Sounds like it’s not just a Labor disease but a NSW one:
NOT good and if they have done this they deserve to go down..... BOTH SIDES need to get their act together in NSW and get rid of the corruption...
MORE than $400,000 in hidden donations was funnelled through a Liberal party slush fund run by former minister Chris Hartcher — including from a developer who hosted Mr Hartcher and now energy minister Anthony Roberts on a luxury yacht in Hamilton Island, the ICAC heard today…
The first day of the Operation Spicer inquiry at the Independent Commission Against Corruption has begun with sensational allegations levelled against Mr Hartcher and fellow right wing central coast MPs Darren Webber and Chris Spence, that they have been involved in “the systematic subversion of the electoral funding laws of NSW” through sham company Eight by Five…
The slush fund had three principal donors — Australian Water Holdings, ... major Newcastle developer Buildev, and Gazcorp — which was the subject of a previous ICAC inquiry about its shopping centre at Orange Grove…
The inquiry has heard Mr Hartcher and Energy minister Anthony Roberts, the current leader of the hard right faction, were guests on a luxury yacht called “Octavia” in Hamilton Island in 2007, which was owned by the Gazal family, the owners of Gazcorp when the pair were in opposition.
[Counsel Assisting the inquiry Geoffrey Watson SC] said the “proper inference” drawn from the payments from Gazcorp to slush fund Eight by Five is that Mr Hartcher agreed “to assist the Gazal family and assist Gazcorp in relation to Orange Grove”.
“Gazcorp got its desired outcome,” he said.
I’ll say:
Gazcorp, the proponent of the controversial Orange Grove shopping centre development in Liverpool, paid $137,000 to the fund, while the Obeid-linked infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings paid $183,000.
Orange Grove was given the green light after the Liberal Party won the state election.
Even more important in this fetid climate that Tony Abbott - himself a cleanskin - keep his promises. There is right now a huge integrity deficit in politics that needs repairing.
First casualty:
NSW Premier Mike Baird has asked Liberal MP Marie Ficarra to step aside as parliamentary secretary…
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Geoffrey Watson, SC, said ... Ms Ficarra, the former parliamentary secretary to then premier Barry O’Farrell, was part of the [slush fund] scheme and had solicited a $5000 donation from property developer Tony Merhi just days before the March 2011 state election. The inquiry heard her explanations about the donation were not credible.
Shameless:
And billionaire Harry Triguboff, who as a property developer was prohibited from making donations, used a Liberal party foundation to make donations to the NSW Liberals… The Free Enterprise Foundation had been used as a way of laundering a substantial part of $700,000 of donations from developers to the Liberal Party.
Liberal fundraiser Paul Nicolaou admitted that he solicited and washed donations from developers through the foundation.
Mr Watson said that a company called Eightbyfive, operated by former Hartcher staffer Tim Koelma was used a vehicle to launder donations from property developers in contravention of electoral funding laws.
Nathan Tinkler’s Buildev group made $66,000 worth of payments to Eightbyfive when it wanted to develop a coal loader in Newcastle. It received some favours from Mr Hartcher, but did not get its coal loader approved, ICAC heard.
The Gazals’ company Gazcorp paid $137,00 for fake services from Eightbyfive.
The money was used to fund Tim Koelma as an additional staff member of Mr Hartcher’s staff, as well as pay Chris Spence and Darren Webber so they could give up their jobs and work full time on their election campaigns.
Mr Koelma was paid $265,000, Chris Spence $105,000 and Darren Webber $50,000.
And Mr Koelma used his brother to make a maliciously false allegation against the head of Sydney Water, Dr Kerry Schott, in an attempt to ruin her career and further the interests of Australian Water Holdings, which wanted a deal with the NSW government.
Mr Nicolaou also tried to get Sydney radio personality Alan Jones to make allegations against Sydney Water.
