By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Casey councillor Geoff Ablett stood to lose a “s*** load” of money due to faltering property projects in Cranbourne West, according to an alleged intercepted call with developer John Woodman.
The tapped call was played at an IBAC Operation Sandon hearing on 25 November.
Mr Woodman told Cr Ablett in the phone call in November last year that “you and I have borne … unbelievable angst and we’ve both lost a s*** load of money because of Cranbourne West or because of this intersection.”
The projects included Amendment C219, which involved the rezoning of industrial land to residential land – and huge windfall profits for developer Leighton.
At the IBAC hearing, Mr Woodman said he was pre-empting that Amendment C219 may not go ahead due to a recent article in The Age about the H3 intersection project in Cranbourne West.
He said that he would buy part of Cr Ablett’s rural property in Gippsland for $350,000 if Amendment C219 was approved.
“I had told Geoffrey that I was keen to buy some land in South Gippsland.
“If C219 did not occur then I would more than likely pull out of the contract at some stage.”
Mr Woodman had paid a $150,000 deposit on the property.
Under questioning from counsel assisting IBAC, Michael Tovey, Mr Woodman declined to call it a “success fee” for Cr Ablett.
“He wasn’t capable of voting on anything,” Mr Woodman said – referring to Cr Ablett’s declared conflict of interest on voting on Woodman-related projects.
“It was a friendship agreement that I would share some of the profits that you have indicated to me before was associated with (Amendment) 219.”
During the tapped call, Cr Ablett appears to ask Mr Woodman for advice on handling Casey councillor Rosalie Crestani’s wavering support on the H3 intersection issue.
“Well, you just tell me what you want and I’ll tell Rosalie and I’m more than happy to tell Sam (Aziz), ‘This is the way it’s going to happen’.”
Mr Tovey asked Mr Woodman why Mr Ablett was “waiting on you for direction so that he can influence other councillors.
“I guess it’s a friendship that’s been built over many years, sir,” Mr Woodman said.
“And the mere fact that he thought I was the best person to be able to clarify the questions that she obviously had in relation to H3.”
IBAC has alleged that Cr Ablett had received $330,000 from Mr Woodman.
In a report in Sunday Herald Sun, Cr Ablett denied he took bribes to influence Casey planning decisions. He is due to testify at IBAC this week.
