Taylor denies giving money to group at centre of NSW corruption probe

Angus Taylor denies funding NSW Reformers faction at centre of NSW corruption probePosted Wed 29 Jul 2026 at 10:58amWed 29 Jul 2026 at 10:58amAngus Taylor has denied he ever made payments to a factional group in the NSW Liberals accused of branch stacking. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)In short: Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has denied he ever made a payment to NSW Reformers, a Liberal faction at the centre of a state corruption probe. The inquiry has seen a series of text messages which indicate the group planned to "shake down" Mr Taylor for money. What's next?Mr Taylor has not answered questions about if and how the group approached him, or if he made cash commitments but did not follow through. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has denied he ever gave money to a Liberal faction at the centre of a NSW corruption probe into branch stacking.The right-wing group known as the NSW Reformers included former Liberal staffer Dylan Whiteclaw, who had a loose association with Mr Taylor through Catholic Schools NSW boss Dallas McInerney.During a hearing on Tuesday before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Mr Whiteclaw was shown a screenshot of a message sent from lobbyist Robert Assaf to a group chat including key figures being investigated by the inquiry.The screenshot was of a message exchange between Mr McInerney and Mr Assaf.It read: "I have breakfast club with ministers this Thursday morning. Who can I get an update from? Re SCD progress in last six to 12 months."I want to shake down Angus for 10k."Mr Whitelaw said while he could not recall seeing the message, he assumed it was referring to federal Liberal MP and now opposition leader Mr Taylor.Under repeated questioning on Wednesday, Mr Taylor denied five times he had made any payment."No payment was made," he said.Asked if he disputed the text messages seen by the inquiry, he said he was "not a party to proceedings" and would not be giving a "running commentary"."I'll let the commission do its job," he said.Mr Taylor said he has not been approached by the commission and would not entertain "hypotheticals" about giving evidence.Taylor will not say if he was asked to contributePressed on whether he was ever asked to give money to the NSW Reformers group, Mr Taylor repeated his denial that a payment was made and would not confirm if he was aware of the group or its activities.The inquiry was shown another group chat message sent by Mr Whiteclaw claiming Mr McInerney had secured a $15,000 payment and ongoing monthly donations of $3,000 for the group's work from Mr Taylor.Mr Whitelaw said he did not remember sending the message or the donation being made."Potentially, Dallas [McInerney] had told me something that was incorrect," Mr Whitelaw said."I'd be very surprised if Mr Taylor made any financial contribution."