DistantNews
Support us
🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Elections & Politics

Reformers were ‘spectacularly unsuccessful’ in taking over NSW Liberals, Catholic schools boss says

From The Guardian · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney told a corruption inquiry that a group aiming to control the NSW Liberal party was "spectacularly unsuccessful."
  • The inquiry is investigating whether McInerney arranged donations from Catholic Schools NSW to support the conservative Christian group known as the Reformers.
  • McInerney admitted awareness of the Reformers' recruitment events and expressed support for their goals, though he questioned their methods.

Dallas McInerney, the chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, described a conservative Christian group’s ambitions to control the NSW Liberal party as "spectacularly unsuccessful" while testifying before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

They were spectacularly unsuccessful in their ambitions.

— Dallas McInerney, Catholic Schools NSW chief executiveMcInerney described the Reformers' efforts to gain control of the NSW Liberal party to the ICAC.

McInerney, a factional ally of federal opposition leader Angus Taylor, told the ICAC on Thursday that the Reformers' model was "never correct." The inquiry is examining whether McInerney facilitated donations from Catholic Schools NSW, which manages about $3.8 billion in funding, to support the Reformers' alleged branch stacking efforts. The group aimed to recruit 5,000 Christian conservatives to take over the NSW division of the Liberal party, focusing on policies related to same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia.

I never thought the model was right.

— Dallas McInerney, Catholic Schools NSW chief executiveMcInerney expressed his view on the Reformers' strategy during his testimony at the corruption inquiry.

McInerney acknowledged becoming aware of the Reformers' recruitment events in late 2018 and 2019, stating he was "mostly" supportive of their goals. When pressed by counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin, on the group's success, he replied, "They were spectacularly unsuccessful in their ambitions." He also admitted to speaking frequently with key Reformers members, including Christian Ellis, Robert Assaf, and Jean-Claude Perrottet, by 2020. McInerney characterized their motivation not as passion, but as "a calling for them, a duty."

I think it was a calling for them, a duty.

— Dallas McInerney, Catholic Schools NSW chief executiveMcInerney described the motivation of key members of the Reformers group.

The ICAC has previously heard that Catholic Schools NSW paid retainers to two lobbying firms linked to Reformers members. Beckington, run by Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood, received over $130,000 between 2019 and 2021. JPG Advisory, run by Greenwood, received $135,000 between 2021 and 2023. During testimony, Greenwood responded cryptically to questions about missing invoices, suggesting the money might not have been for genuine consultancy. McInerney, who joined the Liberal party in his youth and remained a member until June, was also a member of the Liberals' right faction, a group that had "uniform awareness and knowledge" of the Reformers' activities.

Is the joke on parents paying funds to Catholic Schools NSW, or the government assisting with that funding, that this money is not for any genuine consultancy, but was in fact intended in part to fund Jean-Claude Perrottet?

— Peggy Dwyer SC, counsel assisting the ICACDwyer questioned the legitimacy of payments made by Catholic Schools NSW to lobbying firms linked to the Reformers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog