Going cheap? Amid ICAC revelations, Liberal Party moves to sell property

It’s hard being a NSW Liberal at the moment. Forget the damning daily ICAC revelations, or even the fact the party is at its lowest primary vote in years. The existential threat for members is that their party is nearly broke – and now they’re flogging off the family silverware to try and recoup some losses.

We first told you in April that senior leaders had been telling members the party would need to make hard decisions about what seats to target in next year’s state election because there wouldn’t be enough cash to go around for campaigns in all seats.

Now, the party is in the process of selling off a house it has owned for years – though never did a lot with. A tiny one-bed, two-bathroom home located in Willoughby, almost directly opposite Dan Murphy’s, is being sold – but a long settlement term means, somewhat cruelly, the party won’t get the proceeds of the sale until after the March election.

“We must be clear-eyed about the financial position we face following the 2025 election and the consequences if we do not act expeditiously and collectively,” wrote Zac Miles, Hunters Hill mayor and president of the Bennelong federal electorate conference, to party members recently. “We need to get active and engaged as a conference to cover our outstanding losses and raise enough money.”

Liverpool waits … and waits

The allegations of dysfunction at Liverpool Council were, local government minister Ron Hoenig put it two years ago, “the worst I’ve ever seen”.

But as council staff and elected officials await the long-delayed findings of a state government inquiry into the council, it seems they’ve found other things to keep them busy.

Its chief executive, Jason Breton, is busy writing a book on leadership – and how it relates to football. The Football of Business is pitched as a “manifesto that uses football’s universal lessons about teams, culture, performance, pressure and winning to explain how organisations achieve sustained success”.

Breton, who used to work in the NSW Police Force, has taken to LinkedIn in recent weeks to promote some chapters, complete with an AI-generated book cover. He told CBD that his second of three planned books – the next one will be called Uncouncil-like – might be of interest.

But if it’s of interest to anyone, it should be Liverpool’s rogue independent councillor Peter Ristevski, who has billed himself as “The 1 Per Cent Accountant” (before we revealed his licence had been suspended years ago, and the government watchdog penalised him for it this year).

Ristevski has just launched a “subscription” service on his Facebook page, asking ratepayers – who are paying him a stipend already – to pay $1.49 a month for “VIP access” to him. “Priority responses, direct contact with me, exclusive content, and the fastest way to get council help,” he tells his followers.

We asked him, is he monetising his civic position for personal gain? And where does the money go?

After accusing us of interrupting his family time and describing us as an “ambulance chaser” and a “piece of shit”, he texted: “I don’t know how it’s come up on Facebook. I’m trying to fix it … I haven’t received a single cent so shove that up your backside.”

It’s a funny excuse, given he’s posted about it on his Facebook page at least eight times. On the other hand, it might be happening because – according to evidence he told the inquiry into his council last year – he doesn’t actually run a lot of his social media but pays a team in Macedonia to run his pages.

Back to Rosehill

If the saying “committees are where good ideas go to die” is true, it’s a fair extension to say Rosehill Racecourse is Sydney’s housing committee. Remember three years ago, when newish Premier Chris Minns walked onto the stands at the western Sydney racing track, with Peter V’landys next to him, announcing plans to turn the track and surrounds into a “mini-city” of 25,000 homes?

It never got off the ground, after a ferocious fight from members of the Australian Turf Club scuppered the attempts – a rare V’landys fail.

But don’t think that crushed Minns’ housing dreams. The premier, along with his housing minister and opposition leader Kellie Sloane, will return to Rosehill on Friday for a conference about bringing more homes to Sydney. The theme for the Housing Now! meet-up? “From reform to delivery”. Let’s see if a new plan actually delivers.