By Matthew Sims
Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards has escaped without any adverse findings made against her in the final Operation Sandon report.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) released its final report on Thursday 27 July following a damning and long-awaited anti-corruption report involving Casey councillors and property developers.
IBAC’s investigation was primarily concerned with four planning matters involving property developer John Woodman and his associates.
IBAC made a total of 34 recommendations to promote transparency in planning decisions and enhance donation and lobbying regulation in its long-awaited final report into allegations of corrupt conduct between property developers and councillors at Casey Council.
Each matter involved Casey Council as the decision maker and two required the planning minister’s approval.
Ms Richards faced IBAC last November, where she was grilled about her connections with Mr Woodman and Labor lobbyist Phil Staindl.
One of the main lines of questioning surrounded a $20,000 donation made by Mr Woodman to Ms Richards’ 2018 Victorian state election campaign.
According to the IBAC report, Ms Richards met with Mr Staindl and Mr Woodman at a hotel in October 2018.
At the time, Mr Woodman and associates were trying to “cultivate support” from local state candidates for Amendment C219, a proposed rezoning of industrial land to residential in Cranbourne West.
“In the case of Ms Richards, it appears that Mr Woodman expected to receive a commitment to his project in return for campaign donations,” IBAC stated.
“However, IBAC did not find any evidence to suggest that Ms Richards approached the Minister for Planning or their office on this issue.”
Ms Richards admitted she could have been more circumspect in accepting Mr Woodman’s “generous offer”, but denied furthering his interests, which IBAC accepted.
In a statement released on Thursday 27 July, Ms Richards said she welcomed the report’s findings in clearing her name of any adverse findings.
“I am pleased that IBAC’s report has confirmed I did not make any representations on behalf of Mr Woodman, nor did I approach the Minister for Planning or his office,“ she said.
“IBAC also confirms I unequivocally attempted to let Mr Woodman know I would not be advancing the matter, and did not agree to any involvement in doing so with the Minister or his office.
“I look forward to continuing to represent Cranbourne, a community which I love and who have placed their trust in me, to the very best of my ability.“
In a press conference on Thursday 27 July, Premier Daniel Andrews faced a number of questions about Ms Richards’ actions and relationship with Mr Woodman and was upfront in fervently defending her reputation as a local MP who fights hard for the best outcomes for her community.
“I know Pauline Richards, I know she’s a person of absolute integrity and character,“ he said.
“I can think of no one who works harder for their local community than she does and there are no findings made against her whatsoever.“
Speaking on donations made to her campaign, Mr Andrews said the donations were lawful.
“The donations were declared,“ he said.
“There was a proposition to go further and do something and she did not.“
Other former MPs named in the report and questioned during the public proceedings included former Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley and former Cranbourne MP Jude Perera.
IBAC found Woodman donated to their campaigns, and that both MPs lobbied the Planning Minister or their advisor for Amendment C219.
“Mr Perera contended that this did not generate any sense of obligation… that assertion was contradicted by the lengths to which Mr Perera went to further Mr Woodman’s requests and objectives,“ IBAC reported.
According to the report, Ms Graley received $12,500 from Mr Woodman in financial support for her 2014 Victorian state election campaign and was approached to lobby the Planning Minister on Amendment C219. In evidence, she said that she did not approach the Minister or their office, but did have an informal hallway discussion with an advisor to the minister.
However, Mr Staindl sent an email to Mr Woodman on 20 June 2018 said, referring to Ms Graley as ’our good friend in the south east’.
In a submission to IBAC, Mr Wynne said he dealt with Ms Graley and Mr Perera’s queries in the same way he would deal with any other query.
“I have always found that Mr Perera and Ms Graley were respectful of my role in Parliament and of my role as the Minister for Planning and I never identified anything inappropriate about their communications or interactions with me,“ he said.
“I was unaware of any potential impropriety in relation to planning matters in the City of Casey, and dealt with queries about those matters from MPs in the same way that I would deal with a query on any other matter.“
During the examination, Ms Graley denied knowing that Mr Woodman donated to her campaign.
“I was never promoting Mr Woodman’s interests,“ she said during the public proceedings.
Mr Woodman also donated a further $15,000 to Mr Perera’s 2014 Victorian state election, with more than $20,000 donated to his Cranbourne State Electorate Campaign Committee electorate account between May 2013 and May 2015 from Mr Woodman , as well as in-kind support.
Mr Perera also tabled a petition organised by Woodman associate Megan Schutz, and a letter to the Planning Minister based largely on Ms Schutz’s briefing note.
During the public proceedings, Mr Perera said his formal submission in favour of a land rezoning was effectively written by developer John Woodman’s planning consultant Megan Schutz.
At the Operation Sandon inquiry, Mr Perera agreed that his signed submission to Casey Council in 2017 was “predominantly if not wholly a simple replication of Megan Schutz’s points”.
Mr Perera also tabled a petition organised by Woodman associate Megan Schutz, and a letter to the Planning Minister based largely on Ms Schutz’s briefing note.
Ms Schutz also made frequent contact with Mr Perera’s office between 2002 and 2018, on behalf of the Save Cranbourne West Residents Action Group (SCWRAG), to lobby for Amendment C219.
To view the full report, visit https://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/operation-sandon-special-report.
