An eight-week public corruption investigation into internal operations of the New South Wales Liberal Party entered its second day Tuesday, with a prominent local hotelier telling the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) he never expected his tens of thousands in donations to a right-wing party faction would land him in the anti-corruption dock.
The inquiry centers on the activities of a self-identified conservative group called “the reformers”, which formed to grow the share of ideologically conservative and Christian-aligned members within the NSW Liberal Party and shift the party’s overall policy positioning. The probe is examining multiple key allegations: that members of the group solicited and accepted undeclared political donations, including from prohibited donors, to fund membership recruitment and renewal; that fugitive property developer Jean Nassif allegedly channeled donations to oust Liberal MP David Elliott and remove Building Commissioner David Chandler; and that several local Labor councillors engaged in breaches of public trust, including alleged blackmail and illegal surveillance.
Among those named in the probe is 83-year-old hotelier Michael O’Hara, a cancer patient who has long donated to conservative and Christian political causes. O’Hara, who faces no personal wrongdoing allegations, admitted he donated a total of $25,000 to the reformers between 2020 and 2021 through his company Paslibdan Pty Ltd and Jeremy Greenwood’s now-deregistered lobbying firm Beckington Group, with the donations routed to group organizer Christian Ellis. The total amount exceeded the legal disclosure threshold, and O’Hara acknowledged the donations would have violated prohibited donor and donation cap rules if formally designated as contributions to the NSW Liberal Party.
Giving continued testimony on Tuesday, O’Hara told the commission he had no knowledge of how the reformers ultimately used his donations, and only learned of the group’s alleged activities from witness evidence and media reports this week. He described himself as shocked by what has come to light, saying, “I am absolutely astounded by where it all ended up, which I had absolutely no knowledge of.” He compared his support for the faction to operating his hotel business, explaining that he entrusted trusted organizers to manage day-to-day activities without his interference. “I thought they were good people… since, after hearing what happened, what you went through yesterday … it was disgusting. But, anyway… I made a mistake supporting them because they went off the track,” he said.
Pressed about whether he communicated via encrypted app Signal with former premier Dominic Perrottet’s brother Jean-Claude Perrottet, one of the figures under investigation, O’Hara said his heavy workload as a hotelier left him unable to recall specific communications. “I probably have 20 or 30 or 50 phone calls a day. I’ll probably get 100 emails. I was a very busy person,” he said. “I gave money to this. Go ahead and do what you’re supposed to be doing. And, I forget about it. I didn’t anticipate it ending up in a corruption inquiry.”
Counsel assisting the inquiry Peggy Dwyer SC presented text message evidence showing that in 2018, reformer figure Robert Assaf updated O’Hara with the message: “good news – the NSW reformers have officially taken their first branch. Coffs Harbour branch is now out.” O’Hara confirmed he recalled this exchange.
The commission also heard that O’Hara cut off funding to the reformers in 2021 over their opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, particularly from then-state MP Tanya Davies. In a 2021 email copied to NSW Liberal upper house leader Damien Tudehope, O’Hara wrote that prolonged lockdowns were harming children, increasing youth suicide rates, and placing unbearable strain on businesses and families, adding that vaccinations were the only logical path to reopening. “I cannot support while you are indirectly, actively working against that outcome,” he wrote.
O’Hara also told the hearing he split from then-premier Dominic Perrottet over what he viewed as overly liberal policy stances, and criticized former Prime Minister Scott Morrison for adopting what he called a “woke agenda” that he said had harmed the party.
Beyond the activities of the reformers, the inquiry is probing allegations tied to fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, who is a prohibited donor under NSW electoral law. Dwyer outlined in her opening address that the commission will examine whether Nassif’s political goals – removing David Elliott and David Chandler – aligned with the ambitions of the right-wing faction, which allegedly accepted his financial support in exchange for advancing mutually beneficial actions. “We expect that the commission may see the confluence of personal greed and political ambitions,” Dwyer said.
The probe also examines allegations against two Strathfield Labor councillors employed by Nassif: Sharangan Maheswaran and Karen Pensabene, who stand accused of breaching public trust, potential blackmail, and violating surveillance device laws. Maheswaran is alleged to have built a “dirt file” on independent rival councillor Matthew Blackmore and threatened professional retaliation if Blackmore did not comply with his demands, using material collected by the same private investigator Nassif hired to target Chandler.
None of the individuals named in the inquiry have been found guilty of misconduct, and former premier Dominic Perrottet, Catholic Schools NSW, and O’Hara all face no allegations of wrongdoing. ICAC does not issue criminal convictions; following the conclusion of the eight-week probe, the commission may refer individuals to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions for further action.