Jean-Claude Perrottet, the younger brother of former New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet, has told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) that he personally paid for Liberal Party memberships and that a group of young conservative power brokers recruited members to "dodgy" branches controlled by rival factions.
Appearing before Icac on Wednesday, Perrottet admitted to paying for memberships, which the inquiry has heard is against party rules, at times when he was "pressured to deliver", but described it as "an infrequent occurrence".
Reformers under investigation
Icac is investigating whether members of the so-called Reformers, including Jean-Claude Perrottet, solicited or accepted illegal donations for the recruitment or renewal of Liberal Party members. The practice, known as branch stacking, is not illegal.
The inquiry has heard that Perrottet, 29, was among the Reformers who avoided summons to appear at a parliamentary inquiry which preceded Icac's Operation Rosny.
Liberal leader reserves decision on Tudehope
The NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, claimed on Tuesday that he had discussed with Dominic Perrottet that Jean-Claude Perrottet was in Fiji during the 2023 inquiry. Tudehope admitted to leaking a confidential draft report from the parliamentary inquiry to another Reformer, Jeremy Greenwood, in February 2023.
State Liberal leader Kellie Sloane said on Wednesday she would reserve any decision about Tudehope's future until the end of Icac's inquiry.
"Damien cooperated with the inquiry," Sloane told reporters. "He was thanked by the inquiry and he was released from his summons. The leaking of a report is never good. It's a standard that I don't accept."
Sloane said Tudehope would not be in her shadow cabinet for the remainder of the hearings, adding, "I spoke to Damien about that … but the status remains that Damien is not in my shadow cabinet for the remainder of these hearings – and that's appropriate."
Perrottet's evidence
Under questioning from counsel assisting Juliet Curtin, Jean-Claude Perrottet admitted to doing factional work during office hours while employed in Tudehope's electoral office. He was read text messages to fellow Reformer Christian Ellis in which he wrote "these cunts have gone soft" and that MPs were "getting scared about Icac", followed by a message in which he wrote "Scott and Damien are afraid", a reference to Scott Gumley and Tudehope. Perrottet said he could not recall sending the messages.
On Wednesday afternoon, Perrottet admitted to personally paying for memberships, and laughed when read a message in which Greenwood wrote to Ellis: "Mate, Claude either needs a Valium or a break from the faction work to rest."
Curtin asked: "Are you laughing because it's true – you did need a break or a Valium at this point from faction work – or just at the expression that Mr Greenwood uses?"
"I don't know whether in that moment I needed a break … it's just the turn of phrase, I guess," he replied.
Branch stacking details
Jean-Claude Perrottet joined the Liberal Party in 2015 and in 2018 became a member of the Reformers, founded by Ellis and Robert Assaf. The group wanted more conservative policies on same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia. Perrottet admitted the group wanted to recruit "like-minded people" to the party, partly to influence preselections.
Asked about a message in which Ellis wrote "Two people happy to go into dodgy Branch", he admitted the group signed up members with a view to putting them in branches not controlled by the right faction.
"I think that [Ellis] is suggesting to put someone into a branch that's not the rightwing branch," Perrottet said.
The inquiry heard evidence from businessman Frits Maré on Tuesday about a 2020 meeting in which Perrottet and Ellis asked him to contribute $50,000 to an operation to unseat federal MP for Mitchell, Alex Hawke, who is in the centre-right faction.
In one message, Perrottet wrote: "Some are Asian, Korean, and rest Wog." Curtin asked: "So … you're describing the people who signed up, yes?" "Yep," Perrottet replied.
In another message, Assaf wrote that another member signed up by the group was not renewing their membership. "She is a nun," Assaf wrote. "Only problem Reformers sign up would ever have."
The inquiry heard that in May 2020, Greenwood talked to Perrottet about paying a recently graduated year 12 pupil at Redfield College, an independent Catholic school attended by the Perrottets and Assaf, $2,000 to sign up 50 new members. Greenwood wrote to Ellis that "If he [the pupil] gets that done, we'd get him a day a week in an office, or we'd pay him a day a week", but Perrottet said he could not recall receiving instructions from Greenwood.
Employment and redundancy
Like Assaf and Reformer associate Dylan Whitelaw, Perrottet had been employed by Catholic Schools NSW. Icac is investigating donations allegedly arranged and approved by Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney to the Reformers.
The inquiry heard that although Perrottet was promoted to head of communications in May this year, he was made redundant by Catholic Schools NSW in June, weeks before the Icac hearings started. He said McInerney, who has stepped aside during the inquiry, told him the decision was due to office changes. When Curtin put to Perrottet that he had been made redundant because of the inquiry, he replied: "Obviously, I've thought about the timing of it."
Dominic Perrottet is not accused of wrongdoing, while Jean-Claude Perrottet has denied wrongdoing.
