By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Treasurer Tim Pallas and Premier Daniel Andrews’s familiarity with property developers has been revealed in an explosive tapped phone call at an IBAC Operation Sandon hearing.
Mr Andrews allegedly told property developer John Woodman’s planning consultant Megan Schutz to “say hi to John” at a Progressive Business Christmas drinks event in 2018.
At the same exclusive ALP event, Mr Pallas allegedly told Ms Schutz that “we work together to achieve outcomes”.
The claims were made in a tapped phone call on 21 December between Ms Schutz and Mr Woodman.
She tells him that she congratulated “Timmy – Timmy-Tom – Tim Pallas” on the recent state election victory.
Then she thanked him for his help on a Donnybrook project with developer Blueways – which is linked to Wolfdene, run by Mr Woodman’s son Heath.
“Tim, I just want to thank you so much for providing me with the introduction to the Secretary of the Department.
“Barow and my client have now reached an agreement and it’s just fantastic. It never would have happened if it wasn’t for you. So thank you so much Tim.”
According to Ms Schutz, Mr Pallas replied: “Megan, we work together. We work together to achieve outcomes” and wished her a “happy Christmas”.
In an earlier tapped call, Ms Schutz, in reaction to Planning Minster Richard Wynne’s deferral of Amendment C219 – the rezoning of Cranbourne West industrial land – said “we could have brought it up with the Treasurer”.
Ms Schutz told IBAC on 3 March that Mr Woodman – who had a $2 million success fee riding on C219’s approval – had a “very good rapport” with Mr Pallas.
“Tim Pallas would always be the voice of reason and pragmatic in relation economic issues,” she said.
“He would have given the rezoning a fair hearing.
“If he was agreeable to supporting it … he might speak to the Minister for Planning’s office, the Minister for Planning himself.”
In her chat to Mr Woodman, Ms Schutz recalled an encounter with Premier Daniel Andrews at the Christmas drinks.
“He gave me a little kiss on the cheek and he said, ‘Say hi to John, Megan, say hi to John’.”
During the call, Mr Woodman made an apparent reference to C219.
Leighton’s Tom Kenessey had suggested they “go up the line with this past Wynne” to the Premier, Mr Woodman told Ms Schutz.
“Two million bucks to me is not worthy of calling in favourites with the Premier of Victoria,” Mr Woodman said.
He was referring to his $2 million success fee riding on approval of the rezoning, Ms Schutz told IBAC.
Ms Schutz said she’d met Mr Andrews “numerous” times at Progressive Business events.
Ms Schutz told IBAC that she and Heath Woodman briefed Mr Pallas on the Donnybrook issue at a Progressive Business forum weeks before the Christmas drinks.
Mr Pallas’s senior staff member provided a “connection” with the state’s planning department, which led to a briefing.
“It was helpful,” Ms Schutz told IBAC.
The access to Mr Pallas was “facilitated” through Mr Woodman’s company Watsons being a Progressive Business platinum member at about “$50 or $60,000” a year.
Mr Woodman also donated about $10,000 each to politicians of both sides of government, Ms Schutz said.
“I believed at the time that we were getting access of that nature because of John Woodman’s longstanding membership of Progressive Business, but I can see the logic in the fact that he donated to, you know, he donated on other bases to the Labor Party, that it provided access.”
Progressive Business is a fundraising arm of State Labor that provides Ministerial access to businesses.
At Progressive Business events, business members had a chance to brief Ministers for 15 minutes, always in the company of a ministerial adviser, Ms Schutz said.
She had briefings with Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan, then-Roads Minister Luke Donnellan and then-Attorney General Martin Pakula and ex-Suburban Development Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.
She’d had similar access to former Liberal Planning Minister Matthew Guy with his adviser at an Enterprise 500 event ahead of the 2014 state election.
