By Cam Lucadou-Wells
An “angered” Planning Minister Richard Wynne “cut off” a planning counsultant’s approach to him, telling people to “keep that girl away from me”, IBAC has heard.
At a Progressive Business event in October 2018, Planning Minister Richard Wynne became “very, very angry” when Ms Schutz raised his Amendment C219 deferral, Ms Schutz told an IBAC hearing.
In a tapped call with Mr Woodman, Ms Schutz recalled Mr Wynne told her his decision to defer rezoning the Cranbourne West land was based on “industrial land supply”.
She pressed on, noting Mr Wynne had put aside a Planning Panels Victoria recommendation, 1100 members of “the community”.
“All we expect is a fair process,” she told him.
According to Ms Schutz, Mr Wynne cut her off, got angry and said to lobbyist Phil Staindl: “Keep that girl away from me”.
Mr Woodman referred to Mr Wynne as “f***knuckle” during the tapped call.
According to Ms Schutz – via feedback from Mr Staindl – the then-Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley called Mr Wynne an “up himself d***head”.
Ms Graley suggested the developer “pull the pin” on a get-together with Cranbourne candidate Pauline Richards, Ms Schutz said.
At IBAC, Ms Schutz denied she had been “aggressive” to Mr Wynne, but conceded Mr Staindl regarded her approach as “inappropriate”.
“I was just straight up. I called a spade a spade and stated my opinion on the matter and asked him the question.”
She said the Casey-based MPs at the time, Jude Perera and Judith Graley, had spoken to Mr Wynne in support of the rezoning.
