Queensland state election 2024: Leading developers welcome plans to water down donation ban laws

Top Gold Coast developers have given their views on plans to water down electoral donation laws, which ban the financial contributions from politics.

Top Gold Coast developers have welcomed plans by Opposition Leader David Crisafulli to water down electoral donation laws, which ban the financial contributions from politics.

Mr Crisafulli last week vowed to loosen up the laws, which were introduced as a result of the Operation Belcarra inquiry in 2017, if he is elected as Queensland premier on Saturday.

Mr Crisafulli maintains it’s unfair developers cannot donate to state campaigns while unions can and says he wants to “level the playing field”.

Leading developers Soheil Abedian and Ron Bakir both have welcomed the idea as fair, though both differ on its impact.

Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli pictured visiting and speaking to students from Arcadia College at Robina, also pictured is Hermann Vorster LNP candidate for Burleigh Heads Picture David Clark

“My view is that it is inappropriate to discriminate with those who can and cannot donate,” Mr Bakir, the founder and CEO of Homecorp said.

“What is good for one person is good for another.”

Mr Abedian, the man who built the Q1 and Palazzo Versace supports the principal of having no restrictions but said he would never again be drawn into funding political candidates.

“I strongly believe that democracy has its own foundations and that people should be clear to do whatever they wish to do,” the Sunland founder said.

Ron Bakir, CEO, Homecorp Photo: Regi Varghese

“After the saga we had with Sunland, the board and its members decided to never contribute to any political system again, neither state, federal or local.

“Since then (and since resigning from Sunland after the company was wound down), I have continued to uphold that principal.

“To be honest I think it is a good thing that the industry divides itself from the political system.

“If it is changed, it will be up to each developer as to whether they donate or not but I believe it is better if the independence of the development industry is maintained.”

It was revealed in 2016 that then-LNP federal MP Stuart Robert had given a 2012 speech to parliament defending Sunland, parts of which had been written by a lobbyist for the company, which later made donation to his 2013 re-election.

Soheil Abedian Picture by Richard Gosling

Mr Crisafulli last week said he wanted to wind back the electoral donation ban, which he

described it as “electoral financial gerrymander”.

“Everyone should have the same rules or no one should be able to donate,” the Opposition Leader said.

“At the moment here in the state, you have a situation where every registered union is able to spend a million dollars campaigning against heavily capped environments for political parties.”

He indicated it wouldn’t be an immediate priority if the LNP was elected and did not provide a timeline of when such a move would occur.

He also said any changes would apply purely to the state arena, while bans would remain in place at a local government level where councils deal with development applications.

The reforms were introduced in May 2018 following the public hearings of the Operation Belcarra Crime and Corruption Commission inquiry, which was initiated after the Bulletin published about 60 reports in mid-2016 which exposed an LNP bloc during the independent council election.

Labor’s Meaghan Scanlon. Picture Glenn Hampson

While initially aimed just as the councils, it included the state area too.

Gaven MP Meghan Scanlon said at the time the laws were introduced to improve integrity.

“Queenslanders, including here on the Gold Coast, have seen the CCC’s Belcarra Inquiry, and the questions about donations, developers and integrity it raised,” she told the Bulletin at the time.

“We heard risks associated with councillors accepting donations from property developers, and then voting on development applications from those same donors.

“To ensure that we can have faith in local planning decisions, we’ve reintroduced new laws to prohibit property developer donations at both a local and state government level, because we will not introduce measures on another level of government that we don’t apply to ourselves.”

Then-CCC chair Alan MacSporran QC revealed at the time why developers, and not unions should be banned: “The unions have been forever, as you know, public supporters of the Labor Party openly.

“Their funds are routinely disclosed. We found, as part of our investigation, no evidence that

they were improperly influencing the process.

“What they did was transparent, part of the democratic process and not potentially

corrupt in the sense that we are talking about, as opposed to the perception that is routinely

recognised from developers.”