‘Warring kingdoms’: cofounder of religious Reformers compares NSW Liberal party factionalism to Braveheart
Robert Assaf, a member of a conservative Liberal faction known as the Reformers, testified before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. He admitted to using aggressive tactics like branch-stacking and compared the factional infighting to the film Braveheart.
Why it matters
The testimony sheds light on potential illegal political funding practices and internal power struggles within the Australian Liberal Party.
Witness Robert Assaf arriving at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday. Photograph: Damian Shaw/AAP Witness Robert Assaf arriving at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday. Photograph: Damian Shaw/AAP Independent Commission Against Corruption ‘Warring kingdoms’: cofounder of religious Reformers compares NSW Liberal party factionalism to Braveheart Robert Assaf tells Icac that Angus Taylor wasn’t ‘that involved’ but the federal opposition leader ‘definitely wasn’t opposed’ to work of conservative group
Prefer the Guardian on Google A member of a group of young conservative Liberal power brokers being investigated for allegedly soliciting illegal donations has compared their factional work to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart – and said they “didn’t think the law applied to us” when it came to political funding.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday heard from Robert Assaf, the first witness from the conservative right Liberal factional group the Reformers to give evidence.
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