A NSW Labor candidate has accused a parliamentary committee investigating him for impropriety of losing taxpayers’ cash and desires a authorities minister to be sacked.
Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour has been known as as a witness by the higher home committee which is wanting into allegations of impropriety at Canterbury Bankstown Council.
“Coming right here at present, I am stuffed with blended feelings and on the core of those feelings is certainly one of anger,” Mr Asfour informed the committee on Wednesday.
The higher home Labor candidate got here underneath the highlight after former Labor frontbencher Tania Mihailuk used parliamentary privilege to hyperlink him to disgraced former occasion powerbroker Eddie Obeid.
He mentioned the inquiry, referred by Native Authorities Minister Wendy Tuckerman, had been put collectively in a haphazard means, with little transparency given to him and different council employees.
“Wendy Tuckerman must be sacked for calling this inquiry and losing taxpayer funds, all for political achieve,” he mentioned.
“It’s no secret I’ve acquired underneath the pores and skin of this authorities once I stood up for my neighborhood and plenty of different residents of western Sydney in the course of the harsh lockdowns and overzealous policing in the course of the COVID pandemic.
“I’ve had a political goal on my again ever since and that is pay again.”
Ms Mihailuk used parliamentary privilege to make allegations about Mr Asfour and later referred the matter to the Impartial Fee Towards Corruption.
She was later faraway from the frontbench by Labor Chief Chris Minns, after ignoring an ultimatum to cease launching political assaults on Mr Asfour.
She has since resigned from the Labor Social gathering to affix the cross bench.
Mr Asfour mentioned Ms Mihailuk’s complaints had been referred to the corruption watchdog greater than 10 years in the past and thrown out.
The mayor appeared with two legal professionals, David Lloyd SC and David Riley, who he mentioned have been being funded by Canterbury Bankstown Council’s insurer.
The council additionally paid for Mr Asfour to review for an MBA, which the mayor mentioned fell throughout the tips of the council’s skilled growth coverage which allowed councilors to assert as much as $3000 in training per 12 months.
In a single monetary 12 months, Mr Asfour claimed $5090 price of programs, however he mentioned that was due to an administrative error.
“If the declare was paid two weeks later, it could not have been a breach. So the breach was technical in nature,” he mentioned.
“The workplace of native authorities has come again to the council and categorically agreed that my skilled growth, my training, have been fully throughout the tips of the council’s coverage.”
“To cite the correspondence, no additional motion is warranted.”
The restrict for skilled growth was later raised to $15,000.
Ms Tuckerman’s workplace has been contacted for remark.
