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Thanks for reading our live coverage of today’s Operation Sandon report.
Here’s what you missed in case you’re just catching up:
- Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog has found a property developer “bought access to decision-makers” by paying former local mayors and Liberal Party members about $1.2 million. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) says the saga shows how limits on laws regulating lobbyists leave politicians vulnerable to corruption.
- Premier Daniel Andrews, who gave evidence as part of IBAC’s Operation Sandon, told the agency he knew allegedly corrupt developer John Woodman and in 2017 had lunch with him and Labor-linked lobbyist Phil Staindl. That lunch arose from Woodman winning a $10,000 bid at a fundraiser. But Andrews said he did not recall Woodman or his associates raising planning issues with him.
- Speaking of the premier, Andrews says he supports stripping local councils of at least some of their planning powers. The comments come ahead of the state government’s highly anticipated housing statement.
- Opposition leader John Pesutto says the government has “got to be kidding” if it thinks the solution to planning involves giving more powers to the premier or his MPs. But during an afternoon press conference, Andrews suggested an independent planning authority was the best way forward.
- Meanwhile, the Greens have called on the state government to make ministerial diaries public – as is the case in NSW and Queensland – in a bid to improve transparency. The party also wants political donations from the property industry to be banned altogether.
- And a local government organisation, and a mayor from the Mornington Peninsula, say it would be a shame if the state government used today’s IBAC report to consolidate its planning powers at the expense of individual communities.
Have a lovely afternoon.
Meanwhile, Local Government Professionals – the peak body for council staff but not elected councillors – has welcomed the recommendations in today’s IBAC report that relate to improving councillor conduct.
Those recommendations include further sanctions for misconduct, provisions to allow council officers and members of the public to make complaints to the Chief Municipal Inspector, and the publication of data on arbitration and complaint processes.
Local Government Professionals president Liana Thompson. Credit: Jason South
“Legislation relating to councillor conduct must be considered as part of a broader policy framework aimed at encouraging good governance, with opportunities and mandates for councillors to better understand what inappropriate conduct looks like and why it erodes the concept of good governance,” said Local Government Professionals president Liana Thompson.
“The conduct and professionalism of officers was not called into question by IBAC’s report. It is important to note though that if they were, there are mechanisms in place to readily police such behaviour of officers, but less so in the case of councillors.”
The peak body has long been lobbying for changes to legislation to crack down on “poor” councillor behaviour, with suspensions of up to three years.
Those efforts have been condemned by some councillors, who have previously told The Age such reforms were “draconian” and claimed they would undermine robust debate and concentrate more power within bureaucracy rather than community-elected representatives.
My colleague Rachel Eddie has just asked the premier if he has any regrets about his dealings with property developer John Woodman.
Here’s what Daniel Andrews had to say:
Premier Daniel Andrews says he’s happy with the number of local councils in Victoria, but does want to strip them of some planning powers.Credit: Wayne Taylor
[I’ve got] too much to do. And we’re focused on the future.
She then asked if there were any warning signs the developer was acting inappropriately.
This was the premier’s response:
No, not that I know of, no.
Members of the press gallery are now asking about planning reforms.
As mentioned earlier today, the premier says he is open to stripping councils of at least some of their planning powers in the wake of IBAC’s findings.
A journalist asked whether stripping councillors’ planning powers would just “move the goal posts” for developers, who might then target state MPs or an independent planning body.
These sorts of decisions being made by senior planning officials and providing advice to ministers, I think that’s far less likely to result in some of this sort of behaviour. Far less likely.
I’m not saying that there’s a model here that’s got, like, zero risk. I don’t know that you can ever build that. But it would be a much reduced risk, I think.
The premier added that he is happy with the number of local councils in Victoria. But he didn’t rule out making ministerial diaries public, as is the case in Queensland and NSW (and something the Victorian Greens have today called for).
Staying with the premier’s press conference, and journalists have asked Daniel Andrews if he thinks charges should be laid following Operation Sandon.
Premier Daniel Andrews addressing the media this afternoon. To his left is Mental Health Minister Gabrielle Williams. Credit: Wayne Taylor
Here was his response:
Well, I might very well have thoughts about that. But it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to express those views. We had a conversation just out here in the gardens a week or so ago about the independence of prosecutorial decision-making and I will defend that... popular or otherwise.
Asked to respond to the opposition’s criticism earlier today, the premier said:
The people getting the bags of cash were Liberal Party counsellors. They were sacked by our government. And we were right to do that.
As for Labor MP Pauline Richards, who released a statement following this morning’s report, Andrews said:
She’s a person of absolute integrity and character. I can’t think of anyone who works harder for the local community than she does.
Premier Daniel Andrews has just started taking questions about this morning’s Operation Sandon report.
He says cabinet has not yet had a chance to sit down and work through the 34 recommendations, but that he will report the government’s progress in due course.
“There is a lot going on,” he said. “It does take some time and I think doing it properly is better than doing it quickly. It needs to be done in a proper process. And that’s exactly what we will do.”
Asked why the government hasn’t already banned developer donations, the premier said:
Freedom of association, freedom of political involvement, all of those things like this are not quite as simple as it might seem sometimes.
You don’t want to make laws that all they do is just finish up in court and finish up being challenged again and again. So doing this thoughtfully, during this properly, is very very important.
Premier Daniel Andrews fronted the media earlier this afternoon.
We’ll have the playback version with you as soon as possible.
Please note: We’ve been told the press conference will initially be about the newly appointed First Peoples’ Assembly. Once that section is over, the premier is expected to make some remarks about Operation Sandon and then take questions relating to IBAC.
And here’s what the Australian Services Union had to say in a statement:
ASU members who work in planning understand all too well the pressures brought to bear on council employees by property developers, councillors and the public in attempting to accelerate approvals of land permits and housing developments. They acknowledge there is a crisis in housing in Victoria.
However, there is never any excuse for abuse, threats of violence and attempts to pressure planners or any council employee to approve or improperly facilitate any work, and the state government must ensure there is no opportunity or reason for such pressure to be applied to our members.
From the 1940s until 1987 the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works was the ultimate arbiter of planning in Victoria in both the regions, the suburbs and the city. A similar body, removed from the influence of both local and state government and legislated as an independent authority, would help solve the problems laid out in Operation Sandon and provide security for ASU members involved in planning across Victoria.
Meanwhile, the reactions to this morning’s final report keep rolling in.
Here’s what David Clark, the president of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), told us in a statement:
It is essential that the recommended taskforce meaningfully consult with the MAV, as the peak for the local government sector, particularly around recommendations to set up independent planning panels and take statutory planning powers away from councillors.
With the report clearly stating that corruption risk cannot be resolved by transferring responsibility from elected councillors to a minister, it would be a travesty for the Andrews government to use the findings to centralise planning powers within the backrooms of Spring Street.
The MAV is the legislated peak body for Victorian local governments.
Given the Coalition’s attack lines, let’s revisit what IBAC’s acting commissioner had to say this morning about the evidence Premier Daniel Andrews provided and why there were no adverse findings against the Labor leader.
“The evidence in total did not amount to a point at which there could be any adv conclusions or findings,” the acting commissioner said.
“The reason that it’s in the [final] report is because it provides important context to the reforms that IBAC has recommended.”
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2023-07-27 06:00:48Z
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