SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Wedding video was Mehajer's 'feature film'

Former western Sydney councillor Salim Mehajer has defended categorising his wedding as a feature film in order to close streets.

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

Auburn's flamboyant former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has put his wedding video in the same category as films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now at an inquiry into alleged dodgy council decisions.

The Auburn City Council Public Inquiry is investigating allegations some councillors, including Mr Mehajer, made planning and development decisions that benefited themselves and family members before they were sacked in February.

Mr Mehajer was on Friday asked about his August 2015 wedding which involved four helicopters and a cavalcade of sports cars.

The inquiry heard he made an application to have part of his Lidcombe Street closed for the purposes of filming a "feature film" after doubts arose about whether roads could be blocked for a wedding.

Mr Mehajer, who is also a property developer, maintained the recategorisation was justified and offered to show the 45-second trailer to the inquiry.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"A feature film is The Godfather isn't it, Apocalypse Now?," counsel assisting the commissioner Paul Bolster said.

"I got my very own feature film, I guess," Mr Mehajer said with a smile.

The inquiry has previously heard former deputy general manager of the council, Hamish McNulty thought only one helicopter was going to be involved in the wedding until the night before the extravagant celebration.

But Mr Mehajer said he always intended to have more than one and would have included more if logistics allowed.

"Four (helicopters) was limited to the space we had," he said.

Mr Mehajer, who denied knowing there had been an issue with the number of helicopters used in his wedding, did not answer journalists' questions as he left the inquiry and got into a Porsche.

On the stand, he denied lobbying a councillor to change his mind about returning half of a $650,000 deposit his company had put on a council-owned car park.

He also denied a decision before he was a councillor not to extend a time limit he needed to secure the contract made him decide to run in the election.

Both the deposit refund and extension of time were granted while Mehajer was in council.

Mr McNulty has said the council originally understood Mehajer wanted to have a helicopter land on a street but was given advice that wouldn't be approved.

The inquiry is expected to continue next month.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world