Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has been linked with a Christian conservative group that attempted to stack Liberal Party branches to overthrow sitting MPs at an anti-corruption hearing.
The Reformers — a right-wing group associated with Mr Taylor’s conservative faction within the Liberal Party — had sought to end the political career of MPs from the party’s rival centre right faction, including former Cabinet minister Alex Hawke who was a close ally of former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Former Liberal staffer and party member Dylan Whitelaw, who worked for Catholic Schools NSW when it financed the work of the Reformers, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operation Rosny inquiry that Mr Taylor supported the Reformers, who opposed vaccine mandates during COVID and also campaigned against euthanasia in a bid to sign up socially conservative members to Liberal Party branches across NSW.
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He also detailed how they had attempted to stack out the Mitchell electorate branches of the Liberal Party, in Sydney’s north-west, in an unsuccessful bid to rob Mr Hawke of his party pre-selection ahead of the next Federal election in 2022.
Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s younger brother Jean-Claude Perrottet was involved in the operation via a Hills District Young Liberal branch.
“The ultimate goal, what they were looking for there, was to challenge Alex’s pre-selection and have him not be the successful candidate and that never occurred,” Mr Whitelaw told the hearing on Tuesday.
“Jean-Claude had done a large amount of work signing up new members into the Hills Young Liberals to make it the biggest branch.”
Mr Whitelaw said the Reformers managed to sign up 1500 members to Liberal Party branches from 2021 to 2022, with Sydney’s Hills District in the Federal seat of Mitchell a particularly fertile recruiting ground.
“I would suggest that the Hills was probably the most successful location for the Reformers’ recruitment generally, in terms of the volume of people that signed up,” he said.
A spokesperson for Liberal leader Angus Taylor said ICAC had not approached him to appear as a witness. Credit: LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE
Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin told the inquiry Catholic Schools NSW had engaged Beckington, a lobbying firm owned by right-wing Liberal Party powerbroker Christian Ellis who used their client’s funding to finance the activities of the Reformers to recruit stacks to Liberal Party branches and pay for their membership.
Mr Whitelaw was employed by Catholic Schools NSW and later Beckington, and had a role with Reformers. His former boss Dallas McInerney was chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, with ICAC investigating whether he made illegal donations to the Liberal Party that were not declared and exceeded donation caps.
He confirmed to the hearing that as a member of the Liberal Party’s Mittagong branch, in the State’s Southern Highlands, he was aware that Mr Taylor had agreed to speak at one of Reformers’ events in his home town of Goulburn, which was then in his Federal electorate of Hume in 2020.
Ms Curtin read to him messages between Mr Whitelaw and Mr Ellis confirming that Mr Taylor had agreed to address a Reformers event on September 21, 2020.
“And you say, ‘FYI, Angus Taylor locked in for an event in Goulburn. We’ll confirm a date for it tomorrow. Hopefully, the beginning of our working for southern country’. Does that assist you in terms of recollecting that you had obtained Mr Taylor’s assistance in speaking at an event in Goulburn that you had organised?”
“It refreshes my memory but I don’t recall Angus ever doing an event in Goulburn,” he replied.
But he agreed that Mr Ellis had asked him to expand the reach of the Reformers into the southern part of the State.
“I may have asked Angus if he would be able to help but I don’t have any recollection of that event actually occurring,” Mr Whitelaw said.
“In any case, you’d already indicated that Mr Taylor was aware of the work that the Reformers were doing at this point in time?” Ms Curtin asked.
“Yes,” Mr Whitelaw replied.
A spokeswoman for Mr Taylor said ICAC had not approached him to appear as a witness.
“The leader is not a party to the matters before the commission, nor has he been approached,” she said.
“These matters should be allowed to run their course free from political interference or commentary.
“As such the Leader will not be providing a running commentary on any matters before the commission.”
“Donations and fundraising activities are declared in accordance with the rules and are a matter for the party.”
