SA Planning Commission chair Helen Dyer declares conflicts of interest

The head of the State Planning Commission has declared dozens of conflicts of interest due to potential crossover with her private interests.

The head of the state’s peak planning and development advisory body has declared dozens of conflicts of interest due to potential ties between the commission’s work and her private consultancy firm.

State Planning Commission chair Helen Dyer also excused herself from a meeting last month because the board was considering a report prepared by her husband Steve Copus, who is the planning department’s principal planner.

Ms Dyer, who replaced Michael Lennon as chair in March and has been commissioner since November 2018, has raised almost 40 conflicts, between August 2020 and July this year, due to the board’s work potentially affecting clients of her consultancy, Holmes Dyer.

Ms Dyer is a co-director of planning consultancy Holmes Dyer, which undertakes work and provides advice to developers, councils and government. She said the number of “potential conflicts” reflects her obligations to report those matters. “I hope that people can take comfort that I do declare them,” she said. “I think Adelaide is a pretty small place and people will understand that people will have potential conflicts.”

State Planning Commission chair Helen Dyer. Picture: Supplied

On 17 occasions, Ms Dyer left commission meetings after declaring a potential or direct conflict of interest in matters that had come before the commission for discussion.

“The conflicts and potential conflicts I’ve declared are really about quite a minimal function of the commission … around code amendments (rezoning requests), which is a small part of the commission’s work,” she said.

Ms Dyer has cited conflicts with work her firm has done or is doing for the Walkercorp at Buckland Park, the developers of the Concordia housing estate near Gawler and private landowners who are seeking rezoning of land through the commission.

Ms Dyer said much of the work she personally did for the company was in Hobart and Sydney to help provide additional “separation” from her public role.

She sought personal legal advice on how to “discharge my duties properly” before becoming a commissioner.

Mr Lennon declared four conflicts of interest and developer Craig Holden one, according to the commission’s conflict of interest register.

Planning Minister Vickie Chapman said Ms Dyer had “exceptional real-world experience” across government and the private sector. “As she works and has business here in South Australia, there are instances where she must declare a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest and I am pleased to see she is doing so,” she said. “However, her opinion and advice on big picture discussions is invaluable.”

The commission does not make decisions on individual planning applications, which are determined by councils or the State Commission Assessment Panel.