More than 20 community groups around Canberra say they have had no dealings with Tio Faulkner in his taxpayer-funded role as director of electorate services for Canberra Liberals' leader Zed Seselja.
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Most of the 22 community and professional groups, industry associations and lobbyists contacted by The Canberra Times said they had never heard of the Canberra Liberals president at the heart of the controversy engulfing Mr Seselja's office.
The Opposition Leader has been battling accusations made under parliamentary privilege that Mr Faulkner has been running the Liberal Party while being paid by the ACT taxpayer.
Mr Seselja said last week that Mr Faulkner was paid to be ''out in the community'', interacting ''with groups and people''.
The groups canvassed yesterday were asked if they had had dealings with Mr Faulkner organising community meetings, forums or consultations on behalf of MLAs.
Only one group, the RSPCA, reported having any dealings with Mr Faulkner in his role as Mr Seselja's director of electorate services.
Representatives of all seven of Canberra's community councils, the peak engagement groups for Belconnen, Woden, Inner North, Inner South, Weston Creek, Tuggeranong and Gungahlin, said they had never had dealings with Mr Faulkner.
But in a statement last night a spokesman for Mr Seselja said the leader's office had ''numerous documented examples'' of Mr Faulkner's engagement with the community, businesses and charitable organisations and his presence at public meetings and forums.
The spokesman said also that Mr Faulkner was known to members of the Tuggeranong, Gungahlin and Belconnen community council executives and had attended meetings.
''If MLAs are in attendance, he naturally takes a supporting role,'' the spokesman said. ''That does not mean he doesn't meet with them and we have documentary evidence to prove that.''
Mr Faulkner has been accused by ACT Labor of running the Liberals from the party's offices at 221 London Circuit while he is paid by the ACT taxpayer to work at Mr Seselja's office, a short walk away at the Legislative Assembly.
In a statement to the Assembly last week, Mr Seselja outlined the duties of Mr Faulkner, who was photographed yesterday afternoon emerging from the Civic building that houses the party's offices.
''The Director of Electorate Services role is specifically designed to connect and contact the community,'' Mr Seselja told the chamber.
''As such, his role requires him to travel and interact with groups and people all over Canberra, to arrange and take meetings, to assist in the formulation of policy based on what he has learned out in the community, not here in the Assembly.''
Mr Seselja has come under growing pressure since The Canberra Times revealed that he had failed for several years in his legal obligation to account for the attendance of many of his taxpayer-funded staff.
It was also revealed that Mr Faulkner did not submit time sheets for more than 22 months.
Mr Seselja, who told the Assembly last week Mr Faulkner was often not present at his designated workplace, is now facing a full workplace audit of employment practices in his office.
As well as the community councils, The Canberra Times spoke yesterday with Multicultural Communities ACT, Clubs ACT, Friends of the Hawker Village, the Property Council, the Conservation Council, the RSPCA, the Dickson Residents Group, the Australian Childcare Alliance, the Council of the Ageing, the Australian Healthcare Consumers Association, the Walter Burley Griffin Society, Canberra's Owners Corporation Network, the AFP Association, the Bar Association and residents opposed to the development of Stirling Ridge.
The RSPCA reported Mr Faulkner may have helped to arrange the attendance of Liberals MLAs at the Million Paws Walk event in 2010.
The Property Council, Clubs ACT and the Council of the Ageing reported dealing with Mr Faulkner but in his capacity as Canberra Liberals' president.
The statement released by Mr Seselja's office last night said Mr Faulkner had been ''involved with the Hawker campaign from the start and attended both meetings and consultations with shop owners and staff''.
''There are also any number of other community groups and individuals who are also deserving of attention and have, until now, been ignored. We make no apologies for engaging with them. We have dozens of examples of Tio's work with these groups.''
Mr Faulkner had also dealt with ''many small businesses and sole traders who do not belong or attend group meetings but who also have genuine grievances''.
'''These engagements have led to the Opposition being in contact with a broader range of Canberrans than has been previously possible.
''This has informed significant policy development, community advocacy and critique of Government performance.''
