Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour withdraws as Labor Upper House candidate
A NSW mayor has sensationally withdrawn as a candidate for Labor’s Upper House ticket amid expense claim revelations as his accuser rejects claims of similar “largesse”.
NSW
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Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour has sensationally withdrawn as a candidate for Labor’s Upper House ticket in a major blow to Leader Chris Minns.
It comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed Mr Asfour charged council ratepayers for a health spa treatment and alcohol on overseas trips and claimed thousands of dollars for luxury clothes.
The expenses claims and receipts were released under a freedom of information request before being sought by the parliamentary inquiry.
A spokesman said the claims were all within the rules and approved under council’s policies.
Mr Asfour’s spokesman called the Telegraph’s revelations “the last straw”.
In a statement to be released on Friday, Mr Asfour’s spokesman will blame a “smear campaign” for his decision to withdraw.
A parliamentary probe was launched into Canterbury-Bankstown council during Mr Asfour’s time as mayor after Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk raised corruption concerns about the Labor candidate under parliamentary privilege.
Mr Minns has consistently backed Mr Asfour, who was parachuted onto Labor’s upper house ticket in a factional deal last year.
Last week, an investigation issued by the council cleared Mr Asfour of any wrongdoing in relation to Ms Mihailuk’s parliamentary claims.
“No evidence has been provided which reflects that the assertions as made by Ms Mihailuk MP, as alleged against the Mayor, Councillor Asfour, are substantiated,” the investigation found.
MIHAILUK DENIES COUNCIL EXPENSES HAUL
Ms Mihailuk claimed in parliament that Mr Asfour was “tainted” and had worked to benefit Obeid after the Labor figure attended Mr Asfour’s wedding in 2010.
Ms Mihailuk was sacked from Labor’s frontbench after she claimed in parliament that Asfour was corrupt. She served on Bankstown council with Mr Asfour, and has quit Labor to
now stand for One Nation
She joined One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham on Friday in slamming Mr Asfour.
After Mr Latham took to the airwaves this morning to accuse the mayor of “largesse”, Ms Mihailuk – who was mayor herself of Bankstown council between 2004 and 2006 – vehemently denied she too had put massages or alcohol on the coffers of ratepayers.
“Absolutely not, I certainly haven’t ever claimed massages or anything of the like,” she said.
“And I don’t drink alcohol, but I remember giving gifts to local people who were providing services, like volunteers or veterans, which was council policy.”
She denied ever claiming on clothes, after The Daily Telegraph revealed how Mr Asfour had claimed about $3800 on clothing from high-end labels.
Asked about a $400 taxi ride back in 2009, she explained she relied at the time on them to get around for council purposes.
“There were medical reasons as to why I was relying on taxis, which was completely supported by the general manager at the time,” Ms Mihailuk said.
“I have nothing (expenses) I would be concerned about, I’m pretty confident that I always conducted myself properly,” she said.
Mr Latham said Mr Asfour’s expenses – which he described as “misappropriations” of council policy – had been known for some time.
“When I was mayor (of Liverpool City Council, in 1987) these sorts of extravagant claims were unheard of,” he said.
“Any idea of claiming on such lavish expenses was certainly foreign to me.”
ALCOHOL, SPA VISIT, BALLY BRIEFCASE: MAYOR’S EXPENSES ON TOUR
Mr Asfour charged ratepayers $120 for a health spa treatment in Tokyo, recouped hundreds of dollars spent on alcohol during costly overseas council trips, and claimed thousands from ratepayers for luxury clothing including $500 on a briefcase.
Secret expense claims and receipts unearthed by a parliamentary probe into Mr Asfour, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, have detailed expenses the Canterbury-Bankstown mayor charged ratepayers during his time on council.
The receipts reveal that Mr Asfour claimed hundreds of dollars in personal expenses on two council trips.
A spokesman said the claims were all within the rules and approved under council’s policies.
Mr Asfour’s expenses form shows that he claimed more than $600 in personal expenses during a 2015 trip to Japan, including a “massage” costing about $120
The service came from Relaxia O2&Bodycare health spa, in a Tokyo district famous for its nightclubs.
A spokesman for Mr Asfour denied the Labor upper house candidate had a massage on ratepayers’ dime.
He said Mr Asfour had suffered serious leg cramping on his flight and sought advice from the General Manager on how to fix it.
“I have been informed there was a language issue and as the Mayor’s health and wellbeing was paramount, he was advised to try flotation tank treatment which helped alleviate the problem,” the spokesman said.
“It was not a massage.”
Councillors travelled to Japan to inspect “waste to energy” facilities as part of a proposed plan to build a similar site in Bankstown.
Mr Asfour also claimed back the cost of alcohol on the trip as part of his daily meal allowance.
On a 2019 “Immersion Tour” to the US and Canada, Mr Asfour claimed back $31 for a can of Bud Light and a Chardonnay at Yankees Stadium on the day of a Major-league Baseball game.
Receipts show that he also charged ratepayers $10 for a “koozie,” the American term for a stubby holder.
Mr Asfour’s spokesman would not say what official business was conducted at Yankee’s stadium.
Mr Asfour later spent more than $40 on alcohol at a New York brasserie and almost $70 on drinks at a Canadian venue.
A spokesman said councillors are entitled to claim back the cost of alcohol as part of daily allowances.
‘IMMERSION TOUR’ COST $150,000
Ratepayers were charged almost $150,000 for the two week trip to the US and Canada.
Ahead of the trip, Mr Asfour said the 10 councillors travelling would face a “hectic schedule, visiting New York, Boston and Toronto in just a week”.
“We will meet their leaders and discuss lessons learned. It will then be our intention to apply those to the objectives we have in our own Smart Cities Roadmap,” he said in a council press release.
During his time on council, Mr Asfour has also claimed back more than $9000 on luxury clothes under an expenses policy which reimburses councillors up to $1500 each year for “corporate wardrobe and/or corporate attire”.
Councillors also get up to $500 per term for a “brief case or portfolio”.
In 2021 Mr Asfour recouped $1500 of a Zegna suit costing $2,277.
In 2015, he claimed back $500 for a Bally briefcase bought on sale.
Other luxury clothes claimed under the “corporate attire” expenses policy included Hugo Boss suits, Armani trousers, and clothes from Polo Ralph Lauren.
Mr Asfour also claimed back the costs of textbooks used while studying a ratepayer-funded MBA.
The expenses claims and receipts were released under a freedom of information request before being sought by the parliamentary inquiry.
Mr Asfour was last week cleared by a council-ordered report of links to corrupt former Minister Eddie Obeid launched after Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk raised corruption concerns under parliamentary privilege.
“All expenses were approved under the policy and the necessary documentation was provided,” the spokesman said.
“(Mr Asfour) has done nothing wrong and will continue to rally against those trying to bring him down.”
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