KINGSTON Council has identified 14 development applications made in the last 15 years involving parties named in the IBAC investigation which toppled Casey Council.
An investigation undertaken by the state’s peak anti-corruption body has looked into alleged corruption at Casey Council, and alleged financial ties between councillors and developer John Woodman. All Casey councillors were sacked last week by the state government.
On 9 December last year, Kingston Council voted to order that “officers provide a report to council that lists all applications or approvals of developments with more than 10 dwellings in the past 15 years in the City of Kingston with which the following planners and lobbyists named in current IBAC proceedings have been involved: John Woodman, planner and developer, Megan Schutz, planner, Phil Staindl, lobbyist, Lorraine Wreford, lobbyist, [and] Wolfdene, development company owned by John Woodman’s son.” (“Council to look at Woodman applications”, The News, 18/12/19)
Council has found 14 applications that met their outlined criteria. A report conducted by Kingston Council read that Ms Wreford, Watsons Pty Ltd, and Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd had been identified as having been involved in applications made to council.
On 24 February, Kingston Council voted to “allocate time at an upcoming councillor information session to workshop the items” and “receive a further report at the April ordinary council meeting outlining the status of the IBAC investigation and the proposed scope and method of procurement to conduct [a] probity review.”
The report prepared by Kingston Council officers read:
- No applications appear to have been lodged by ‘Wolfdene’ Pty Ltd.
- Based on the information readily available to officers, none of the applications have identified the involvement of Mr. ‘Phil Staindl, lobbyist’.
- Four of the matters have identified Ms. ‘Lorraine Wreford, lobbyist’ and are likely to relate to a position Ms. Wreford held as the Victorian Government Parliamentary Member for Mordialloc in the Legislative Assembly between 27th November, 2010 and 29th November, 2014;
- Two matters involving Watsons Pty Ltd (a firm where ‘John Woodman, planner and developer’ is understood to be a Director) involve broader planning processes including a Council Planning Scheme Review and the Planning Scheme Amendment C32 which introduced the Special Building Overlay and Land Subject to Inundation Overlay. These planning processes involved multiple different parties.
- One matter involved the proposed application of the reformed Residential Zones through Planning Scheme Amendment C140 where Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd ‘Megan Schutz, planner’ was involved on behalf of a client. This Amendment involved a number of different parties with an interest in the Amendment and Council was the proponent.
- Of the remaining seven applications, four involved Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd, two involved Watsons Pty Ltd and one involved both parties.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 26 February 2020
