Mayor Khal Asfour responds to NSW inquiry report into expenses, developers

A mayor has likened an inquiry to a “public lynching” after a damning report questioned his expenses and relationship with developers.

Sydney mayor Khal Asfour has compared a parliamentary inquiry investigating allegations of impropriety against the Canterbury-Bankstown council to “a public lynching” after a report recommended further investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

According to its publicly available report tabled on Monday, the upper house probe found there were a number of “highly concerning” matters raised by the “close relationships” between property developers and councillors.

The report said these relationships could have “influenced planning instruments and the positioning of infrastructure across the council area” and recommended the concerns be referred to ICAC.

The committee also called in the report on the next government to re-establish the inquiry for further investigation.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour says the findings are a ‘joke’. Picture: Jeff Darmanin

The inquiry was triggered after former Labor MP turned One Nation candidate Tania Mihailuk used parliamentary privilege to question Mr Asfour’s relationship with developers and friendship with disgraced former Labor MP Eddie Obeid.

“I raise my legitimate and longstanding concerns regarding Asfour’s character and his unprincipled actions in furthering the interests of developers and identities,” she said in parliament.

“In particular Eddie Obeid, who went to his wedding, adorning him with a generous gift, as Asfour boasted at the time, and remained steadfastly committed to ensuring Asfour would be mayor throughout the period of redeveloping the landholdings in Bankstown,” Ms Mihailuk also said under parliamentary privilege.

Asfour’s expenses questioned

The inquiry also examined Mr Asfour’s lengthy list of taxpayer-funded expenses that he claimed during his time on council between 2004 to 2023.

Some of the expenses include thousands of dollars spent on designer clothes from Hugo Boss, Armani and David Jones, a $120 water massage taken during a business trip to Tokyo and a $48,000 Master of Business Administration course.

Mr Asfour made a $500 claim for a briefcase in 2015. Picture: NSW parliament

He also made multiple claims, totally around $48,000 for an MBA. Picture: NSW parliament

Although the expenses were found to be in line with guidelines, committee chair Wendy Tuckerman said in the report they were not within “community expectations” and recommended a review of advice given to councillors and mayors.

While Mr Asfour was set to run for Labor’s upper house ticket in the March 25 state election, he withdrew his candidacy after his councillor expenses were revealed by The Daily Telegraph.

The report also said the council “misused council resources” in assisting with Mr Asfour’s announcement that he was withdrawing from Labor’s upper house ticket in the March 25 election, including a media statement.

A receipt from David Jones. Picture: NSW parliament

‘Public lynching:’ Mayor hits back

Responding to the inquiry, Mr Asfour criticised the findings and questioned why Ms Mihailuk was not called to give evidence.

He has consistently denied the allegations raised by Ms Mihailuk and was cleared of wrongdoing by a three-month investigation commissioned by the council and undertaken by Arthur Moses SC.

“This is a public lynching and those responsible for producing this report should hang their heads in shame,” Mr Asfour said.

“The key findings are a joke and the report makes a number of assertions and fallacies around relationships with developers that are based on no evidence or material presented to the committee.”

He also likened the controversy around the Hills Shire inquiry as a “spaghetti western”.

That inquiry has resorted to hiring professional process servers to summon six witnesses to give evidence, including NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s younger brother Jean-Claude Perrottet.