Police won’t press charges on veteran 7News reporter Geof Parry after a scuffle with Nicheliving managing director Ronnie Michel-Elhaj outside the builder’s wife’s luxury Applecross mansion. On September 28, Parry and a 7News cameraman approached Michel-Elhaj outside his wife Natalie’s under-construction Applecross property after spotting him speaking to tradesmen on the balcony. 7News Perth reporter Geof Parry and Nicheliving managing director Ronnie Michel-Elhaj.
Credit: 7News Perth Parry began asking questions about the company’s building delays, but it soon turned to chaos. Footage aired by 7News showed Michel-Elhaj swiping the microphone from Parry’s hand and telling the cameraman to stop filming him as Parry tried to shield the camera. The pair fell through a fence and Michel-Elhaj accused Parry of trespassing, before he attempted to stop the cameraman filming twice more.
In his only sit-down interview following a horror year for his company, Michel-Elhaj discussed what was running through his mind in the lead-up to the tussle. Michel-Elhaj claimed media coverage of his company in the past year “unfairly” attacked him and executive chairman Paul Bitdorf by not considering the COVID housing stimulus impacts and supply chain issues that impacted Nicheliving after they signed on a record number of customers in 2020 and 2021. Michel-Elhaj said the coverage had impacted his family’s mental health and his actions during that confrontation were the result of .