Independence of Queensland councillors questioned by CCC

Independence, it seems, is a virtue at local government level.

But just how independent are Queensland's councillors?

How much do you know about your council candidates when you go to the ballot box?

That has been the nub of a Crime and Corruption Commission hearing into the 2016 local government elections, which has run over the past two weeks at its headquarters in Fortitude Valley.

With the exception of Brisbane City Council, Queensland councils are not officially party-aligned, which means candidates have to find alternative funding sources to run their campaigns.

There are allegations that Moreton Bay mayor Allan Sutherland and other candidates hid donations through a third party.Credit: Robert Shakespeare

In some of the bigger councils in the south-east corner, the cost of those campaigns can reach six figures.

As electoral law expert Professor Graeme Orr told the commission on Friday, independence has a "certain cachet" in the community.

But that does not mean candidates are not political.

The CCC has heard details of Liberal National Party and Labor Party members running as independents, without any disclosure to voters.

On the Gold Coast, it was a group of Liberal National Party-aligned candidates. In Ipswich, it was Labor.

In Moreton Bay, it was a group of candidates linked to the mysterious Moreton Futures Fund, which channelled developer donations to its favoured candidates.

The CCC has also examined complaints that some candidates failed to properly declare donations, that they misled voters by not openly revealing funding from certain sources and had received donations from property developers with business interests under council consideration.

And there was a common theme of developer donations woven throughout.

Moreton Bay

The murky nature of political disclosure was laid bare in the Moreton Bay Regional Council election campaign, with allegations that candidates, most notably mayor Allan Sutherland, hid developer donations through a third party.

That third party, the Moreton Futures Trust, was well-known among donors in the former Pine Rivers, Caboolture and Redcliffe shires.

But, if testimony was to be believed, it was less well known to one of its actual trustees, Aspley GP John Ryan.

Dr John Ryan had no recollection of his role as trustee of a Moreton Bay election fund.Credit: Tammy Law

Dr Ryan professed ignorance of his involvement in MFT, a position that was contradicted by the testimony of fellow trustee Kirby Leeke and Cr Sutherland, who both testified having spoken to Dr Ryan about the trust.

It remains to be seen what the CCC will do about that, but for his part, Cr Sutherland said he saw the Moreton Futures Trust as a means to keep donations at arm's length.

"I thought, you beauty, a trust and they're paying things; that suits me," he said.

"I was more happy with the second arrangement, although it has obviously produced problems now, but hindsight is a great thing.

"The idea of having an account go here and that account being paid was, I thought, dandy."

Developers were directed to fund Cr Sutherland's campaign through the trust, the commission heard, which had the effect of hiding their contributions from official Electoral Commission of Queensland disclosures.

The Gold Coast

The Liberal Party last ran a team in a Gold Coast City Council election in 2008, when the party's mayoral candidate, Tom Tate, lost to former Olympian Ron Clarke by almost 20,000 votes.

Mr Tate, a life member of the LNP, subsequently won the mayoralty in 2012.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate is a life member of the LNP.Credit: Glenn Hunt

The campaign bruised the party and, neither it, nor the post-amalgamation Liberal National Party, has run endorsed candidates on the glitter strip.

But that's not to say the LNP does not have skin in the game.

Federal LNP member for Fadden, Stuart Robert, was the figurehead for LNP fundraising body the Fadden Forum.

"The Fadden Forum isn't an organisation," he said.

"It doesn't have an ABN. It's not a business. It's simply a name.

"Actually, the Fadden Forum is the Liberal National Party. All funds are banked in the Liberal National Party. I have no control over them whatsoever. I can't spend a cent. I have to seek permission from the state director of the party to spend a cent."

But seek permission he did, and the LNP bankrolled two of his staffers to the tune of $60,000, divided evenly between Kristyn Boulton and Felicity Stevenson.

Both claimed to be oblivious to the Fadden Forum's role in funding their campaigns.

Federal MP Stuart Robert runs the Fadden Forum, an LNP fundraising body.Credit: AAP

Cr Boulton, whose campaign was successful, said she did not know her donations were coming from the LNP, through the Fadden Forum, until after the election.

Ms Stevenson, who did not win election and went back to Mr Robert's employ, contradicted her boss's earlier testimony to say the Fadden Forum was never mentioned to her.

Both also sought the services of former Tony Abbott staffer Simone Holzapfel, whose Shac Communications company was engaged by a number of LNP-aligned candidates, including Cr Tate and city planning chairman Cameron Caldwell.

For his part, Cr Tate defended his "full-on independent" persona.

"You can't just change your belief system there," he said.

"But 'independent' is independent from any influence from party politics, that is, you put the Gold Coast first, and that's what I put to the Gold Coast people.

"... I put it to you this way: some people try to label me 'blue tie', being conservative. My response is that I wear a gold tie, for the Gold Coast."

Ipswich

Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale does not shy away from his 25-year membership of the ALP.

"Yes, I'm a long-term member of the Labor Party, but it has no influence and has not had any influence in regards how I run my job," he told the commission last week.

"People know that I work and my role as the mayor of Ipswich is to represent the city, and to represent the city I need to work at all levels of government, and I need to work with people who are of all political parties, and I do that."

Paul Pisasale says people are well aware of his Labor links.Credit: Chris Hyde

Neither do his deputy, Paul Tully, and councillor Kerry Silver – both Labor Party members and both of whom shared how-to-vote cards with the popular mayor Pisasale.

All three reject suggestions their co-operation and friendliness constituted an illegal electoral group.

Cr Tully said people would "absolutely" want to know if a candidate was a member of a political party.

"In my case, (my Labor Party membership) has been something that has been known for many, many years, often commented on in the local press and media, about my particular membership," he said during his appearance.

"But since 2000, the Labor Party has taken the decision not to endorse candidates in Ipswich and other provincial areas, so that we have, in a formal way, no connection with the Labor Party except for being an individual member."

Brisbane

As for Brisbane City Council, where Labor and the LNP engage in open political warfare, Local Government Association of Queensland Greg Hallam says that should not change.

After giving evidence to the commission on Thursday, Mr Hallam said Brisbane was a "unique case" in local government.

"People are very comfortable voting for parties in Brisbane City Council," he said.

"It's a massive council – we all know it's the largest in Australia – and it operates more like a Parliament in the sense of its political processes and decision-making.

"So Brisbane is unique. The rest of us do it differently."

The CCC's hearing wrapped up on Friday, with chairman Alan MacSporran, QC, to release a report on the outcomes of Operation Belcarra in due course.