The worst-kept secret in Sydney politics just became an electoral nightmare

July 2, 2026 — 5:00am

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The Independent Commission Against Corruption’s exploration of the nexus between property developers and the NSW Liberal Party has been the worst-kept secret in Sydney for almost three years.

Everyone in and around politics knew public hearings were coming, but when the ICAC on Wednesday finally announced details of what lay ahead, the sheer scale of the potential fallout was clear – and much bigger than many feared.

The allegations are jaw-dropping. The ICAC will investigate whether fugitive Sydney property developer Jean Nassif, his failed company Toplace, and Liberal Party apparatchiks or lobbyists Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, Robert Assaf and Jean-Claude Perrottet were all involved in corrupt donation schemes.

It will also examine whether Ellis, Greenwood and another brother of former Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet, Charles, were involved in separate allegedly dodgy donations deals designed to damage the political career of cabinet minister David Elliott and trigger the sacking of building commissioner David Chandler, who was standing in the way of Toplace’s development ambitions.

And in a twist, the commission will investigate whether the highly influential Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney – a Liberal Party powerbroker........

© The Sydney Morning Herald