The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) will begin public hearings on Monday for Operation Rosny, an inquiry into alleged illegal donations and branch stacking within the New South Wales Liberal party. A central figure, former registered lobbyist Christian Ellis, has moved to the United Kingdom and is not expected to appear during the eight-week proceedings.
Operation Rosny hearings commence
The first witness is hotelier Michael O’Hara, followed later in the week by former Liberal staffer Dylan Whitelaw and consultant Robert Assaf. O’Hara and Assaf are among 10 individuals Icac has said it is investigating. Whitelaw is not named in the Icac allegations.
Christian Ellis, a former registered lobbyist and Liberal powerbroker who once received a glowing endorsement from federal opposition leader Angus Taylor, is named in two Icac allegations but is not expected to appear.
Allegations of illegal donations and branch stacking
Icac is investigating several allegations. Firstly, that Liberal figures, including Ellis and Assaf, “solicited or accepted” donations, including from prohibited donors, in amounts which were undeclared or exceeded caps, to recruit or renew members to the party – a practice known as “branch stacking”.
A second allegation concerns fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and his company, Toplace, making prohibited donations solicited or accepted by Liberals, including Ellis, “in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Mr Nassif” between 2020 and 2023.
Background on Ellis and the 2023 inquiry
A 2023 parliamentary inquiry preceded Icac’s current examination of “possible offences under the Electoral Funding Act”. That inquiry was prompted by allegations made in a 2022 speech under parliamentary privilege by Liberal MP Ray Williams that Nassif had met Ellis and other senior Liberals, who were paid significant funds to arrange for new councillors to be elected to the Hills Shire council.
Ellis did not appear at the 2023 inquiry because he could not be served with summons after multiple attempts. The inquiry’s final report recommended Ellis be called before any future inquiry to give evidence.
Since that parliamentary inquiry, Ellis has moved to the UK, Guardian Australia can reveal. He declined to comment when asked about the Icac allegations and his move overseas.
Ellis, a director and shareholder of former registered lobbying firm Beckington, whose clients included Toplace, was elected to the NSW Liberal state executive in 2019, following which he stepped down as director in favour of his wife. In 2022, Taylor wrote an endorsement of Ellis for a position on the NSW party’s state council, saying “our party will do well to have people like Christian elected to positions of state council”. Taylor, now the federal Liberal leader, is not accused of any wrongdoing.
