By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Political party fundraisers – including a ‘Dinner with Dan’ – have been a favoured hunting ground for developers and planning consultants, an IBAC inquiry has heard.
On 6 December, the inquiry was told of developer John Woodman staging a cocktail fundraiser for the ALP in a private room at Crown Casino on 4 April 2014.
And explosively, Mr Woodman also donated $8500 to attend a ‘Dinner with Dan’ fundraiser featuring Premier Daniel Andrews in June 2018.
Mr Woodman paid $8500 to the ALP’s Bentleigh State Electorate Campaign Committee for 3 VIP tickets and a table at the Mr Andrews dinner at Hellenic Museum.
The invoice lists the names of future Narre Warren North MP Gary Maas, as well as fellow Labor MPs Steve Dimopoulos and Nick Staikos in attendance.
Mr Andrews has recently told of Mr Woodman donated $2500 to the Mulgrave MP’s state election campaign in 2002.
He said he’d met the developer for lunch at the high-end restaurant Flower Drum in 2017 – “principally“ about sponsoring a charity golf day.
At the 2014 cocktail event, the guest speaker was Keysborough MP Martin Pakula – who was then the opposition’s Attorney-General, as well as Corrections, Gaming and Racing spokesperson.
It was touted as a fundraiser for Mr Pakula’s Lyndhurst seat – since renamed as Keysborough.
Mr Woodman had told the inquiry he donated $20,800 to Mr Pakula in the lead-up to the 2018 election -part of $157,000 to the state ALP.
“I can say with a high degree of confidence that that number is not correct and nowhere near correct,” Mr Pakula has said about the 2018 donation.
According to a letter invitation to Mr Woodman’s brother Brian, Casey-based MPs Jude Perera and Judith Graley were also listed in attendance at the 2014 event.
Ms Schutz told the inquiry the fundraiser held in a private room in the casino, appeared to have been paid for by Mr Woodman’s company Watsons.
Such political fundraisers were regularly supported or hosted by Watsons, she told the inquiry.
Meetings with ministers were arranged at fundraisers staged by the ALP-affiliated Progressive Business , she said.
She described the not-for-profit entity as providing “ business with the ability to connect with government”, Ms Schutz said.
“Progressive Business is a very, sort of, friendly forum.
“The same suspects turn up at all the events and go to all the lunches.
“So the politicians know you by name. They know who you are. You get the opportunity to brief them.”
Mr Woodman’s ALP lobbyist Phil Staindl also organised similar events sponsored by Watsons.
“My observation was that (Mr Woodman) always had a bet each way,” Ms Schutz said.
“If there was confidence that a particular party would be remaining in government, then the donations he was going to be providing would go to the party who would be the decision maker.”
Counsel assisting IBAC, Michael Tovey, emphasised that “it’s no part of this inquiry to suggest that there has been the discovery of any wrongdoing or impropriety by any minister or by any member of government.
“However, the question is whether the process has been sufficiently transparent.”
