ICAC witness Robert Assaf reveals Opposition Leader knew of conservative group’s work

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NSW Liberal operative Robert Assaf has told a corruption inquiry he was drawn to politics because he opposed the same-sex plebiscite and was eventually convinced to join the party after he went to a talk given by right-wing elder and MP Damien Tudehope.

Assaf, who spent a year training to be a priest before founding the religious conservative group the Reformers, appeared on Thursday as a person of interest in the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s wide-ranging probe into illegal donations.

Assaf also confirmed that federal Liberal Leader Angus Taylor was aware of the work of the Reformers.

“Angus was around it, but I don’t think he was really that involved,” Assaf said. Counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer, SC, asked whether it was correct that Taylor was “somebody who got to know the work of the Reformers?“.

Assaf replied: “I don’t know how much detail, but he definitely was across the Right faction activities, and we were part of that.”

Meanwhile, Taylor was again pressed on Thursday to comment on explosive claims heard this week that he promised a $15,000 “injection” for the work of the Reformers, along with a $3000 monthly contribution.

Taylor has denied any “payments” were made and stressed he is not a party to the ICAC investigation but when asked again about the matter in Queensland on Thursday, he said: “I’ve answered these questions yesterday. I’m not going to give a running commentary on it.”

Dwyer, SC, asked Assaf, who joined the Liberals after school and went on to be Young Liberal president of the Willoughby branch, what drew him to politics.

Assaf said he initially had an “icky feeling” about politics. However, he was invited to a talk at the Sydney University Liberal Club, where Tudehope – now a senior upper house MP – was speaking.

“By the end of that night, I decided to join,” Assaf said.

Assaf went on to set up the Reformers with his friend Christian Ellis, who is also a person of interest in this ICAC inquiry.

Assaf told the commission that he and Ellis wanted to establish a religious group to promote their conservative values, including opposition to same-sex marriage and the Safe Schools program, which was a federally funded anti-bullying initiative focused on supporting LGBTQ students.

Assaf said the Reformers’ recruitment model was based on inviting people to talks, such as the Tudehope one he attended, and then signing them up as Liberal members.

The Reformers would send out petitions about conservative issues, such as religious freedoms, and if there was significant interest in the petition in a particular part of the state, the Reformers would organise an event with a high-profile speaker, with the goal of signing up new members to the Liberal Party.

“Christian [Ellis] and I went to as many of the conservative-aligned MPs in the right that would listen to us and explain to them what we were trying to do, and they loved it,” Assaf said.

“Someone once told me, in politics you always back self-interest. So I think from their self-interested perspective, they saw two young guys who were happy to do some branch work, and they were naturally happy to support that.”

He told the commission that the Reformers’ first event was held in February 2018, with speakers including Tony Abbott and Tudehope. About 100 people attended, Assaf told the commission.

One of the early supporters of the Reformers’ work, Assaf said, was Tudehope, who would speak at events to promote certain conservative values. Assaf described him as a “warrior” in his beliefs, especially around right-to-life issues such as euthanasia.

Assaf said Jean-Claude Perrottet became a key Reformer and later Dylan Whitelaw, who appeared before the commission on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The commission heard that Reformers worked to sign up new Liberal Party members in order to take control of left-wing branches.

Assaf, 30, was formerly employed as a communications manager at Catholic Schools NSW, the governing body for 600 diocesan schools across the state. The chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, Dallas McInerney, is also a person of interest in the inquiry.

Whitelaw, Assaf’s former colleague at Catholic Schools NSW, on Wednesday revealed the extent of time spent on NSW Reformers’ work when he continued his evidence before the commission.

Whitelaw said Assaf spent about 60 per cent of his work hours on NSW Reformers’ activities.