couldn’t provide much information about the pair’s relationship or circumstances of the deaths.

But he said the region was a small, tight-knit community:

These types of events affect communities badly, let alone small communities. It will be something that will have a tragic impact on the wider community of Charleville and the police, friends and relatives of the deceased, who our thoughts remain with today.

Unprecedented images may explain one of greatest mysteries of the sun

Golden bands and swirling vortices have been spotted on the sun in the most detailed images ever captured of the turbulent surface of our home star.

Astronomers observed the sun with the Inouye solar telescope in Hawaii, the world’s most powerful solar telescope, and saw new features smaller than 20km (12 miles) across in a magnetically active region close to a sun spot.

The unprecedented pictures show processes on the surface that are likely to explain the decades-long mystery of why the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface.

Read more:

Icac resumes as factional ally of Angus Taylor due to appear next week

The NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny hearings into corruption in the NSW Liberal party have resumed this morning, with Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet, the younger brother of former premier, Dominic Perrottet, giving evidence again.

Yesterday, he admitted he occasionally paid for memberships of people he was signing up to the Liberal party, which the inquiry has heard is against party rules. Branch stacking is not itself illegal, but the group is under investigation for allegedly soliciting or accepting illegal donations as part of branch-stacking efforts. Jean-Claude Perrottet has previously denied any wrongdoing, while Dominic Perrottet has not been named in any allegations by Icac.

Icac has also announced next week’s witnesses. They include Jeremy Greenwood, who was originally scheduled to appear this week.

He has been named in two allegations. The corruption watchdog is examining a second allegation that between 2020 and 2023, Liberal figures including Greenwood solicited or accepted donations from fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and his company, Toplace in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Nassif.

Also expected to appear on Wednesday and Thursday next week is Catholic Schools NSW chief executive, Dallas McInerney. Icac is investigating the allegation that illegal donations were made by the schools governing body, arranged and approved by McInerney.

Last week the inquiry heard a message sent by McInerney, who is a factional ally of federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, to Reformer advising of a plan to “shake down Angus for 10K”. Taylor has not been named in Icac’s allegations and has denied he ever made payments to the Reformers.

Man and pregnant woman found dead in outback Queensland home in apparent murder-suicide

A sad update from our earlier post:

A pregnant woman and a man have been found dead at a home in the outback Queensland town of Charleville, in an apparent murder-suicide after a protracted overnight standoff with police.

Several streets in the remote town, 600km west of Toowoomba, were locked down by police on Wednesday evening after officers arrived at the property on King Street after reports of “a serious assault”.

Read more here:

Ed Husic looking forward to returning to full duties ‘shortly’

We have more from Ed Husic’s office following news he was injured in a car crash this week. Husic’s team wrote on Instagram:

Mr Husic thanked the doctors, nurses and paramedics at Westmead Hospital for providing him with outstanding care and thanked his family and friends for their support, especially during his hospital stay.

He said he looked forward to returning to full parliamentary duties shortly and assured constituents his electorate team would continue to support the people of Chifley in the meantime.

Nearly 1,500 properties bought using first home buyers’ 5% deposit scheme converted into investments

The government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers has enabled the purchase of nearly 1,500 properties that were turned into investments, new data shows.

The scheme is also helping hundreds of Australians earning more than $300,000 a year, after Labor stopped excluding high-income borrowers.

First-time buyers can borrow 95% of a property’s value and have the government guarantee the loan, waiving costly lenders’ mortgage insurance, under the scheme.

Housing Australia, which runs the program, provided the data in response to a Senate estimates question on notice in June.

Read more here:

Labor MP Ed Husic taken to hospital with fractures and concussion after car accident

Labor MP Ed Husic was hospitalised this week after his car was involved in an accident with a truck travelling on Sydney’s M7 motorway.

The incident happened when the Chifley MP was travelling home from his electorate office, around 6.20pm on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson.

Husic was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to hospital for assessment and treatment.

Read more here:

Bowen says government confident about gambling reforms

Bowen was also asked about the government’s gambling reforms and criticism from the Greens and the Coalition that they don’t go far enough.

He told RN:

This is the biggest anti-gambling or gambling moderation program in Australian history. We’ve already done so much. We do have ambitions to do more.

It’s not unusual, frankly, at this point for parties that aren’t the government to say they’re not supporting this legislation and for there’s been speculation the legislation will fail. Our track record as a government of getting legislation through the Senate, despite the fact we don’t have a majority there, is pretty good. …

Obviously, we work with parties of goodwill and good faith across the parliament to see our legislation through.

Bowen says national rules for datacentres in the national interest

Chris Bowen, the federal energy minister, said the government will continue to target national rules on datacentres despite opposition from state or territory governments, saying any other approach is not in the national interest.

Bowen spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, a day after saying the federal government would override any state government that opposes its national rules. He also maintained the Albanese government is committed to powering the AI boom with renewable energy.

Bowen told RN this morning:

We’ve made clear that this is a national approach and we will use national legislation because these datacentres – while the investment is very welcome, and Australia has one of the biggest and hottest datacentre markets in the world for investment – that’s something we welcome, providing it’s in our national interest.

And in our national interest is that the datacentres work within the constraints and the rules that the governments of Australia wish to place on them …

A let-er-rip approach … whatever they want approach, would see bills go up, reliability go down, and datacentres dominate the energy system in a way which is not in the national interest.

Man, woman dead after hours-long siege lockdown in regional Queensland

An hours-long siege ended in tragedy after a man and woman were found dead in an outback home, AAP reports.

Several streets in Charleville, 600km west of Toowoomba in Queensland, were thrust into lockdown after police were called to investigate reports of a serious assault at the home around 6pm on Wednesday.

Residents in a three-street block were forced to retreat into their homes for nearly eight hours as specialist police surrounded the area. The emergency public safety declaration was revoked just before 2am on Thursday.

A 45-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were found dead in the home.

A crime scene was set up and a report is being prepared for the coroner. Police will hold a press conference on the matter later this morning.