Leighton Properties executive told to increase consultant payments or see rezoning ‘pulled’
An anti-corruption inquiry into development decisions at Casey Council has heard a property executive seeking to have land rezoned was told to double the consultant’s retainer or the “rezoning would be pulled”.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A senior executive at a property giant wanting land rezoned in Melbourne’s southeast told an anti-corruption inquiry the company was strongarmed into doubling payments to one of John Woodman’s consultants.
Thomas Kenessey was in charge of Leighton Properties’ controversial bid to rezone land in Cranbourne West from industrial to residential — which has been a focus of an Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption probe into development decisions at Casey Council.
He told an IBAC hearing Mr Woodman had been brought on board in 2014 to help Leighton get the rezoning through council.
Mr Woodman has been accused during the IBAC inquiry of paying bribes to councillors so they would back the plan.
Mr Kenessey said in 2017, he was told by Mr Woodman to double property consultant Megan Schutz’s retainer from $10,000 a month to $20,000 a month or the “rezoning would be pulled”.
He described the demand as one of a number of “strongarm events” Mr Woodman had pulled in the years he was involved in the redevelopment.
Asked if Mr Woodman’s demand amounted to extortion, Mr Kenessey replied that if it hadn’t paid it was made clear the rezoning would be at risk.
“We felt like we had no choice,” he said.
Mr Kenessey said at a February 2014 meeting with Mr Woodman, Leighton had authorised him to begin talks with councillors about whether they would be amenable to consider a rezoning.
But he said he was unaware that a day before that meeting, Mr Woodman sent an email to Casey councillors Sam Aziz, Geoff Ablett and Amanda Stapledon outlining a draft resolution for Casey to authorise exploration of the rezoning with the owners. The resolution was moved by Cr Aziz as “urgent business” and passed by the council at a closed meeting on the same day as Mr Woodman met with Leighton.
It wasn’t until a week later that Leighton actually wrote to the council requesting the rezoning.
At the time Mr Woodman was acting for the Kelly family, which owned land adjacent to Leighton’s holdings, but the company did not sign a contract with him until late 2014 when the rezoning bid was well under way.
The IBAC hearings also heard on Thursday from Casey Council chief executive Glenn Patterson, who conceded he had failed to declare he was taken to an AFL match by a man who had a business relationship with the son of John Woodman.
Last month, the Andrews Government sacked the councillors and installed an administrator, who Mr Patterson is working with to implement reforms at Casey.
RELATED
QUESTIONS LINGER AS STATE HONCHOS SWEAT