By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A charity linked to property developer John Woodman provided $1 million-plus to a disability service attended by Casey ex-councillor Amanda Stapledon’s son, IBAC has heard.
The Wolfdene Foundation – associated with Mr Woodman’s son Heath – funded four independent living units for adult clients at Blairlogie Living and Learning.
The first units are said to be “close to completion” in developer Blueways’ estate in Cranbourne East.
Wolfdene often acted as development manager for Blueways projects, IBAC was told by planning consultant Megan Schutz on 3 March.
“Wolfdene was building it and basically Wolfdene had seed funded the project.”
Ms Schutz provided her services pro bono for the project, such as running the planning application.
“The work I did pro bono for Wolfdene Foundation was probably about between $15,000 and $20,000 worth of planning work, with council waiving the application fees because it was a charity.”
She agreed with Counsel Assisting IBAC, Michael Tovey’s assertion that Wolfdene contributed in excess of $1 million.
On the project’s subcommittee were Ms Stapledon, parents of the four clients being accommodated, Blairlogie chief executive Carolyn Carr and a Wolfdene development manager, Ms Schutz said.
Mr Woodman had also given Ms Stapledon $15,000 towards the care of her son in 2018, as well as donated to her state election campaigns for the Liberal Party, IBAC’s Operation Sandon hearing was told.
While a Casey councillor, Ms Stapledon managed the conflict of interest by declaring an “undisclosed” interest, Ms Schutz said.
At IBAC, surveillance photos showed Ms Stapledon, who was mayor at the time, meeting with three people on Mr Woodman’s payroll at the Sandhurst Club on 14 November 2018.
The trio were Ms Schutz, Mr Woodman’s lobbyist and former Casey mayor Lorraine Wreford and Save Cranbourne West Residents Action Group president Ray Walker.
Ms Schutz told IBAC they were discussing the H3 intersection project in Hall Road, Cranbourne West – something that Mr Woodman and another developer Leighton Properties were lobbying hard for.
They were at odds with developer Dacland, which was seeking to defer the upgrade.
“John had asked me to brief Amanda, with the community representative in attendance, in relation to Hall Road issues,” Ms Schutz told IBAC.
“My recollection of that meeting was that Ray and Amanda had agreed that it would be a good idea to get the developers and the community in the room together and to work out an agreeable way forward.”
Ms Schutz said when Mr Woodman asked her to brief a councillor, no council officer was ever present during the talks.
But it would have been a “good idea”, she told IBAC on 2 March.
For her meetings with state Ministers, probity auditors and ministerial advisers were regularly present, she said in later evidence.
Last year, Mr Woodman was described as a “kingmaker” as he told IBAC that he’d promised to back Ms Stapledon in her ultimately successful bid to be Casey mayor in 2018.
“There is no thought in my mind that I wanted Amanda to be mayor because of the fact that NDIS and my son’s assistance at Blairlogie would mean that she was favourable towards Heath,” he told IBAC last year.
Mr Woodman had described himself in IBAC as a “friend” to Ms Stapledon. But he referred to her as ‘fatso’ in a tapped phone call with Ms Schultz.
