Sacked councillors on Casey comeback trail

Defiant former councillors in Melbourne’s south-east who were sacked amid one of Victoria’s worst corruption scandals are eyeing council comebacks in this year’s local elections.

Three former councillors confirmed they are considering standing, another is not ruling it out and sources said a fifth was a likely contender to run for Casey Council, which oversees one of the largest and fastest-growing municipalities in the country.

Then-mayor Susan Serey wipes away tears at Casey Council’s last meeting after the council was sacked in 2020.Credit: Justin McManus

But prospective candidates have warned that because of the failure to prosecute key players in the land scandal, state authorities risk making a circus of a returned council in Casey.

In rare public comments, Susan Serey, who was mayor of the City of Casey at the time of the 2020 sacking, urged all of her former colleagues to nominate for the October council election.

“I hope that if any of the former councillors are alive and haven’t committed suicide, that all of them run and reclaim the city back to [sic] the people,” Serey wrote in a text message to The Age.

Her mention of suicide was a reference to the death of former mayor Amanda Stapledon in January 2022 during the investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

The state government sacked the council in 2020 after IBAC’s Operation Sandon – triggered by reporting by The Age – found that developer John Woodman sought to sway council planning decisions through private payments and/or campaign donations.

Woodman was so effective in winning influence over the councillors that Michael Tovey, KC, the counsel assisting IBAC, described them at 2019 public hearings as “puppets”.

IBAC found that “as a group, councillors in Casey Council exhibited and tolerated behaviour that did not meet the standards required of them”.

However, not all the then-councillors were named in the Sandon report. Two of them, Rex Flannery and Timothy Jackson, resigned before the February 2020 sacking.

IBAC does not have the authority to make findings of criminal conduct. When IBAC tabled the Sandon report in July last year, then-acting IBAC Commissioner Stephen Farrow said the watchdog would refer evidence to the Office of Public Prosecutions.

Sam Aziz (left), John Woodman and Geoff Ablett.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

Yet after more than five years of investigations, explosive public evidence before IBAC and the release of the Sandon report, none of the key players in the Casey scandal have been charged or convicted of any offence.

That leaves all former councillors free to recontest this year’s election.

Among those likely to contest the October poll is former deputy mayor and ALP member Wayne Smith, one of the then-councillors IBAC found had benefited from Woodman campaign donations, but who had repeatedly failed to declare conflicts of interest when dealing with the Woodman-related projects. Smith told IBAC that he was unaware of the developments in which Woodman had an interest.

“There’s a good chance I will run,” said Smith who, while confident he would not be prosecuted, said he wanted this made “official”. He called on IBAC to clarify who, if anyone, was to be charged, well before this year’s election. “My life has been put on hold in terms of lots of things,” he said.

IBAC found that Woodman donated about $1.2 million – including cash in suitcases and shopping bags – to former Casey mayors Sam Aziz and Geoff Ablett, in return for their support for lucrative planning decisions.

The Age approached Ablett about the possibility of nominating for this year’s elections, but he did not respond. Aziz could not be contacted.

But one-time Liberal MP and former councillor Gary Rowe confirmed he was a possible candidate despite IBAC finding he had also failed to declare Woodman donations.

In 2020 Rowe told an IBAC hearing he did not believe he needed to declare $10,000 in donations because they were made up of multiple proceeds from tickets sold to an event under the then-$500 disclosure threshold.

Asked if he should have declared the money, Rowe responded: “Perhaps in hindsight.” Later Rowe said: “I’m sorry if I’ve done something wrong.”

“Yes, I’m considering it [running],” he said.

Rowe also called for clarity about what action might still be pending against former councillors.

“If I was really keen on running I would like that [the IBAC issues] resolved,” he said. “I certainly would not run to be part of a circus.”

Former councillor Rosalie Crestani – a member of the far-right Rise Up Australia Party before it was deregistered in 2019 – said she was “not ruling out” standing again. “It’s a decision that’s sitting with me at the moment and that I’m keeping to myself.”

IBAC’s then-acting commissioner, Stephen Farrow (left), and deputy commissioner David Wolf after Operation Sandon was tabled to parliament in July last year.Credit: Wayne Taylor

Former councillor Rex Flannery, who was not mentioned in the Sandon report and was not accused of wrongdoing, confirmed he was on the comeback trail. “I want to run again. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

He said he was concerned by the lack of action against individuals who had damaged Casey’s reputation through the land scandal. “If IBAC let those involved in alleged corruption walk from this uncharged, I will be devastated,” he said.

“If they’re going to charge someone, charge them now.”

Multiple Liberal Party sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also tipped that former councillor and Liberal Party member Damien Rosario was preparing to run in October, noting his recent prominence at community functions.

He was not named in the Sandon report or accused of wrongdoing. The Age has approached Rosario for comment.

IBAC found that former mayor Serey was the recipient of tens of thousands of dollars in Woodman campaign donations, including when she stood as a Liberal candidate at two state elections, but that she had repeatedly failed to declare conflicts of interest when dealing with Woodman projects.

In the Sandon report IBAC noted that Serey was among the councillors who claimed ignorance of the parties who would be affected by planning decisions and “of the source of donations that gave rise to a conflict of interest”.

She would not confirm whether she was preparing to stand in the council election.

An IBAC spokesperson said: “IBAC will not be making public comment about any referrals to the OPP in this investigation.”

The Local Government Act disqualifies council hopefuls convicted of a range of offences, including failure to lodge election campaign returns. However, none of the former Casey councillors have been charged or convicted despite allegations of a myriad offences against the act.

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