Liberal leaders distance themselves from Hemmes as Merivale faces investigation

Liberal MPs speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters said it was unlikely the party would return to Hemmes’ mansion, the Hermitage, to host its regular pre-election fundraiser, where senior business and political figures forked out up to $13,000 to have dinner with Scott Morrison before his 2019 election win and $10,000 to dine with Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

In March, Hemmes hosted former Liberal leader Peter Dutton at the Hermitage after the then-opposition leader jetted in from flood-ravaged Queensland for the night.

Ley’s office would not comment on whether the party would continue to accept donations from Hemmes. The federal Liberal Party secretariat was contacted for comment.

Hemmes and his companies have donated more than $350,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia since 2018, Australian Electoral Commission records show. The 52-year-old has long been close to senior party figures, including powerbroker Michael Photios, who helped Merivale secure 20 meetings with the former Liberal government between 2019 and 2023.

NSW Night-time Economy Minister John Graham put Merivale and other hospitality operators on notice.

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“We expect them to have the best standards, and it’s clear that some of them need to lift their game,” the Labor minister said. “The obligation of these operators is then to keep their staff safe, keep patrons safe, and have the best standards possible.”

Hemmes also hosts the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation Silver Party at the Hermitage, which raises millions of dollars from “Sydney’s most influential business and community leaders, social elite, celebrities and media” each year. The foundation declined to comment on whether it would continue hosting the charity ball at the Vaucluse mansion.

Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said it was “absolutely awful” that workers said they had been allegedly exploited by employers in Australia. Eight Mexican chefs claim they were overworked, underpaid and racially discriminated against while working for Merivale. One said she considered returning to the cartel-fuelled violence near her home in Mexico rather than working for Merivale, which she described as “a nightmare”.

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Another former Merivale chef, Rodrigo Zavaleta, said the company “preferred to exploit humans instead of vegetables”. The chefs reported having to work double the maximum number of hours for full-time workers in Australia, often without receiving overtime.

“We pride ourselves on having good working conditions for anyone who is in Australia,” said Cody. “No one should be treated poorly or expected to work beyond the hours that they are paid.”

The allegations of workplace sexual harassment within Merivale mirror the claims made by more than 300 people surveyed for an Australian Human Rights Commission report published on Friday.

The commission recommended an updated national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, greater legal assistance for workers on visas, and limiting the use of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. Merivale regularly asks its employees to sign non-disclosure agreements when they leave the company.

“That’s one of the other mechanisms that [some] employers … use to silence victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment. And we need that accountability. We need that transparency,” Cody said.

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