Corruption inquiry told right-wing faction funds paid for bucks party

ICAC inquiry told NSW Reformers funds paid for bucks partyPosted Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 2:07pmFri 31 Jul 2026 at 2:07pm, updated Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 2:37pmFri 31 Jul 2026 at 2:37pmRobert Assaf gave evidence at the inquiry for a second day. (ABC News: Timothy Ailwood)In short:A corruption inquiry has heard funds from a NSW Liberal Party right-wing faction paid for a bucks party.Robert Assaf says members treated the money for NSW Reformers as an advance for personal expenses, intending to pay it back.Mr Assaf has also been questioned over "fake invoices" and the movement of money through a lobbying firm.A founding member of a right-wing NSW Liberal Party group at the centre of a corruption inquiry has told a hearing some faction funds were used to pay for a bucks party.The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating whether people linked to the NSW Liberal Party solicited funds from prohibited donors and other sources to advance the interest of the NSW Reformers faction.NSW Reformers are a conservative Christian factional group in the Liberal Party, associated with several key figures in the inquiry.Co-founder Robert Assaf on Friday described members as "immature and young" at the time and said they treated the money for NSW Reformers as an advance for personal expenses, intending to pay it back.Mr Assaf, also a former Catholic Schools NSW staffer, said he could not recall whether the NSW Reformers money was used for his own bucks party or that of fellow NSW Reformers figure Christian Ellis, but claimed it may have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic."I think we booked a venue for either my bucks or Christian's bucks. It required an up-front payment," Mr Assaf said.Questions about 'fake invoices'Counsel Assisting Peggy Dwyer arrives at ICAC. (ABC News: Timothy Ailwood)Under questioning from Counsel Assisting Peggy Dwyer SC on Friday, Mr Assaf was questioned over "fake invoices" and the movement of money through a lobbying firm Beckington, established by lobbyists Mr Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood.Mr Assaf told the inquiry payments from hotelier Michael O'Hara were routed through the company as part of a "tricky" tax arrangement rather than to conceal unlawful political donations.The probe is examining whether Mr O'Hara, a prohibited donor, made political donations "in amounts that were not declared and exceeded applicable donation caps".When Mr Assaf was asked if he was suggesting there was a conversation about creating "fake invoices" so Mr O'Hara could get a tax deduction, he instead described it as "some tax excuse".Dr Dwyer: "Do you understand that you have a legal obligation to declare tax legitimately … Are you seriously suggesting that in 2020 you did not know that you had to declare tax deductions in accordance with the law?"Mr Assaf: "Well, if you don't really understand the law, you don't think of breaking it."On Thursday, Mr Assaf told the inquiry he did not think the law governing political fundraising "applied to them" because he viewed the group as an internal faction rather than a political organisation.Mr Assaf maintained during his evidence on Friday that he knew about the concept of prohibited political donors under NSW law but did not believe the group was breaking the law."If someone told me any point before I got my first summons to this, that what I had done was a problem, I would have gone straight to the electoral commission and reported it and sorted it," Mr Assaf told the inquiry.Presiding Commissioner Fabian Gleeson SC pressed Mr Assaf on whether an invoice for consultancy services that were never provided was "merely tricky" rather than dishonest."Why do you have a difficulty, Mr Assaf, in distinguishing between tricky and honest conduct?" Mr Gleeson asked."Why do you characterise them as merely tricky, but you seem to baulk at the characterisation that it's dishonest conduct by Beckington?"Mr Assaf replied: "Because at the time, I wasn't aware of how problematic it was."So I would have thought there just being tricky in the accounting sense."