博客

A high-stakes corruption inquiry into New South Wales’ Liberal Party has heard scathing remarks from a former senior cabinet minister against a fugitive property developer accused of orchestrating a secret factional campaign to destroy his political career.

Former New South Wales police and transport minister David Elliott took the witness stand at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), where investigators are probing explosive claims that a clandestine conservative Liberal faction dubbed the “Reformers” accepted illegal political donations from Jean Nassif — a developer currently fleeing Australian authorities in Lebanon — and other figures to stack party branches with Christian members to expand the faction’s power.

The inquiry has already aired intercepted phone recordings in which Nassif openly bragged about sabotaging the political careers of both Elliott and former Building Commissioner David Chandler. Elliott, who has not been accused of any misconduct throughout the probe, told the commission he had long worked to keep property developers at arm’s length, particularly those with major projects in The Hills district, where Nassif holds most of his development interests. He explained this deliberate distance was rooted in concerns over both “actual risk of corruption, but also the perception” of improper ties between developers and elected officials.

Elliott recounted the first approach from Nassif’s associates back in 2019, when a woman working for the developer offered to arrange hidden support for his political fundraising. “I asked her how and she said, ‘oh, we’ve got ways of doing it’. That was probably the only covert way it was ever raised with me,” he told the inquiry. Elliott added that he never had a productive or even civil exchange with Nassif, saying: “Nothing positive ever comes from my conversations about Jean Nassif.”

Tensions between the pair boiled over after Nassif’s proposed Cherrybrook development was rejected by local authorities, Elliott said. The developer went “nuts” over the decision, and twice confronted Elliott uninvited: first in a residential car park in 2021, when Elliott was still serving as police minister, and again a year later at a local bar. On the first occasion, Elliott recalled, he brushed off Nassif’s demand for a meeting by telling him directly: “I’m sorry, I don’t speak to developers.”

Elliott, who left parliament ahead of the 2023 state election after his former seat was abolished in a electoral redistribution, told the commission he had consistently pushed back against overdevelopment in The Hills. He also detailed how local constituents had repeatedly raised complaints about shoddy workmanship on Nassif’s projects, including the Skyview development, which he said had obvious visible construction deficiencies. All complaints, he added, were properly referred to the Building Commissioner or NSW Fair Trading for official review.

Counsel assisting the inquiry Penny Dwyer SC put to Elliott an unproven allegation that he had requested a donation from Nassif to the Mutual Forum, the Liberal Party’s official fundraising body. Elliott flatly denied the claim, adding that he had no knowledge of Nassif donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to him or any associate. “It’s been ten years since I spent more than $50,000 on the campaign, and the last one was about $10,000 or $15,000,” he said, rejecting any suggestion of improper financial ties.

When questioned about Christian Ellis, a prominent Liberal powerbroker and co-founder of the Reformers faction at the center of the probe, Elliott said he had never met the figure. He also told the commission he had never even heard of the Reformers faction until the ICAC investigation launched. He added that the more religious, hardline conservative wing of the NSW Liberal Party was often referred to by unflattering terms internally, including “the cult.”

On the subject of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet, who is not accused of any wrongdoing despite his brothers being named in the probe, Elliott said Perrottet was a leading figure in the party’s right faction, and had previously publicly criticized Ellis after sacking him over claims that Ellis failed to process hundreds of constituent inquiries. When asked about reports that Nassif was blocked from attending a Liberal Party event attended by former prime minister Scott Morrison and Perrottet, Elliott said he had no advance knowledge of the incident, but added: “I would have loved to have been there.”

The current ICAC inquiry was triggered by a parliamentary probe into development approval processes at The Hills Shire Council, which evaluated Nassif’s controversial Cherrybrook project, after allegations of improper influence were aired in state parliament.

In a sharp rebuke that amplifies global pushback against Israeli settlement expansion, four of Europe’s leading powers — France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom — issued a joint statement Thursday demanding Israel immediately withdraw plans to construct over 1,200 new residential units as part of the contentious E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank. The development comes just days after Israeli housing authorities opened bidding for the construction contracts, marking the most significant step forward for the controversial initiative since it was first approved in August 2024.

The E1 project, which targets a 12-square-kilometer stretch of strategically located land between east Jerusalem and the large existing Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, has long drawn international condemnation for its geopolitical implications. If completed, the full 3,400-home development would permanently split east Jerusalem — which Israel annexed in 1980, a move not recognized by the majority of the international community, and which is majority-Palestinian inhabited — from the rest of the occupied West Bank. This geographic divide would eliminate the possibility of a contiguous, sovereign Palestinian state, a core foundation of the decades-long two-state solution framework for Middle East peace.

The European leaders’ joint statement emphasized that the timing of the new tenders makes the decision even more alarming, against a backdrop of skyrocketing settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and crippling economic restrictions that have severely harmed Palestinian livelihoods. The statement went further than many previous condemnations, issuing a direct warning to private businesses considering bidding on the project, cautioning that participation would put them at risk of complicity in serious violations of international law.

International pushback expanded quickly beyond the four major powers. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot labeled the tender announcement “unacceptable,” echoing the global consensus that the project would irreparably damage any path to a viable two-state resolution. The United Nations Secretary-General has previously framed the E1 initiative as an “existential threat” to the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.

The United Kingdom has already taken unilateral action to signal its disapproval: On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires to London to deliver a formal demand halting the project and all settlement expansion, and delivered the message directly to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in bilateral talks. The UK government also announced it would roll out a full package of punitive measures in the coming weeks, including targeted sanctions against individuals directly involved in illegal settlement expansion.

Israel has rejected the criticism outright, with Saar pushing back against Miliband’s statement in blunt terms Thursday. He called the British foreign secretary’s language patronizing, and argued that Jewish people hold an inherent right to live across all of what Israelis consider the Land of Israel, drawing a comparison to the right of British citizens to live anywhere across the United Kingdom. Saar further accused the UK of single-sided bias, claiming London only blames Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism that he claims fuels rising antisemitic attacks targeting Britain’s Jewish community. He called the UK’s decision to confront Israel over the issue deeply damaging to bilateral relations, and pledged that “Israel will defend its rights, its interests and its people.”

Israeli peace advocacy NGO Peace Now, which first tracked the publication of the new tender, notes that the 1,200 units up for bid make up roughly one-third of the full E1 development. The housing ministry published the tender and opened bidding on August 18, with bid submissions due October 19 — just one week ahead of Israel’s scheduled national election on October 27. Peace Now has accused the current Israeli government of rushing to lock in binding construction commitments before the vote, to cement the project’s future regardless of the election’s outcome.

The current landscape of the West Bank has grown increasingly volatile in the months following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel from Gaza. Data from international and local monitors confirms that acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians have surged to unprecedented levels during this period. Today, the West Bank (excluding annexed east Jerusalem) is home to roughly 3 million Palestinians, alongside approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers who have established communities across the territory in developments widely considered illegal under international law. Israel enforces strict movement restrictions on West Bank Palestinians, who require special permits from Israeli authorities to cross checkpoints into east Jerusalem or sovereign Israeli territory.

Fresh off a three-hour negotiating session with a top US trade official in Washington D.C., Canada’s lead representative for bilateral trade Dominic LeBlanc announced Thursday that the two neighboring nations are “very close” to wrapping up a final trade agreement amid efforts to avoid steep new tariffs that former president Donald Trump threatened to impose.

LeBlanc, Canada’s minister overseeing US-Canada trade relations, met behind closed doors with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as both sides work frantically to lock in a deal that could de-escalate months of bitter trade friction sparked by Trump’s earlier punishing levies on Canadian goods. Speaking to reporters immediately after exiting Greer’s office, LeBlanc reaffirmed that steady progress is still being made, noting the Canadian negotiating team would remain in Washington to continue working until a final agreement is reached.

Just one day prior, both sides already signaled they had edged close to a finished pact. This round of progress comes after Trump announced a last-minute 72-hour delay to a planned 50 percent tariff on Canadian imports that was scheduled to go into effect Wednesday, citing signs that a deal was imminent.

While full details of the draft agreement have not been released to the public, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held a briefing this week with the leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories to update them on the status of negotiations and outline specific demands Washington has presented that require provincial action.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters that one core US demand is for Canadian provinces to restock American wine and liquor on retail shelves. Several provinces pulled US alcohol products after Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian automobiles, steel, aluminum and lumber as a retaliatory measure. “The prime minister has asked us, as premiers, as provinces, to return the US alcohol to the shelves,” Houston said, adding that the removal of US alcohol has been a persistent point of tension that has greatly troubled US negotiators.

Houston also acknowledged the deep public frustration across Canada over Trump’s trade policies, including his past comments about annexing parts of Canada, which have left lasting resentment among many Canadians. Even if provincial governments reverse the alcohol ban, he noted there is no guarantee consumers will choose to purchase American products. “Beyond the provisions in any trade deal, there’s ‘the emotional impact of what Canadians have experienced,’” Houston said, describing the prolonged trade dispute as “emotionally draining.”

Quebec Premier Christine Frechette, whose province has been disproportionately harmed by Trump’s tariffs, said she will review the full terms of any final deal before deciding whether to comply with the demand to restock US alcohol. In contrast, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, a left-wing leader, said he is prepared to restore US alcohol to retail shelves even as he maintains Canada should stand its ground in negotiations. Kinew argued that the US is in a weaker position globally than it was one year ago, predicting Trump will lose heavily in the upcoming US midterm elections and saying “I think we’ve got the upper hand.”

A second key US demand outlined in the briefing is for provinces to remove explicit language banning US companies from public procurement contracts. While provincial governments will still be allowed to prioritize Canadian suppliers, they can no longer formally exclude US companies from bidding on public projects.

Canadian media reports indicate the US has also tabled additional demands to the federal government in Ottawa, including new commitments on defense procurement and supplies of critical minerals used in clean energy and technology manufacturing.

Provincial leaders declined to share details of what US tariff reductions are on the table, but confirmed that some Canadian goods will still face import duties when entering the US even after a deal is finalized. Saskatchewan’s conservative Premier Scott Moe, who received the briefing from Carney, noted that returning to the trade status quo of two years ago is no longer possible, but described the draft deal as “best-in-class.” Houston echoed that assessment, calling the draft agreement “the best possible outcome we can hope for in dealing with this administration.”

After 31 days out of the public eye that sparked widespread media speculation and untold whispers across Washington political circles, US First Lady Melania Trump stepped back into the national spotlight Thursday, opening a White House Rose Garden event with a lighthearted joke addressing her absence.

“Good afternoon. I heard you missed me. Here I am,” the 56-year-old First Lady said with a soft chuckle as she approached the podium, marking her first public appearance since she attended the FIFA World Cup final in mid-July.

The event, held to celebrate a joint scholarship donation from motor racing series IndyCar and media giant Fox Corporation ahead of a capital street race honoring the 250th anniversary of American independence, drew far more attention than its policy-focused purpose would normally command. All cameras and political observers were fixed on Melania, whose unexpected disappearance from the public schedule had become a top topic of D.C. gossip in recent weeks.

As the First Lady walked from the Oval Office to the event stage, she held hands with her 80-year-old husband, President Donald Trump, who remained in the audience throughout her remarks. Melania’s weeks-long break from public duties followed a pattern analysts have identified in her second term as First Lady: a recent analysis from US broadcaster NBC News found that she has held roughly half the number of public engagements by this point in her second term compared to the same stage of her first term in the White House.

In the weeks leading up to her return, Melania had skipped several high-profile public events, including the rescheduled July 24 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. She had attended the original April iteration of the dinner, which was disrupted by an armed intruder incident.

Melania’s comeback also came amid ongoing political buzz surrounding another figure close to the president: 35-year-old Natalie Harp, the president’s hyper-loyal executive assistant who has become a near-constant presence at Trump’s side during his second term. Harp, who has earned the informal nickname the “human printer” for her work drafting social media posts and printing briefing materials for Trump, has been the subject of recent scrutiny after a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate questioned why Harp was one of the few people to quietly swap onto Air Force One with Trump during a security-related disruption during his recent trip to Turkey. The White House issued an angry pushback against the questions earlier this week. Notably, Harp was not in attendance at Thursday’s Rose Garden event.