The former New South Wales fair trading minister Eleni Petinos has given evidence at a corruption inquiry that she may have been used by fellow Liberals to try to get rid of the building commissioner David Chandler, recounting numerous attempts in 2022 to persuade her he was “dodgy” and should be sacked. She has also told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) inquiry that her subsequent sacking as a minister in the Dominic Perrottet government in July 2022 – allegedly for bullying staff – was unfair and potentially motivated by her reluctance to sack the building commissioner. That seemed bizarre,” she told Icac on Thursday.
Petinos gave evidence that on Friday 27 July 2022, Perrottet, who was overseas in India, had been supportive after the bullying allegations against her were published. But by Sunday night, he had decided to sack her. In the interim, Chandler had resigned, lodging an incendiary resignation letter with the departmental head, Emma Hogan, that alleged undue influence on the Liberal government by developers, and a lack of support by Petinos and her staff.
He was later reinstated, Icac heard. The event has raised serious questions about whether he was being undermined by some elements of the government. Petinos told Icac that soon after she became the fair trading minister in December 2021, she had had conversations with several other Liberal staffers about Chandler.
She said around the time she was appointed, Charles Perrottet, the premier’s brother and a rightwing power broker within the Liberal party, suggested to her Chandler was “dodgy”. Charles Perrottet is a person of interest in Operation Rosny, which is investigating alleged payments totalling $2m from the fugitive developer Jean Nassif to the Liberal party operatives Charles Perrottet, Christian Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood. It is also looking at other payments made to a group of Liberal party rightwing operatives known as the Reformers, and whether these breach donations laws.
Persons of interest in relation to this allegation are Jean-Claude Perrotet, Greenwood, Ellis and Robert Assaf. Chandler has vigorously denied that he took bribes or had done anything wrong in relation to the informal list of building inspectors. He is expected to give evidence later in the inquiry.
Charles Perrottet is expected to appear before Icac in coming weeks. Jean-Claude Perrottet and Jeremy Greenwood have given evidence in relation to one allegation before Icac and have denied any wrongdoing in relation to taking illegal donations. Greenwood is expected to be recalled to give evidence in relation to another allegation relating to payments from Nassif.
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