Cranbourne MP Jude Perera’s formal submission in favour of a land rezoning was effectively written by developer John Woodman’s planning consultant, IBAC has heard.
At the Operation Sandon inquiry, Mr Perera agreed that his signed submission to Casey Council in 2017 was “predominantly if not wholly a simple replication of Megan Schutz’s points”.
“It really was spectacularly inappropriate, is it not, that what is being put forward as a submission by you was in fact a submission by the representative of the developer,” counsel assisting IBAC Michael Tovey said.
Mr Perera said: “When you look at it that way, yes.”
In July 2017, Ms Schutz emails Mr Perera’s electorate officer Sammy Argiriou to request Mr Perera make a formal submission to Casey Council on Amendment C219.
Mr Argiriou replies: “Will do – email me some lines Ms Schutz (smiling face emoji)”.
Ms Schutz responds with nine dot-point paragraphs – a “complete submission”, Mr Tovey said.
The submission states the purportedly strong community support for rezoning – though Mr Perera conceded he knew that the Save Cranbourne West Residents Action Group was linked to developers.
“The developer would have been the main engine room behind that or funded that,” Mr Perera told the hearing.
“But, after that, it has developed into the residents’ concern.”
Around that time, Mr Argiriou was largely running the MP’s electorate office due to Mr Perera being chronically ill.
“He was on top of everything,” including contacts with Ms Schutz, Mr Perera told IBAC.
“He kept me informed. Even if I was in hospital, he sent me emails keeping me up to date.”
Mr Tovey noted that Ms Schutz reported several times on interactions between Mr Argiriou and Mr Perera or Mr Wynne in “very fine detail”.
They included inside information from Planning Minister Richard Wynne’s office on Amendment C219, as well as a private conversation between Mr Wynne and Mr Perera at a visit to Cranbourne West in 2015.
Mr Perera said he’d report back on Mr Wynne’s indication of the timing of the C219 decision.
“So I pass that to Sammy, and if Megan wants to know an update my understanding was Sammy would give that.
“It’s just a matter of when a decision is going to be made or whether it has not been made, nothing beyond that.
“It’s not delicate information.”
