ICAC's Operation Rosny: Did Political Pressure Cost a NSW Minister Her Job?
Former NSW fair trading minister Eleni Petinos told ICAC's Operation Rosny inquiry on 20 August 2026 that she suspected her July 2022 sacking by Premier Dominic Perrottet may have been motivated by her reluctance to dismiss building commissioner David Chandler. The Guardian
ICAC — the Independent Commission Against Corruption — is New South Wales's anti-corruption watchdog. It has the power to hold public hearings and make findings of corrupt conduct.
Petinos gave evidence that she believed she and her office may have been used by fellow Liberals to try to get rid of Chandler. She told the inquiry that around the time she became fair trading minister in December 2021, Charles Perrottet, the premier's brother, suggested to her that Chandler was "dodgy." The Guardian
The timeline Petinos described is pointed. On Friday 27 July 2022, with Dominic Perrottet overseas in India, the premier had been supportive after bullying allegations against her were published. By Sunday night, he had decided to sack her. The bullying allegations, referred to ICAC, stemmed from a complaint by an anonymous staffer. ABC News
David Chandler's resignation as NSW building commissioner sits at the centre of Operation Rosny. The building commissioner is the state's top regulator for the construction industry, responsible for enforcing standards and licensing. Chandler lodged a resignation letter with departmental head Emma Hogan alleging undue influence on the Liberal government by developers and a lack of support from Petinos and her staff. The Guardian He resigned in July 2022, citing a problematic relationship with Petinos and her office, following an investigation commissioned by Petinos's office. The Mandarin; ABC News Chandler was later reinstated to the role. The Guardian
Chandler has vigorously denied taking bribes or doing anything wrong in relation to an informal list of building inspectors. Dominic Perrottet has maintained that Petinos's sacking was unrelated to Chandler's resignation. Neither Perrottet nor Petinos has been named as a person of interest in the inquiry. Petinos is not accused of any wrongdoing. The Guardian; ABC News
Operation Rosny, which opened its public inquiry with an opening address on 28 July 2026, is investigating alleged payments totalling $2 million from fugitive developer Jean Nassif to Liberal party operatives Charles Perrottet, Christian Ellis, and Jeremy Greenwood. The operation is also examining whether payments made to a group of Liberal party rightwing operatives known as the Reformers breached donations laws. ICAC NSW; The Guardian
Persons of interest in Operation Rosny include Charles Perrottet, Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood, Jean-Claude Perrottet, and Robert Assaf. Ellis is in London and has so far refused to cooperate with ICAC. ICAC anticipated the public inquiry would take eight weeks of hearing time. The Guardian; ICAC NSW
The inquiry's published transcripts trace the evidentiary path. The 27 July 2026 transcript records that Perrottet appointed Petinos as fair trading minister in a Cabinet reshuffle, replacing Mr Anderson, and that Chandler had handed in his resignation. The 29 July transcript describes Petinos as the junior minister in the building cluster and references Mr Spence's efforts to support her in achieving an outcome. The 19 August transcript includes a reference to a statement that "Eleni and the left have the numbers in the conference," identified as referring to Petinos. The 20 August transcript, pages 1795 to 1856, includes evidence on whether Petinos's sacking had anything to do with matters concerning the building commissioner. ICAC NSW; ICAC NSW; ICAC NSW; ICAC NSW
Petinos, now the shadow minister for jobs and industry, received a summons to provide evidence. ICAC released her from her summons and next moved to evidence from her former colleague David Elliott. SMH
The broader context here matters for understanding what Operation Rosny is reaching for. The inquiry is not merely asking whether money changed hands; it is tracing whether that money bought coordinated action inside government, specifically the removal of a regulator whom developers found inconvenient. Think of it as following a chain of links: alleged payments from a developer, routed through Liberal Party operatives, reaching all the way to the ministerial level, where pressure on Chandler either succeeded or failed depending on who cooperated. Chandler's resignation letter alleged undue influence by developers on the government, and Petinos's evidence suggests she believed political actors within the Liberal Party sought to weaponise her ministerial authority to achieve Chandler's departure.
What remains unresolved is whether the connection Petinos drew between her sacking and Chandler is corroborated by other evidence the commission has heard or will hear. Perrottet's position, that the sacking was unrelated, has not been tested in cross-examination in the same way. With roughly four weeks of hearings remaining and at least one key person of interest, Ellis, outside the commission's reach in London, the evidentiary picture is still forming.
