Jessica McSweeneyUpdated July 30, 2026 — 10:43am,first published July 30, 2026 — 9:05amWelcome to day fourBy Jessica McSweeneyHello and welcome to day four of the first week of hearings into connections between Liberal Party figures, fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and Catholic Schools NSW.I’m state political reporter Jessica McSweeney, and I’ll be bringing you all the latest updates from today’s hearing as former Catholic Schools NSW staffer and Liberal Party factional operative Robert Assaf gives his evidence.On Wednesday, we heard from one-time Liberal staffer and former employee at Catholic Schools NSW Dylan Whitelaw. Here’s what we learnt:Angus Taylor told journalists “no payment was made” after earlier claims before the inquiry that he pledged donations to the Reformers, a religious faction in the Liberal Party.Whitelaw told the inquiry fellow Reformers figures and Liberal operatives had a “large distaste” for former Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott. A “shit sheet” was prepared detailing damaging claims about Elliott including that he had an affair, which Elliott strongly denies. During cross-examination, Whitelaw later said he “would accept” the affair never took place.Whitelaw said he believed the dirt file to be part of normal factional warfare at the time, but now accepts it was likely prepared to benefit the interests of Nassif.Whitelaw said that while working in MP Anthony Roberts’s office, then chief of staff Chris Spence provided former fair trading minister Eleni Petinos with a video of former building commissioner David Chandler that was damaging to his career, with the goal of using the information during a budget estimates hearing.Whitelaw said Spence was “frustrated” that Petinos “f---ed up” and the video was never used.Whitelaw recalled Spence saying words to the effect of “we’ve just got to get rid of this guy” about Chandler.You can tune in to the live-stream here.Latest Posts10.43amThree witnesses, three unique approaches to the commissionBy Bevan ShieldsThe third witness in Operation Rosny’s public hearings, Robert Assaf is a very different character to those prior.The first person in the witness box, hotelier Michael O’Hara, was fairly free and frank with his answers and delivered some memorable exchanges, including by describing former premier Dominic Perrottet as “woke” and the Liberal Party as “a bit toxic”. The second witness, Dylan Whitelaw, gave lengthy answers to many questions and engaged with counsel assisting. He smiled for the cameras on the way into ICAC’s Elizabeth Street office.The first three witnesses at Operation Rosny: Michael O’Hara, Robert Assaf and Dylan Whitelaw.By contrast, Assaf is softly spoken and seems determined to not give answers that go anywhere beyond the question. Some of his answers are a simple “yes” or “no”. He is not giving much away at this point.Thankfully, ICAC counsel assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer SC appears determined to extract as much information from Assaf as possible. As I wrote earlier this week, she is a force to be reckoned with.10.36amAssaf says he always had ‘icky feeling’ about politics By Jessica McSweeneyRobert Assaf has told the commission he had an “icky feeling” about factional politics, and was only interested in the Liberal Party at first because of his passion about conservative values. He first became interested in right-wing politics through his opposition to same-sex marriage. “It took a bit of convincing for me to join the Libs, partly because I cared more about the faith and values and certain policies and I ... always had a bit of an icky feeling about politics and factional, you know, games and icky feeling stuff,” Assaf said. Assaf was a key member of the Reformers, a religious right-wing factional group in the Liberals. He described attending an event geared towards signing up Young Liberals, where MP Damien Tudehope spoke about Safe Schools, a progressive anti-bullying school program that some religious conservatives disagreed with. “I think by the end of that night I decided to join,” he said.10.23amKey ICAC witnesses went to this Opus Dei schoolBy Kate McClymontQuite a few of the persons of interest at the current inquiry went to the Opus Dei-linked Catholic school, Redfield College in Dural, a suburb in the Hills District of Sydney.Graduates of the school include Robert Assaf, Charles and Jean-Claude Perrottet, along with Jeremy Greenwood.This is on Redfield’s website: “Choosing the right school can feel overwhelming, and it’s hard to know where to start. At Redfield, we don’t just teach boys. We walk with families. We see your son. We believe in who he can become and we’re here to help you raise him into the man you know he’s meant to be.”10.14amAssaf evidence beginsBy Jessica McSweeneyCounsel assisting the commission, Dr Peggy Dwyer, SC, has begun questioning Robert Assaf about his background and professional experience.The key Reformers figure is working part-time as a program director, and also does some corporate affairs consultant work. He has one client in common with Jeremy Greenwood’s company, JPG Advisory, he said.He went to Redfield College with members of the Perrottet family, including Jean-Claude. Assaf said he got to know Jean-Claude because of their faith, and both attended a study centre run by Opus Dei.While studying at university, Assaf took a year off to work as a Liberal Party staffer. He worked for several Liberal members, including Tony Abbott for a time.9.30amGhosts of ICACs past come back to haunt LiberalsBy Kate McClymontA sickening feeling of deja vu from the ghosts of ICAC past is likely to be haunting some Liberal Party figures tuning in to the daily drama of the Operation Rosny corruption inquiry.For the second day in a row, Dylan Whitelaw, 25, a former member of an ultra-conservative right-wing faction of the party called the Reformers, had difficulty recalling crucial events.When shown a “shit sheet” on then-Liberal police minister David Elliott, which Whitelaw was allegedly involved in compiling, he replied, “It doesn’t refresh my memory. There’s components in there that I have zero recollection of.”However, his recollection came sharply back into focus when he was asked about his dealings with Chris Spence, the former chief of staff to then-planning minister Anthony Roberts.Read more from Kate McClymont here.9.05amWho is Robert Assaf?By Jessica McSweeneyThe commission is expected to hear two days of evidence from Robert Assaf, a key member of the Reformers and former Catholic Schools NSW staffer.Assaf, who spent a year training to be a priest, was named as a person of interest to the ICAC when Operation Rosny hearings were first announced.Robert Assaf spent a year training to be a priest before he turned his attention to the NSW Liberal Party.InternetAssaf was a policy and communications officer at Catholic Schools NSW and worked there at the same time as fellow ICAC witness Dylan Whitelaw, and then CEO Dallas McInerney, who is being investigated over allegations he used money from the school body to support the Reformers through sham invoices. The commission is investigating whether Assaf, along with Jean-Claude Perrottet, Christian Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood, “solicited or accepted political donations, including from prohibited donors, in amounts that were not declared and exceeded applicable donation caps, for purposes that included the recruitment and/or renewal of members to the Liberal Party”. The commission heard evidence yesterday from Whitelaw that Assaf spent 60 per cent of his time performing activities to benefit the Reformers while employed by the schools’ body. 9.05amThe texts that embroiled Angus Taylor in ICAC claimsBy Jessica McSweeneyEarlier this week we heard evidence before the commission that former Catholic Schools NSW boss Dallas McInerney told members of the Reformers, the religious Liberal Party factional group at the centre of this inquiry, that he would ask Angus Taylor for donations. “I have breakfast club with ministers this Thursday morning. Who can I get an update from? Re SCD progress in last six to 12 months. I want to shake down Angus for 10k.”Dylan Whitelaw told the commission that “SCD” referred to state council delegates – McInerney wanted an update on how many Reformers were progressing to Liberal Party state council delegates before speaking with Taylor. Pinned post from 9.05amWelcome to day fourBy Jessica McSweeneyHello and welcome to day four of the first week of hearings into connections between Liberal Party figures, fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and Catholic Schools NSW.I’m state political reporter Jessica McSweeney, and I’ll be bringing you all the latest updates from today’s hearing as former Catholic Schools NSW staffer and Liberal Party factional operative Robert Assaf gives his evidence.On Wednesday, we heard from one-time Liberal staffer and former employee at Catholic Schools NSW Dylan Whitelaw. Here’s what we learnt:Angus Taylor told journalists “no payment was made” after earlier claims before the inquiry that he pledged donations to the Reformers, a religious faction in the Liberal Party.Whitelaw told the inquiry fellow Reformers figures and Liberal operatives had a “large distaste” for former Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott. A “shit sheet” was prepared detailing damaging claims about Elliott including that he had an affair, which Elliott strongly denies. During cross-examination, Whitelaw later said he “would accept” the affair never took place.Whitelaw said he believed the dirt file to be part of normal factional warfare at the time, but now accepts it was likely prepared to benefit the interests of Nassif.Whitelaw said that while working in MP Anthony Roberts’s office, then chief of staff Chris Spence provided former fair trading minister Eleni Petinos with a video of former building commissioner David Chandler that was damaging to his career, with the goal of using the information during a budget estimates hearing.Whitelaw said Spence was “frustrated” that Petinos “f---ed up” and the video was never used.Whitelaw recalled Spence saying words to the effect of “we’ve just got to get rid of this guy” about Chandler.You can tune in to the live-stream here.1 of 1