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* Mehajer Bros Auto Pty Ltd<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Mehajer Bros Auto Pty Ltd<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Mehajer Consolidated Pty Ltd<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Mehajer Consolidated Pty Ltd<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Mehajer Holdings Pty Ltd ({{ABN|62601957662|62 601 957 662}}, ACN 601 957 662)<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Sydney Building Constructions Pty Ltd ({{ABN|73064430280|73 064 430 280}}, ACN 064 430 280)<ref name="SydneyBuildingConstructionsNote">Not to be confused with ''The Sydney Building Construction Pty Ltd'' ({{ABN|37000005989|37 000 005 989}}, ACN 000 005 989)</ref><ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Sydney Building Constructions Pty Ltd ({{ABN|73064430280|73 064 430 280}}, ACN 064 430 280)<ref name="SydneyBuildingConstructionsNote">Not to be confused with ''The Sydney Building Construction Pty Ltd'' ({{ABN|37000005989|37 000 005 989}}, ACN 000 005 989)</ref><ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Sydney Building Developments Pty Ltd<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>
* Sydney Building Developments Pty Ltd<ref name="lifeinthefastlane"/>

Revision as of 03:36, 15 May 2016

Salim Mehajer
Born (1986-06-12) 12 June 1986 (age 38)
NationalityAustralian
EducationBachelor of Housing
Alma materWestern Sydney University
Occupation(s)Property developer, politician
Years active2012–present
EmployerSelf employed
TitleDeputy Mayor
Auburn City Council
Term2012–2016
PredecessorHicham Zraika
Political partyIndependent
SpouseAysha Mehajer (née Learmonth)[1]

Salim Mehajer (born 12 June 1986,[2] also known as Selim) is a licensed builder,[3] property developer and former deputy mayor of the now suspended Auburn City Council,[4] which is situated in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia.

Biography

Early life and education

Mehajer was born in Sydney as the third-eldest of eight children to Lebanese immigrants Amal and Mohamed Mehajer.[2] He grew up in the Auburn area and was educated at the local primary school before attending Trinity Catholic College, Auburn for the majority of his high school years. Mehajer finished his final years at Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta and subsequently studied at Western Sydney University, graduating with a Bachelor of Housing degree[2] in April 2010.[5] Mehajer was featured in an advertisement in the Auburn Review, paid for by the not-for-profit Australian Community Association — of which Mehajer was the Director[6] and President at the time — in which it is claimed he also attained a Masters of Environmental Systems, Markets and Climate Change.[7][8] However, although he enrolled in an environmental engineering course at the ­University of New England (UNE), a spokesperson from UNE stated that he never completed it.[2]

Political career

Mehajer ran as an independent member of the Legislative Assembly for Auburn at the 2011 New South Wales State election. He was subsequently investigated by the Election Funding Authority of New South Wales for failing to declare electoral spending and political donations but, as he was not elected, no action was taken against him.[9] In 2012 he was elected as an independent councillor for the City of Auburn, and was subsequently elected as deputy mayor.[2] In 2014 the Division of Local Government conducted an investigation into Mehajer's pecuniary interests and suspended him from civic office for a month for failing to disclose his business and property interests.[10]

Automobile incidents

On 8 February 2008 Mehajer was involved in an incidence of road rage. Mehajer alleges he was travelling in John St, Lidcombe when another driver started beeping and sticking his middle finger up at him, apparently due to his work ute's low speed. The other motorist claimed that he was confronted when he merged into the same lane as Mehajer. The driver alleges that Mehajer got out of his ute when he stopped at a stop sign, yelled abuse towards him and started hitting the roof of his Toyota Corolla. The motorist then says he drove off but was followed by Mehajer and when they again stopped at a set of traffic lights Mehajer got out of his ute, yelled, punched and kicked his car. In a police statement, later tendered to court, Mehajer admitted to yelling at the other motorist and punching his car, however he claimed he was provoked when the motorist poked him with an umbrella. Mehajer was charged by police with maliciously damaging the other motorists car, assault and dangerous driving. The charges were heard at Bankstown Local Court in July 2008, where he pleaded not guilty to all three charges. He was found guilty of the malicious damage charge, but the charges of dangerous driving and assault were dismissed. He was sentenced to a one-year good behaviour bond and the conviction was not recorded.[11]

Mehajer was involved in a serious car crash on 17 January 2012 when he lost control of his Ferrari 612 Scaglietti at the crest of The Boulevarde in Lidcombe and ran over two women before colliding with a wall. The two women were rushed to Westmead Hospital where they underwent surgery for serious leg and pelvic injuries. They were released from hospital after spending a month in recovery.[12][13][14] Mehajer was convicted of negligent driving on 23 October 2012 at Burwood Local Court where he had his license disqualified and was sentenced to 150 hours of community service by magistrate Brian Maloney. The magistrate noted that Mehajer's statement to police differed from his testimony in court but that Mehajer had not been speeding or driving in a reckless manner. Instead, the magistrate found that Mehajer's inability to control such a powerful car caused him to "[make] bad choices and it ended in catastrophe".[13][14] Mehajer appealed and in September 2013 the conviction was overturned.[15] After his acquital, Mehajer took out an advertisement in the local newspaper The Auburn Review headed "VICTORY over negligent driving" and which declared that "Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it. It's every man's business to see justice done."[16][17] The two injured women later sued him in 2014 and Mehajer reached a settlement with them in early October 2015, agreeing to pay AUD$1.72 million which was paid by his insurers, NRMA.[18][19]

Mehajer has had numerous convictions for traffic offences. His list of conviction include: using a mobile phone whilst driving, performing an illegal burn out, driving whilst viewing a distracting Visual Display Unit, running a red light, disobeying a stop sign, performing an illegal U-turn, breaking the speed limit on five seperate occasions and driving his car on the wrong side of the road on one occasion. On another occasion he drove without showing his P plate correctly and refused to show his driver's license. Mehajer had his driver's license suspended in March 2010, which he attempted to appeal but was unsuccessful. He was charged with negligent driving in 2012, but this was dismissed on 26 October 2012 in Parramatta Local Court.[20][21] Mehajer's wife Aysha was served a defect notice for a supposed exhaust system issue coming from his Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6, mainly because they believed a side exhaust did not comply with Australian standards. Mehajer claims the car was brand new, and that the police cancelled the car's registration and forced Aysha to walk home.[22] Mercedes Benz sent a letter to Mehajer that refuted the claims that the exhaust violated the standards[23] and he prepared to challenge the infringement notice,[24] but police dropped the matter before it could go before the court.[25]

On 24 October 2015, Mehajer was pulled over by police at 10:50pm after they noticed him erratically driving his Ferrari along Canterbury Road in Punchbowl. There it was discovered he was not carrying his license and the car was not registered. He was instructed by the police not to drive it any further but drove it anyway, and 25 minutes later was again pulled over by police who issued him with a field court attendance notice. Mehajer claimed on Facebook he was being targeted by police who were trying to "tarnish" his name, and implored them to "PLEASE go out there and target Real criminals and leave me alone".[26] He appeared before Bankstown Local Court magistrate Michael Connell in January 2016 and was fined $200 for driving without a license, found guilty of driving an unregistered vehicle but was not convicted after the court granted him leave under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.[27][28]

Wedding

In 2015, Mehajer came to public prominence in Australia and overseas after his marriage to his fiance Aysha (formerly April Amelia Learmonth[1]) was widely publicised in the media. The media focussed on Mehajer's manner of arrival, which involved flying in one of four helicopters then proceeding to the wedding in a fleet of luxury sports cars, and for his wedding video which was widely shown on media sites in Australia.[29][30][31] He was later fined $220 for the unauthorized shutdown of Frances Street in Lidcombe and for distributing a fake flyer warning residents that their cars would be towed if they were not cleared from the street.[32] A petition on Change.org calling for Mehajer's sacking from Auburn City Council over his wedding and other alleged wrong-doings was created in August 2015 and attracted over 4,000 signatures.[33]

Intimidation charges and acquittal

Mehajer was accused of threatening personal trainer Bruce Herat in October 2015 after a disagreement at a gymnasium. Mehajer was subsequently charged with intimidation by police and had an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) taken out against him. The AVO prohibited Mehajer from entering Herat's workplace, Anytime Fitness Gym in Burwood.[34][35] According to Herat, Mehajer told him "Who the f..k are you to talk to me? What gives you the right to tell me how to use this machine? ... I am going to find out where you live motherf..ker, and I am going to kidnap your children." Mehajer's response in court was that "Those words don’t exist in my vocabulary. Maybe when I was in primary school." However, The Australian noted that during his wedding he stated, in front of reporters and TV cameras: "What’s up Channel 9 viewers? This is how you do a wedding. Floyd Mayweather, you got no chance over me, motherf..ker".[36] The charges were dismissed by the magistrate Alexander Mijovich because the security camera had been broken in the council car park, where the alleged confrontation occurred, and he had no way of knowing for certain that Mehajer had threatened Herat. The magistrate did, however, increase the AVO that prevented Mehajer from approaching Herat by a further 12 months.[37]

Nine News interview

In October 2015, Mehajer appeared on Nine News with his wife, and from a lectern gave an interview with a reporter. In the interview, he said "I would like to start off by being in state, federal and I'd like to make my way up to the very top spot. That would [be] my dream come true" and denied claims that he was part of a group of six councillors who were accused of banding together to push through development applications.[38][39] Reaction to the interview ranged from it being called a "bizarre stage-managed spectacle" by The Huffington Post,[40] to criticism from radio host Ray Hadley in an interview with the Today's host Karl Stefanovic, who burst into hysterical laughter after viewing the interview for the first time.[41]

Associated companies

File:Sydney Building Construction Pty Ltd Logo.png
The logo for The Sydney Building Construction Pty Ltd company - it was prominently displayed on a sign at the company's registered address at 77 Carlingford St, Sefton NSW 2162 (Australia) with the logo for SM Engineering & Constructions Pty Ltd (ABN 11 132 853 153, ACN 132 853 153) and displaying www.sydneygroup.com.au on the same signboard. It displays a silhouette of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which are two iconic Sydney landmarks.

Salim Mehajer and his family has been associated, in one way or another, with a variety of companies, either as a director, secretary or in some other function. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is reportedly conducting a review of the companies.[42][43] A list of known companies are:

References

  1. ^ a b Sharp, Annette; Domjen, Briana (20 August 2015). "Aysha Mehajer: From Wollongong girl to a Muslim glamour". The Daily Telegraph.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Klan, Anthony; Bearup, Greg (12 December 2015). "Salim Mehajer: it's good to be the deputy mayor". The Australian. (subscription required)
  3. ^ "Salim Mehajer, Licence Number: 192574C". licensedtrades.com.au. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Auburn City Council Councillors". www.auburn.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  5. ^ Western Sydney University has an online award verification service. To confirm Salim Mehajer's degree and conferral date, enter his first and last names and click on the search button.
  6. ^ a b Current & Historical Company Extract, Australian Community Association Pty Ltd, ACN: 150 648 936, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, 12 May 2016
  7. ^ "Auburn's Deputy Mayor takes on Law Degree" (Advertisement). Auburn Review. 28 January 2014. p. 10.
  8. ^ McKenny, Leesha (11 February 2014). "Councillor's law degree will not be his first brush with courts". Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ^ Murphy, Damien (16 August 2015). "Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer wedding was delayed until father's release from jail". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ Mckenny, Leesha (22 June 2014). "Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer faces suspension over business interests". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. ^ McClellan, Ben (2 September 2015). "Salim Mehajer allegedly confronted a man during a 2008 traffic incident". The Daily Telegraph.
  12. ^ Cuneo, Clementine (18 January 2012). "Salim Mehajer says women's lives are more important than his Ferrari". The Daily Telegraph.
  13. ^ a b Bibby, Paul (23 October 2012). "Deputy mayor who crashed Ferrari sentenced to community service". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  14. ^ a b Dale, Amy (23 October 2012). "Brakes put on spinning Ferrari driver". The Australian.
  15. ^ "Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer has had negligent driving charges against him dismissed on appeal". Auburn Review. 9 September 2013.
  16. ^ "VICTORY over negligent driving". The Auburn Review (Advertisement). 15 October 2013. p. 10. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22.
  17. ^ "Women hit by Salim Mehajer's Ferrari settle case for $1.72 million". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  18. ^ Eddie, Rachel (7 November 2015). "Two women injured when controversial deputy mayor Salim Mehajer crashed his Ferrari settle their claim for $1.72 million". The Daily Mail.
  19. ^ Fife-Yeomans, Janet; Benns, Matthew (21 August 2015). "Salim Mehajer: Inside the Auburn deputy mayor's dark past and police rap sheet". The Daily Telegraph.
  20. ^ Carney, John; Peters, Daniel (21 August 2015). "Speeding offences, burnouts and possessing a police uniform: The long criminal record of sportscar-loving Salim Mehajer before he became deputy mayor and hosted THAT wedding… but he has never served jail time". The Daily Mail.
  21. ^ Butler, Josh (8 October 2015). "Salim Mehajer's New Mercedes Defected For Exhaust Problem". The Huffington Post.
  22. ^ Arlington, Kim (26 October 2015). "Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer hits out at police over Ferrari charges". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (20 January 2016). "Salim Mehajer's wife Aysha to face court over 'non-compliant' Mercedes". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  24. ^ Benny-Morrison, Ava (9 February 2016). "NSW Police drop case against Aysha Mehajer over non-compliant Mercedes". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  25. ^ Arlington, Kim (26 October 2015). "Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer hits out at police over Ferrari charges". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  26. ^ Barnsley, Warren; Farrow, Lauren (18 November 2015). "Triple trouble: Salim Mehajer's controversy in separate Sydney courts". Yahoo!7 News.
  27. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (28 January 2016). "Salim Mehajer fined for driving without a license but gets reprieve over unregistered car".
  28. ^ Pobjie, Ben (17 August 2015). "The Story of Salim and Aysha: Auburn deputy mayor's pre-wedding video reviewed". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  29. ^ "Auburn deputy mayor wedding: Salim Mehajer says he wants to be the 'next superstar'". The Daily Telegraph. 17 August 2015.
  30. ^ "Lavish wedding of Sydney councillor who closed street without permission – video". The Guardian. 20 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Sydney deputy mayor who shut down streets for wedding fined $220". The Guardian. 19 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Calls for Auburn deputy mayor's sacking after lavish wedding". ABC News. 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  33. ^ "Salim Mehajer: Controversial Auburn deputy mayor allegedly says 'don't you know who I am?' before threatening to kidnap man's children". ABC News. 16 October 2015.
  34. ^ "Mehajer appears in court over AVO". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 October 2015.
  35. ^ Klan, Anthony (28 March 2016). "Salim Mehajer courts doubt over offensive language memory lapse". The Australian.
  36. ^ Ralston, Nick (24 March 2016). "Salim Mehajer cleared of threatening Bruce Herat during heated argument". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  37. ^ Meddows, David (6 October 2015). "Salim Mahajer interview: Auburn Deputy Mayor says he wants to be prime minister of Australia". The Daily Telegraph.
  38. ^ Aubusson, Kate (6 October 2015). "Salim Mehajer's bizarre performance in first television interview on Nine News". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  39. ^ Blackwell, Eoin (6 October 2015). "Salim Mehajer's "Bizarre" Interview". The Huffington Post.
  40. ^ Vincent, Peter (6 October 2015), Karl Stefanovic's hilarious reaction at Salim Mejaher's ambitions is gold, The Sydney Morning Herald
  41. ^ Klan, Anthony (29 October 2015). "$1m company tax debt puts Salim Mehajer on notice". The Australian.
  42. ^ Klan, Anthony (30 October 2015). "Tax bill rises amid Salim Mehajer business ruins". The Australian.
  43. ^ "About Us". 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Co Director of SM Project Developments
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Life in the Fast Lane (PDF), The Australian, retrieved 2016-05-12
  45. ^ "About Us". 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Salim has since opened his very own company in 2007 known as SM Engineering & Constructions P/L, whereby he is the sole director
  46. ^ a b McKenny, Leesha (24 November 2015). "Salim Mehajer's wife appointed director of his companies as he 'has a go' at medicine". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  47. ^ "About Us". 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Co director of Sydney Constructions and Developments P/L
  48. ^ Robertson, James (24 March 2016). "Salim Mehajer misses debt deadlines and mortgages family property". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  49. ^ "About Us". 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Co Director of Sydney Construction Group P/L
  50. ^ Office of Local Government v Salim Mehajer [2016] NSWCATOD 10, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, 29 January 2016, retrieved 2016-05-12
  51. ^ Mehajer v Chief Executive of the Office of Local Government [2014] NSWSC 1804, NSW Supreme Court, 19 December 2014
  52. ^ Klan, Anthony (25 February 2016). "Cleaner chasing $25k debt subject of Mehajer firm fraud". The Australian.
  53. ^ Not to be confused with The Sydney Building Construction Pty Ltd (ABN 37 000 005 989, ACN 000 005 989)
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