DONATIONS made to Frankston councillors during the 2024 local government elections have been revealed.
Seven candidates who took part in the Frankston Council election have disclosed donations. In the neighbouring Mornington Peninsula Shire, a handful of councillors and candidates have come under fire after disclosing donations from the “Friends of The Peninsula” group, which is backed by property developer Ari Lakman.
Two successful Frankston Council candidates declared donations – deputy mayor Steffie Conroy declared a $1500 donation from Richard Starkins, and Emily Green declared three separate donations totalling around $7772. A total of $2792 was donated to Green by the Australian Greens Vic, $3900 came from fellow Greens member Alex Breskin, and $1080 came from Steven Adams.
Unsuccessful Frankston Council candidate Quinney Brownfield-Hanna declared a $741 donation from Matt O’Keefe. Sheila Newman received $950 across six different donors: Paul Cavanagh, Andrew Smith, Rob Thurley, Barry Priestly, Bob Graham, and $100 from an anonymous mailbox drop. Maureen Rodgers received four donations, each of less than $100. Ashleigh Hoult and Steve Toms each declared a singular donation of $40 and $50 respectively.
The Local Government Act 2020 makes it mandatory for Victorian councils to publish the donation returns of each candidate within 40 days of the local government election.
Elected Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors Bruce Ranken and Cam Williams received donations of roughly $7100 and $5000 respectively from “Friends of the Peninsula”. The property developer-backed Friends of the Peninsula also donated $14,000 to Peter Clarke’s unsuccessful campaign, and $8800 to Susan Bissinger.
Two successful Kingston candidates declared donations. Hadi Saab received a total of $10,500 from five individual donors, declaring $5000 from Sieman Raydan, $1500 each from Paul Smith, Sam Smith, and Mahrqan Shirvani, and $1000 from Assam Haydar. Deputy mayor Chris Howe declared a $362 donation from his son, outgoing councillor Cameron Howe.
Incumbent Kingston mayor Georgina Oxley donated $2400 to her mother’s campaign in Como Ward. Unsuccessful candidate Alex Breskin also made sizable donations to his own campaign and the campaign of Susanna Moore – they both also received money from the Australian Greens Victoria.
First published in the Frankston Times – 21 January 2025