Onkaparinga CEO Mark Dowd defends Everest base camp charity trek donations
Onkaparinga chief Mark Dowd insists a $10,599 donation towards his Mount Everest trek from a Chinese businessman — who wanted to build a multimillion-dollar hotel in McLaren Vale — was all in good faith.
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Onkaparinga chief executive Mark Dowd insists a $10,599 donation towards his Mount Everest trek from a Chinese businessman — who wanted to build a multimillion-dollar hotel in McLaren Vale — was all in good faith.
Mr Dowd told the Southern Times Messenger there was no conflict of interest with developer Fortune Source Holdings’ decision to donate the money in his campaign to raise money for the Little Heroes Foundation.
He said the council was no longer in conversations about the hotel with the company, whose director is Highbury-based developer Yun Fung Chung.
The developer committed $50 million towards the project in 2016.
The Southern Times Messenger this month reported Mr Dowd was climbing to Mount Everest Base Camp and had raised more than $20,000 for charity — half which came from the developer.
“I approached family, friends and business contacts for sponsorship towards the Little Heroes Foundation,” Mr Dowd said.
“I did not receive these funds personally at any time during the donation process and all the fundraising went directly to Little Heroes.
“There are no circumstances in these actions that give rise to an actual conflict of interest.
“My only intention was to raise money towards a valuable and reputable charity and through my efforts (all the trekkers) raised over $70,000 to support seriously ill children and their families.”
In July this year, Mr Dowd had to defend his use of council contacts to fundraise for the charity trek to Mount Everest Base Camp when challenged on the issue by a former elected member, Don Chapman.
Mr Chapman, who did not seek re-election, said he was uncomfortable with the chief executive’s decision to “use council time, resources and contacts for his personal charity goal”.
Mr Dowd admitted some donors were partners of the council, but were also long-time colleagues and peers.
The council has been troubled for 18 months, starting with the council paying Mr Dowd’s $6818 golf membership joining fee.
That was part of a strategy to attract Chinese investment to the southern suburbs.
The Southern Times Messenge r visited the registered business address of Fortune Source Holdings in Pulteney St in the Adelaide CBD.
A woman at the building said Mr Chung only registered his business address to that location and worked from another office.
She would not say where it was located.
There was no one at Mr Chung’s Highbury residential address.
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