‘Warring kingdoms’: cofounder of religious Reformers compares NSW Liberal party factionalism to Braveheart

Robert Assaf tells Icac that Angus Taylor wasn’t ‘that involved’ but the federal opposition leader ‘definitely wasn’t opposed’ to work of conservative group Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A member of a group of young conservative Liberal power brokers being investigated for allegedly soliciting illegal donations has compared their factional work to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart – and said they “didn’t think the law applied to us” when it came to political funding. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday heard from Robert Assaf, the first witness from the conservative right Liberal factional group the Reformers to give evidence. Icac is investigating whether Liberal figures, including Assaf, “solicited or accepted” donations, including from prohibited donors, in amounts which were undeclared or exceeded caps, to recruit or renew members to the party – a practice known as “branch-stacking”. The Reformers allegedly wanted more conservative policies on issues including same-sex marriage, transgender rights, abortion and euthanasia. Assaf, 30, who admitt