As Imre Salusinszky noted a few days ago, the McGurk inquiry into planning decisions made for land in the Badgery’s Creek area of western Sydney has found that, ‘no NSW Labor politician or government official has acted corruptly.’
In handing down its report, the inquiry said it found no corrupt activity in relation to the land.
“It’s correct to say that we did not find any corrupt activity in that regard,” inquiry chair and Nationals MP Jenny Gardiner said.
However, the inquiry, which included two days of public hearings, more generally put the spotlight on the potential influence of property developers in the planning system.
As such, the report calls for wide-ranging reform of NSW election and campaign funding laws and in particular, tighter regulation of political donations.
This follows Premier Rees promises at the the eventful annual State Labor conference, held last week, to revamp how Government deals with lobbyists and developers.
The committee made eleven recommendations reinforcing the Premier’s earlier pledge to reform the system, and that, “….the Premier adopt the model for funding of the NSW electoral scheme proposed by the NSW Legislative Council Select Committee on Electoral and Political Party Funding, and implement the Committee’s recommendations in full.”
These include the banning of political donations by corporations and other organisations, a cap on individual donations and election spending, timely disclosures of donations and election spending, plus tougher policing and penalities for non-compliance.
In a dissenting opinion, Greens MLC Sylvia Hale singled out planning minister Kristina Keneally for having a fundamental misunderstanding of the Westminster system.
New South Wales, however, does not operate under a presidential system. Had the Minister been more conscious of this fact, she may have been more mindful in the execution of her parliamentary and legal responsibilities and less inclined to countenance the activities of developers and their lobbyists, activities that have undermined the integrity of, and public confidence in, the planning and development system of this State. Ministerial indifference to a department’s day-to-day affairs, its procedures and employment policies, may actually subvert the provision to ministers of “fearless and frank” advice.
However, this chapter isn’t entirely closed, with questions remaining to be answered by Labor Party mover and shaker and lobbyist Graham Richardson on his involvement.
From SMH 25-11-05:
“While the graphic photo of the bruised and bloodied face of left-wing Labor MP Peter Baldwin has remained etched in the public conscience since his bashing 25 years ago, those responsible have never been brought to account.
Now, Joe Meissner, one of the central figures in the controversy, has broken his silence. Meissner, an importer as well as one of Australia’s top-ranked poker players, claims it was “suggested to Tom [Domican] that Baldwin be fixed up and it developed from there”. Meissner claims that Domican organised two associates to do the bashing.
When asked who had suggested this to Domican, Meissner replied: “Who else, our good friend Graham [Richardson]. Ask him.”
Richardson, who later became a federal minister and a powerbroker within the ALP, was state secretary of the party at the time. He categorically denies knowing anything about the bashing of Baldwin. “I’ve got no knowledge of who did it or who organised it but they were obviously acting on a frolic of their own because it was madness.”
Clean as a whistle, I’d say.
Is there a reference for Hale’s dissenting statement? I’d like to see it in full.
Hiya Chookie, you can find the PDF here.