By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A property developer allegedly paid cash to Casey councillors and treated them as his “puppets” as part of a campaign to rezone Cranbourne West land, an anti-corruption hearing has heard.
It was alleged that the developer John Woodman paid $80,000 in cash deposits to Cr Sam Aziz and $17,500 to Cr Geoff Ablett in the lead-up to Amendment C219 deliberations in 2014, the IBAC Operation Sandon hearings on 19 November was told.
In response, Mr Woodman said Cr Ablett’s payments were a “coincidence” and didn’t know of the payments to Cr Aziz.
Mr Woodman and his associates had been lobbying councillors to rezone the land from industrial to residential – a move that would create a windfall profit of tens of millions of dollars.
On 3 February 2014, Mr Woodman sent a ‘briefing note’ of arguments for the rezoning in an email to Crs Aziz, Ablett and Amanda Stapledon’s private email accounts.
The next day, Cr Aziz introduced an urgent motion for Amendment C219 during a closed council meeting.
“You would forgive people who have read the document we’ve just been looking at as thinking that you were treating councillors just like puppets,” counsel assisting Michael Tovey told Mr Woodman.
Mr Woodman denied Mr Tovey’s allegation that it was because “Mr Aziz was in your pocket and you considered Mr Ablett to be in your pocket and you thought Ms Stapledon would at least follow them”.
“I’m attempting to outline to them the reason why the Cranbourne West land zoned industrial should be changed to residential,” Mr Woodman said.
“Sir, this is the first time I have ever witnessed a document that I have prepared where I have suggested a motion.”
He agreed that such a move was “improper”.
Commissioner Robert Redlich foreshadowed that the ‘briefing note’ fitted the pattern of later correspondence sent to councillors by other persons on Mr Woodman’s behalf.
Mr Woodman was confronted with evidence he’d deposited $5000 cash under a false name into Cr Ablett’s account in late 2013.
“I cannot recall doing that, sir,” Mr Woodman said.
“No, I have no explanation for that.”
Also on day two of the hearings, Mr Woodman defended $5500 monthly payments to the Save Cranbourne West Residents Action Group (SCWRAG) leader Ray Walker.
SCWRAG leader Mr Walker was purportedly hired to drive around noting real estate signs on property, to provide “feedback” on real estate sales in the region.
Mr Woodman denied that the payments presented a conflict of interest for Mr Walker, whose group supported the developer Leighton’s wishes.
The IBAC investigation will focus on corruption involving Casey councillors and property developers, particularly three planning issues.
They are the Amendment C219 rezoning of land in Cranbourne West, the H3 intersection in Hall Road, Cranbourne West, and the Pavilion Estate.
The hearings continue for an expected three weeks.
