Catholic Schools NSW chief Dallas McInerney faces ICAC questions over Beckington consultancy and Liberal Party links

The former head of Catholic Schools NSW faced fresh scrutiny on Wednesday after a corruption inquiry was told he wiped key devices in the middle of giving evidence.

Former chief executive Mr Dallas McInerney was questioned at length as ICAC examined whether Beckington, a consultancy hired by Catholic Schools NSW, was paid for genuine work that left little paper trail.

Mr McInerney has insisted Beckington was engaged to provide legitimate government relations work, but the commission repeatedly pointed to messages and documents that appear to show years of factional political dealings and almost no written discussion of school work.

Operation Rosny is examining whether public and private education money was diverted into factional operations tied to the conservative Christian-aligned Reformers group inside the NSW Liberal Party.

Mr McInerney, who has stood aside as chief executive and denies wrongdoing, has become a key witness.

Asked why he would use disappearing messages with an external service provider working for a body that oversees billions in school funding, Mr McInerney described it as standard practice and added: “I think it’s safe.”

Mr McInerney revealed he had factory reset both his Catholic Schools NSW phone and iPad over the weekend, after being asked on Friday to produce messages.

Under questioning from counsel assisting the ICAC, Peggy Dwyer, SC, who appeared bewildered by the revelation, Mr McInerney accepted he knew exactly what a factory reset would do.

“I knew what I was doing,” Mr McInerney said, agreeing that after a reset “you lose everything”.

Mr McInerney said he wiped the phone after a banking issue involving Apple Pay and reset the iPad because he was returning both devices to Catholic Schools NSW, even though the organisation had not asked for them back and had not asked for them to be wiped.

As Ms Dwyer pressed him on why he had not disclosed that earlier, she told him: “Mr McEnany, that is just too cute.”

“To suggest that you were genuinely being forthcoming to this commission. You have hidden the fact that you have wiped those devices to determine whether it will come out in evidence,” Ms Dwyer said.

Mr McInerney said he had “only been forthcoming with my co-operation for this commission”.

The inquiry was also told of allegations of branch stacking, hidden political donations and consultancy arrangements that may have operated as kickbacks.