Ex-Casey councillor’s shock claim about meeting with developer
In a 2018 meeting with developer John Woodman former Casey councillor Amanda Stapledon was promised his lobbyist would try to smooth her passage to mayor. But now Stapledon says she has some regrets about the meeting.
VIC News
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Former Casey councillor Amanda Stapledon approached developer John Woodman as part of her campaign to become mayor in 2018.
Showing the extraordinary influence the Ferrari-driving developer had over the running of Casey Council, Ms Stapledon insisted she didn’t seek the meeting with Mr Woodman to directly secure his support, but she did leave the meeting with the understanding he would back her.
Ms Stapledon also conceded she had failed to comply with obligations under local government laws, by meddling in a planning decision that she had identified as a conflict of interest.
She told an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiry into Casey Council developments and political donations that at a 2018 meeting in a cafe, Mr Woodman promised his lobbyist Lorraine Wreford would try to smooth her passage to mayor by speaking to another councillor.
“It was a form of support but it wasn’t an intended outcome,” she said.
“I should never have done it.”
Ms Stapledon had a conflict of interest with Mr Woodman, declared after she received $25,000 in donations when running for state parliament in 2014.
Mr Woodman told IBAC last year Ms Stapledon had requested the donation, but Ms Stapledon said the money was “offered”.
When asked what influence Mr Woodman, who is the director of Watsons Pty Ltd, would have over the outcome of the vote for mayor, Ms Stapledon said: “I think he had some influence over Mr Aziz at that stage”.
But Ms Stapledon insisted that she had no inkling that there was a corrupt relationship between Mr Woodman and Mr Aziz, and that she didn’t think the developer wanted anything from her in return for his donations.
“I didn’t get that impression,” she said.
Last year, the IBAC probe revealed Mr Aziz had received about $900,000 from Mr Woodman, which was allegedly designed to secure his support for Woodman-related projects.
Mr Aziz denies the payments were bribes.
Ms Stapledon was grilled about her involvement in an intersection upgrade at Hall Road in Cranbourne West, which favoured Mr Woodman’s interests and which was put forward by Mr Aziz.
She said she had continued to be involved in the issue despite leaving council meetings and declaring a conflict.
“I stepped into areas I shouldn’t have stepped into,” she said.
Counsel assisting the hearing, Amber Harris, said her declarations of conflict were misleading.
“You didn’t comply with your obligations under the Local Government Act, that’s correct?” Ms Harris said.
“Yes,” Ms Stapledon said.
A recording of a phone conversation between Mr Woodman and his son, Heath Woodman, was played to the IBAC hearing in which the Mr Woodman senior said Ms Stapledon was “100 per cent behind us”.
Ms Stapledon said Mr Woodman would have to answer why he said that to his son.
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