Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny, Jean-Claude Perrottet has been asked about messages read out on the first day of the inquiry.
On 12 January 2023, Reformer Jeremy Greenwood allegedly wrote to him:
double quotation markHey, so you know how I’m good to you and help you and give you all your filthy schools money … and put up with your fucking whining?
Jean-Claude Perrottet wrote back: “Don’t put that in writing.”
Greenwood replied: “It deletes.”
Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin asks if the messages are “because it wasn’t money that you or he were being paid for any work that you were doing for Catholic Schools NSW?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “No, I think Jeremy was doing work for Catholic Schools.”
Curtin: “Why is he, why is he calling it filthy schools money?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “I can’t speak to his thoughts, but he’s having a crack at me.”
Curtin: “OK, well then, if it was just a joke and he’s having a crack, why do you then respond quickly: ‘Don’t put that in writing’?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Why would I want that in writing?”
Curtin: “Why wouldn’t you?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Because it’s not true.”
That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage for the day.
Before we log off, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
Almost 600 childcare services were shut down in the latest quarter, a twentyfold increase on the same quarter last year, as federal, state and territory governments crack down on dodgy and underperforming providers.
The government has asked the consumer watchdog to draw up some national safety standards to crack down on the sale of unsafe ebikes in Australia.
News Corp has delivered a strong rise in revenue across its global business, despite weakness in its news division, marked by a slide in digital subscribers at its Australian mastheads.
A 60-year-old good Samaritan has died after he was allegedly attacked by shoplifting youths outside a Melbourne shopping strip.
Gina Rinehart has lost an estimated $283m on paper as Elon Musk’s SpaceX company slumps in value.
The federal parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is continuing this week, with hearings held in Melbourne.
New South Wales’s 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 rightwing factional group the Reformers.
The ABC has apologised to Gina Rinehart for a short film that appeared on its Race Around the World program.
A case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in an Australian land-based bird for the first time after a magpie on Victoria’s south-west coast tested positive.
Locals have been urged to evacuate immediately after a fire in Port Adelaide at an industrial shed used to store sulphur began producing large volumes of toxic smoke.
Thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow morning!
Members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian church and the rightwing lobby group Advance will appear at a parliamentary inquiry reviewing the 2025 federal election.
In the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters’ interim report, released last month, the committee said Australia’s democracy had come “under assault” at the last federal election from “significant third parties”.
The committee received dozens of reports about the conduct of members by the Brethren, who supported Liberal candidates in marginal seats across the country. The committee’s report made several recommendations including a new code of conduct for campaigners.
The Labor MP Jerome Laxale, chair of the committee, says the two groups have confirmed they will attend the next public hearing on 21 August as the inquiry continues:
double quotation markTransparency is one of the pillars of our democracy, and voters deserve to know who is involved in campaigning at our polling booths.
I thank the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and Advance for confirming their upcoming attendance to provide evidence to the Committee as we further consider these important issues.
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:
double quotation markYes, 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:
double quotation markOne 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:
double quotation markThat’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:
double quotation markI 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.
double quotation markI 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”:
double quotation markAfter 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”.
double quotation markIt’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:
double quotation markCustomers 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.
Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny, Jean-Claude Perrottet has been asked about messages read out on the first day of the inquiry.
On 12 January 2023, Reformer Jeremy Greenwood allegedly wrote to him:
double quotation markHey, so you know how I’m good to you and help you and give you all your filthy schools money … and put up with your fucking whining?
Jean-Claude Perrottet wrote back: “Don’t put that in writing.”
Greenwood replied: “It deletes.”
Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin asks if the messages are “because it wasn’t money that you or he were being paid for any work that you were doing for Catholic Schools NSW?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “No, I think Jeremy was doing work for Catholic Schools.”
Curtin: “Why is he, why is he calling it filthy schools money?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “I can’t speak to his thoughts, but he’s having a crack at me.”
Curtin: “OK, well then, if it was just a joke and he’s having a crack, why do you then respond quickly: ‘Don’t put that in writing’?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Why would I want that in writing?”
Curtin: “Why wouldn’t you?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Because it’s not true.”
Locals have been urged to evacuate immediately after a fire in Port Adelaide at an industrial shed used to store sulphur began producing large volumes of toxic smoke.
South Australia’s Metropolitan Fire Service has said anyone within 1km of Moonta Road in Port Adelaide should leave immediately and others should not enter the area.
A warning from the fire service said:
double quotation markIt is extremely dangerous.
Emergency services are on the scene, the smoke is considered toxic.
The fire is contained to the shed, and heavy smoke is blowing in a south-easterly direction, according to the latest update.
However, the wind direction could change and anyone in the vicinity has been advised to close their windows and doors and be cautious of smoke.
The SA Ambulance Service said two people have been taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital.
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:
double quotation markI 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”.
Returning to the NSW Icac, federal opposition leader Angus Taylor’s name has been mentioned again during hearings, raising the question of if he ever has donated to the Reformers.
Taylor, who is not named in Icac’s allegations, has previously denied ever making payments to the group.
Jean-Claude Perrottet has been read text messages sent by Reformer Christian Ellis to him in September 2021, in which Ellis says the group has “zero dollars at the moment”. Asked why by Jean Claude-Perrottet, Ellis writes:
“Because Michael O’Hara hates the vax campaign, and Angus Taylor hates Rob”.
The inquiry has previously heard evidence, including from Reformer 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.
Counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin, asks: “That seems to be suggesting that Mr Taylor had paid some money for the Reformers too, doesn’t it, or was refusing to?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “It sounds like that’s the suggestion.”
Curtin: “Do you know anything about that?”
Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Look, I’ve I’ve heard it come up [at the inquiry], but until that came up, I hadn’t recalled that at all.”
That’s all from me. Achol Arok will take the lead from here. Enjoy your Thursday.
Federal parliament is returning from winter break next week.
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Source: Guardian - World News
