‘Stack it with our good people’: Text messages show Parramatta’s Pink Ladies plotted to bring staff to council, ICAC hears

A friend of sacked Parramatta Council boss Gail Connolly derided executives as “f—ing stupid” and “dickheads” in text messages months before her appointment was confirmed, as an anti-corruption inquiry heard they wanted to bring “fantastic staff not the scum” to the city.

Connolly and high-ranking staffer Angela Jones-Blayney have known each other for about 30 years, formerly worked together at the City of Ryde and the City of Sydney, and were both part of a group chat known as the “Pink Ladies”, the Independent Commission Against Corruption heard.

Texts sent from Jones-Blayney to Connolly in 2022, before her employment as the council’s chief executive in 2023, were shown to the inquiry on Thursday. It included a message from Jones-Blayney that read: “If Parra is as dysfunctional as the recruiter says we can wipe their shit out [and] stack it with our good people!”

Under Operation Navarra, the ICAC is investigating the pair, along with colleague Roxanne Thornton, over a series of allegations, including that they intentionally subverted recruitment and promotion processes within the council in order to benefit friends and associates.

Jones-Blayney joined the council towards the end of 2023 as executive director of city engagement and experience.

The inquiry was told that Jones-Blayney sent a series of texts in October 2022 to Connolly telling her that she needed to secure the role at Parramatta council so they could bring staff members across from the City of Ryde.

“I don’t know why but I have been receiving a barrage of messages from staff at Ryde tonight reaching out for guidance, help and support (and these are the fantastic staff not the scum),” the message from Jones-Blayney read.

“We need to land Parramatta so we can bring them all over with us to create a fabulous new entity!”

When Jones-Blayney was asked if she thought it was a combined effort between herself and Connolly to bring staff from the City of Ryde across to Parramatta, Jones-Blayney said: “I don’t believe so. It was a desire.”

Another text message sent to Connolly by Jones-Blayney read: “Make sure you contact Jerome about the Parra CEO role I want to see you bring these dickheads down and I want to help you do it!”

The message, Jones-Blayney said, was in relation to Jerome Laxale, the former mayor of Ryde and current federal member for Bennelong. When asked why she mentioned Laxale, Jones-Blayney told the inquiry it was “because he respected Gail, and they had a lot to do with each other when she was at Ryde”.

The inquiry was shown a text message chain between Jones-Blayney, Connolly and Thornton from March 2023, where Connolly said: “can’t wait to meet Bernadette and Bryan”. The message referred to former HR boss Bernadette Cavanagh, who signed a deed of release after her employment was terminated in 2023 and gave evidence on day one of the inquiry, and Bryan Hynes, the chief executive prior to Connolly.

“I actually can’t believe how f—ing stupid they are or that they deliriously think they can get away with it!” Jones-Blayney sent back in response.

“Anyway my phone has been running hot again today everyone is so happy for you Gail! Those guys are going to disappear into a big black hole never to be seen again!”

Davidson put it to Jones-Blayney that her message showed she believed Connolly would remove the staff from the organisation “pretty quickly”. “If they were doing something untoward,” she said.

‘One of us’: Pink Lady appointed former colleague to role, ICAC hears

Earlier on Thursday, the inquiry heard evidence from Marina Cavar, who originally joined City of Parramatta on a six-month secondment from Georges River Council as a council secretariat and policy officer in 2023, a role which was then made permanent. She then later moved into the position of co-ordinator, secretariat services.

ICAC was told that Cavar had worked with Thornton at Georges River Council and that she assisted Cavar in her recruitment for both positions. In a message sent to the Pink Ladies group chat in October 2023, Thornton said about Cavar: “That’s Marina. I stole her from George’s River. We love her, she’s one of us.”

Shortly after Cavar joined City of Parramatta, Thornton sent her a text message that read: “I didn’t get any $ for you joining us!” Employees at Parramatta council were offered a $500 incentive for referring people to a role, Cavar said.

“Lol maybe I need to pass probation before you get it,” Cavar said in response to Thornton’s message. “It’s a private sector thing. It could be misused – jobs for mates.”

Cavar said she commenced an application process to stay in the role permanently in January 2024, which Thornton assisted her with by sending her the draft position description, and reviewing and amending her résumé and cover letter. The inquiry also heard that Thornton removed the requirement for a degree in business communication or law, which Cavar did not have. Thornton sat on the interview panel and did not declare a conflict of interest, Davidson said in her opening address.

In September 2024, after her role was made redundant, Cavar applied for the co-ordinator role. Thornton then supplied Cavar with the interview questions before her interview, the inquiry heard. The questions were sent to Cavar’s mobile, with Thornton telling her the message was “strictly confidential”.

Jones-Blayney will return to the inquiry on Friday.