Cranbourne Star News - 09th January 2020

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Thursday, 9 January, 2020

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The Year That Was...

PAGES 2-9

A look back at what made news in 2019

IBAC’s body blow CRANBOURNE

2019 EVENT OF THE YEAR By Cam Lucadou-Wells Casey Council is teetering on the brink after being exposed in the largest corruption scandal in its 25-year history. The IBAC Operation Sandon inquiry has dug deep into alleged dirty deals between councillors Geoff Ablett, Sam Aziz and Amanda Stapledon and property developer John Woodman. Such is its profound impact and the ramifications on local government planning authority as a whole, the inquiry is Star News’s ‘Event of the Year’. The State Government, itself tainted by more than $150,000 in election donations from Mr Woodman, has not ruled out sacking the council. With IBAC to resume in February, Casey has been put under the purview of a State Government-appointed Monitor. In the shadows of New Years’ Eve, councillors took the extraordinary measure of largely removing themselves from the planning process during the IBAC inquiry. Their planning decisions will be delegated to a special planning committee of two external people and councillor Rex Flannery. According to the council, the move was to give the community “assurance” in its decision making’s integrity

Casey councillor Sam Aziz and cash 'courier' Lorraine Wreford meet on 1 February 2019, captured by IBAC covert surveillance. The inquiry started with a bang in November, alleging that Crs Aziz and Ablett received collectively up to $1.2 million from Mr Woodman and associated companies. Mr Woodman and his clients stood to make many millions more as the councillors were said to work in his favour on three planning matters in Cranbourne West and Cranbourne East. They were the Amendment C219 rezoning of industrial land, the H3 intersection in Hall Road and the Pavilion Estate. The payment methods to Crs Aziz and Ablett were varied. Alleged ‘sham’ consultancies, money in a suitcase, cash in envelopes, disguised bank

transfers, credit card and tax debts paid off, land transactions, racehorse fees were some that were brought to light. The pair were said by Mr Woodman’s lobbyist and cash courier Lorraine Wreford to have got “greedy”. So much so that she wasn’t sure who was bribing who, she told the inquiry. She also claimed that Cr Aziz had requested her to perjure herself, in relation to a $600,000 transaction between Cr Aziz and Mr Woodman. Ms Wreford, a former state MP, was part of a lineage of Casey mayors linked to Mr Woodman. Others included Crs Aziz and Ablett, as well as Cr Stapledon who is yet to take the IBAC stand.

Another former Casey mayor Janet Halsall was said to be the campaign manager for a $100,000 Woodman fund for about 10 candidates in the 2016 council elections. Crs Aziz, Ablett, Stapledon, Wayne Smith, Damien Rosario and possibly another were elected to council and none declared the assistance, IBAC heard. After the revelation, Ms Halsall resigned as a staffer for federal MP Jason Wood. Mr Woodman told the inquiry that he’d donated to the state election campaigns of current mayor Susan Serey as well as Crs Ablett and Stapledon. The inquiry shone light on Mr Woodman’s interest in mayoral elections and Casey’s former chief executive Mike Tyler’s sudden departure last year. It heard then mayor Cr Ablett bragging to Mr Woodman that he “nailed” the CEO - who was regarded by Mr Woodman as an obstruction on C219. Mr Woodman later told his planning consultant Megan Schutz that, by getting rid of Tyler, he effectively got new Casey CEO Glenn Patterson his job. During a council debate on a Woodman interest, Ms Schutz allegedly texted messages to ‘coach’ Cr Aziz while he ushered through an alternative motion that she’d written. Cr Ablett declared a conflict of interest but was still said to be lobbying in the background on Mr Woodman’s behalf. He allegedly strategised with the Save Cranbourne West Residents Action Group, which received about $198,000 of Woodman money and campaigned for his interests. Cr Stapledon, who’d received financial help from Mr Woodman for her disabled son’s care, sought Mr Woodman’s support to be mayor in 2018, the inquiry heard. Ahead of council elections in November, IBAC is set to consider possible changes to rules around political donations and councillors’ conflict-of-interest. One option is mirroring NSW’s blanket ban on political donations by property developers. The inquiry resumes in February.

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