Simone Holzapfel’s PR, lobbying firm Shac Communications in administration over tax debt

The PR and lobbying firm at the centre of the contentious 2016 Gold Coast City Council elections has been wound up by a court and placed under external administration over unpaid tax.

Lobbyist Simone Holzapfel’s Shac Communications company have landed themselves in administration over a large tax debt.

THE PR and lobbying firm at the centre of the contentious 2016 Gold Coast City Council elections has been wound up by a court and placed under external administration over unpaid tax.

Liquidator Brad Hellen of Pilot Partners has been appointed to Shac Communications, which owed $129,277 in outstanding business tax and interest, court documents show.

The company has also been removed from the NSW, Queensland and Australian Government lobbyist registers.

The court found Shac was insolvent after sole director Simone Holzapfel was given 21 days from May to pay its tax bill, but had not done so.

It is unknown whether the company has other creditors and Ms Holzapfel did not return calls yesterday.

The company run by Ms Holzapfel, whose clients have included casino proponents ASF Group, Rheem, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and six candidates in the Gold Coast City Council elections, has been struggling for much of the year.

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Lobbyist Simone Holzapfel arrives for a hearing at the Crime and Corruption Commission in Brisbane, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

It previously failed in 2013, after its name had been changed from Shac to Coolabird, collapsing with debts of $437,000, including $338,812 to the Australian Taxation Office.

In mid-2013, while her company was failing and she was working in Mayor Tom Tate’s office, Ms Holzapfel donated $114,000 in 12 payments to Fadden MP Stuart Robert’s “Fadden Forum’’ ahead of the federal election.

Shac consulted for six Gold Coast council candidates for the 2016 election, including Mr Robert’s former staffers Felicity Stevenson and Kristyn Boulton, whose campaigns each received $30,000 donations from the Fadden Forum.

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Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, October 25, 2018.

Ms Holzapfel was called as a witness at a Crime and Corruption Commission hearing last year for her involvement in the elections, however, there is no suggestion she engaged in any criminal or corrupt conduct.

The former lobbyist was also involved in campaigning for the new Tweed Hospital to be built at Bob Ell’s $5 billion Kings Forest development, creating a website for the campaign and driving journalists around the development site on behalf of Mr Ell.

Court documents reveal she and her husband took out a $1.75 million loan against their home and put it towards a $1.2 million debt to billionaire Mr Ell.

The current iteration of Ms Holzapfel’s company, Shac Communications, was created with her as sole director and shareholder in 2012.

The former office of Shac Communications and Robinson Prospect at Mariners Cove. Photo: Supplied

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It scaled down its operations this year, moving from larger premises at Bundall and losing the bulk of its staff.

It was sharing office space at Mariners Cove, owned by Sunland, with her husband Matt Robinson’s development company Robinson Prospect, which was deregistered by ASIC on July 8.