Qld election 2020: West End project dogs Trad's campaign
A controversy involving another Labor heavyweight is proving a distraction to former deputy premier Jackie Trad as she battles the odds to retain her inner-city seat.
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A controversial West End development linked to ALP powerbroker Jim Soorley is proving a thorn in Jackie Trad’s side, amid accusations her intervention in the project favoured the developer.
As Ms Trad battles to hold her South Brisbane seat today, which sits on a 3.55 per cent margin, her role in approving Sekisui House’s $800 million West Village in her electorate has come back to haunt her during the campaign.
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The Greens, which polling shows are likely to pick up the seat, have seized on her 2016 decision to call-in and ultimately give conditional approval to the project to accuse her of short-changing the community.
Ms Trad was already facing scrutiny on the campaign trail over her approval of the project as planning minister when it was revealed last week Mr Soorley had been on a retainer as an adviser for a developer working on the project at the time.
Mr Soorley, a supporter of the left-aligned Labor MP, was then being paid on a retainer to give advice, which covered aspects including “sustainability, community engagement and government consultation,” according to developer Stephen Williams, whose company Wingate was engaged by Sekisui to help with the West Village project’s design and approval.
Part of a team of 20 consultants and advisers working to advance the project, Mr Soorley was retained in late 2015 up until mid-2017.
Mr Soorley had deregistered as a lobbyist with the Integrity Commissioner by October 2015 – the same month he took up a $103,000-a-year board role with CS Energy.
Under the Integrity Act, only registered lobbyists can lobby government on behalf of third-party clients and appointees to boards of state-owned companies are prohibited from lobbying work.
Mr Soorley has not responded to questions about his retainer with Wingate, but has told the newspaper on an unrelated matter that he had not lobbied anyone since he deregistered in 2015.
“I have never done any lobbying since I came off the lobbyist register,” he said in September.
Ms Trad did not respond to questions on the West Village project yesterday.
When previously asked whether she had contact with Mr Soorley or any Labor official about West Village, Ms Trad said:
“As planning minister, I only discussed the West Village call-in with independent departmental officers of my agency at the time.”
She did not respond to questions about whether the project was generally discussed.
West End Community Association president Seleneah More said they had hoped the call-in would allay concerns about overdevelopment on the prime site in West End’s main street.
But she now believes the approval favoured the developer.
WECA had appealed the Brisbane City Council’s preliminary approval of the project in May 2016 in the Planning and Environment Court, raising issue with its scale.
The developer had originally asked council to allow buildings of up to 25 storeys, but later dropped the request, with council’s local plan capping heights at 15 storeys.
But the appeal raised other issues with the council approval, including that the proposed site cover of 95 per cent exceeded the 80 per cent allowed under the local plan, along with “insufficient and poor quality” open space.
WECA had already raised a $20,000 fighting fund, engaged a lawyer and expert witnesses, and spent time developing its plan of attack when the call-in was announced.
Ms Trad’s call-in decision immediately killed-off the court appeal, with the project’s fate now solely resting on the Government’s decision, which cannot be overturned.
The Government approved the project with conditions, including a doubling of publicly accessible green space and reduction of site cover from 95 per cent to 80 per cent, in late 2016.
However, it also cleared the way for buildings of up to up to 22 storeys – above the 15 storeys allowed under council’s local plan.
Mr Williams described the changes in the approval as “significant”.
But Ms More said the result was a poor trade-off for the extra building height and overlooked requests for public parkland and a significant public building.
“Our prospects were good and we wanted council to be questioned on how they approved a masterplanned development that had such a lack of detail in the plan,” she said.
“How industry read the call in was interesting. It was (seen) as a favour to the developer because it gave them certainty. No-one wants to go to court.
“I think at the beginning we were hopeful but I’m not sure the outcome delivered more for the community than the developer. I think it was more in favour of the developer.”
Greens councillor for The Gabba ward, which covers South Brisbane, Jonathan Sri had originally requested the call-in, but yesterday said it was a “disappointing” result that benefited the developer.
“When we asked the State Government to call in this development we thought they would deliver more public green space and community facilities and reduce the approved height of the project.
“But instead Jackie’s call in drastically increased the height and density of the project with very little public benefit to the community.”
Originally published as Qld election 2020: West End project dogs Trad's campaign