By Cara Waters
Lord Mayor Nick Reece accepted a donation from one of the financiers behind a proposed 57-storey tower in Arden, despite promising not to take funding from developers in the City of Melbourne.
Rich-lister Sidney Myer is one of the names behind a proposal, lodged this week with the state government, for a 609-apartment tower that would stand at three times the agreed height limit for the area.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece accepted a $5000 donation from Sidney Myer. Credit: Penny Stephens
But just a day after the plans were made public, there was already uncertainty over the development, with details removed from a government website for not complying with mandatory planning requirements.
Myer donated $5000 to the “Team Nick Reece” electoral campaign, raising a potential conflict for the lord mayor, his deputy, Roshena Campbell, and councillors Kevin Louey and Mark Scott, in making any decisions involving the proposed tower and nearby developments.
However, as the Arden precinct is one of the state’s new activity centres, the government will make the final decision on the application. The City of Melbourne will be able to provide guidance.
A consortium comprising KordaMentha Real Estate and Goldhill Junction Pty Ltd is financing the proposed development. Goldhill’s directors are Sidney Myer, Rupert Myer and Samantha Baillieu.
Reece previously weighed in on plans for the Arden precinct, flagging concerns in July about the Arden area falling into the hands of one major developer, and warning that the City of Melbourne had spent the past three decades pouring money into correcting major government planning failures at Southbank and Docklands.
“It costs a fortune,” he said at the time. “Southbank and Docklands are two of the most vibrant areas of the City of Melbourne, but I think everyone would agree that some major mistakes were made in the early planning for those two areas.”
Reece warned of the risk of a “cookie cutter” approach to Arden’s development.
Reece has come under scrutiny after accepting tens of thousands of dollars from donors with property interests in the City of Melbourne, including some with pending developments.
He promised he would not allow property developers within the City of Melbourne to bankroll his mayoral campaign. He argued last week that he had honoured that pledge by asking donors to sign a declaration stating they weren’t developers.
The declaration said: “I would like my donation to benefit Nicholas Reece’s 2024 Lord Mayoral campaign, and I understand that if the donation is $500 or higher, it will be disclosed in the return, which will be lodged with the CEO of the City of Melbourne after the election is held. I confirm that I am not a director or officer of a corporation engaged in a business that directly profits from the development of land or property in the City of Melbourne, tobacco industry business entity or gambling industry business entity.”
The Age has asked to see those forms, but Reece has so far declined to provide them. He refused to provide a copy of any form signed by Myer, and The Age has no evidence to suggest Myer or any other donor actually signed such a form.
Reece raised $950,484 for his campaign – three times the amount of predecessor Sally Capp for her final campaign – from a who’s who of Melbourne, including wealthy business people, trade unions and developers.
Sidney Myer donated $5000 to the Team Nick Reece campaign.
Sidney Myer is the patriarch of a retail dynasty – the Myer family – and a member of the Order of Australia.
He is chairman of the family’s private investment vehicle, Myer Family Investments, chair of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Foundation and a director of the Myer family’s Yulgilbar Group of Companies, which owns agricultural businesses the Quarter Horse Stud, Santa Gertrudis Stud No.13, Elgee Park Wines and the Merricks General Wine Store.
The Age is not suggesting any impropriety in relation to the donation, only that it raises questions about potential conflicts of interest for councillors who benefited from the donation.
Reece and Myer did not respond to requests for comment or specific queries about whether Myer had signed the declaration that he was not a developer in the City of Melbourne.
Reece reiterated that his donors had agreed to the disclosure declaration, which was a “voluntary measure that exceeded electoral donation law requirements”.
“I support reform of campaign finance arrangements for local government and am committed to working with my newly elected fellow councillors and the Victorian government to achieve this,” he said.
Campbell, Louey and Scott did not respond to a request for comment on how they would manage the potential conflict of interest from the donation.
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