By Royce Millar
Allegedly corrupt property developer John Woodman is preparing to strike back at Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog as part of a group claiming to be “victims” of the agency’s Operation Sandon probe of land deals in Melbourne’s south-east.
On Friday, an emailed media release linked to the address of sacked former Casey mayor Susan Serey announced a press conference on Monday afternoon “led” by Woodman, who is described as one of the “targets” of Operation Sandon.
John Woodman on his bike on St Kilda Road. Credit: The Age
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) tabled its Operation Sandon report on Thursday, which found Woodman made more than $1 million in payments to former Casey mayors and Liberal Party members Sam Aziz and Geoff Ablett – including cash payments in suitcases and shopping bags – in return for support for lucrative planning decisions.
A later email announced that Aziz would also attend the press conference with Woodman and that Serey was the group’s main contact point.
Sandon found Woodman sought to influence state planning decisions, showering Labor and the Liberals with donations and political spending totalling almost $1 million over nine years – the bulk of it never disclosed – and targeting local MPs and candidates from both major parties.
Woodman and associates funded the campaigns of multiple councillors and parliamentary candidates, including more than $30,000 to Serey across the 2014 and 2018 state election campaigns when she ran as a Liberal candidate.
Susan Serey fights back tears at a Casey council meeting in 2020. The council was about to be sacked.Credit: Justin McManus
She was among a group of political and business figures that IBAC made adverse comments about in the Sandon report.
The press release purports to be on behalf of “a group of victims whose lives have been ruined forever by IBAC’s reckless and dishonest actions during Operation Sandon”.
“The purpose of the media conference is to expose IBAC’s own misconduct in this matter, which has led to many devastating outcomes for the witnesses.”
The release then refers to the “tragic suicide” of former Casey mayor Amanda Stapledon who took her own life in early 2022 while she was being investigated as part of the Sandon inquiry.
In June, the coroner David Ryan criticised IBAC over its dealings with Stapledon and recommended a review of the agency’s policies. The press release says that previously unseen evidence relating to the Sandon inquiry would be made public.
“We believe that the presentation of this Special Report constitutes contempt of the Victorian parliament due to its misleading content,” says the release.
The release says “witnesses” other than Woodman “may also be present”.
“This group has been established to shine the light on the trauma of being an IBAC target, and the extent to which the lives of ordinary Victorians are destroyed as a result of IBAC’s reckless dishonesty and negligent conduct of public examinations,” says the release.
But rather than rein in IBAC, integrity experts say the Operation Sandon report shows the watchdog needs wider, not less power.
They point out the careful wording of the Sandon report highlights how the agency is hamstrung compared, for instance, to its equivalent ICAC in NSW.
Corruption is defined differently in the two states. The NSW definition is broader and includes conduct of a public official involving dishonesty or a breach of public trust.
“The Operation Sandon report shows why we need IBAC to have the power to investigate and expose corruption in Victoria and currently its ability to do so in Victoria isn’t sufficiently broad,” said Centre for Public Integrity research director Catherine Williams.
IBAC chose not to comment in response to news of Monday’s press conference.
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