By Royce Millar, Nick McKenzie and Age Investigative Unit
PLANNING Minister Matthew Guy's contentious rezoning of farmland on Phillip Island last year followed the intervention of Liberal elder Rob Maclellan on behalf of a family friend.
Government and property industry sources have told The Age that Mr Maclellan contacted Mr Guy's office ahead of the minister's surprise decision to override Bass Coast Council and give the green light to housing on a 23-hectare property at the tiny hamlet of Ventnor.
Rob Maclellan.Credit: Ray Kennedy
Mr Maclellan's approaches to Mr Guy's office on behalf of developer and Liberal Party member Jim Hopkins - a family friend of Mr Maclellan's - raise fresh questions for Mr Guy about possible political influence on his decision-making.
The minister's office was contacted at least twice by Mr Maclellan on behalf of Mr Hopkins and his wife Carley Nicholls, who at the time was planning to purchase the seaside property.
Matthew Guy.Credit: Michael Clayton-Jones
Mr Maclellan, a planning minister in the Kennett government, is regarded among Liberals as a mentor to Mr Guy. He retired from Parliament in 2002.
After taking office in November 2010, Mr Guy appointed Mr Maclellan's top adviser from the late 1990s, Meg Bartel, as his chief of staff.
In late August, and at Mr Hopkins' request, Mr Maclellan contacted Ms Bartel, asking her to inquire about the progress of the rezoning request.
When Mr Hopkins became anxious that the approval may not be made before a September 8 sale contract deadline, Mr Maclellan made a fresh personal approach to Mr Guy's office on behalf of the developer.
Days later, on September 8, Mr Guy rejected the findings of two independent planning panels and signed off on a departmental recommendation to approve the rezoning.
He initially justified his Phillip Island intervention on the grounds of housing affordability, and the fact that a planning consultant had requested the rezoning on behalf of long-time owner John Cadogan.
Seasoned political observers, including his own colleagues and senior planning lawyers, have told The Age that the rationale for the decision was unconvincing.
Mr Guy was forced into a backflip days later after a high-profile local protest, including celebrity tweets from actor Miley Cyrus, and internal pressure from his own state and federal Liberal colleagues, including local federal MP Greg Hunt.
Last month The Age revealed that the developers' lawyer, Louis Coutts, had initiated a court action against Mr Guy alleging that the minister, by reversing his decision, had abandoned proper process and succumbed to backroom pressure from Liberal heavyweights.
In his statement to the court, Mr Coutts says Ms Nicholls agreed to an unconditional purchase of the Ventnor property in early September only after being assured by minister's office that the rezoning would proceed.
Yesterday, Mr Coutts downplayed the significance of Mr Maclellan's involvement and said that any suggestion of impropriety was without substance. He said that the more serious issue was Mr Guy's decision to walk away from his initial approval.
Mr Guy has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about contact between his office and Mr Maclellan over Ventnor. When The Age first put questions to him in October, his office ignored them. This week he said he could not answer questions because of the legal action by Ms Nicholls.
Both Mr Maclellan and Ms Bartel refused to comment on the Ventnor matter.
Ms Bartel left Mr Guy's office
last year. Government sources insist she had only intended to work for the minister for a brief period to help him settle into the difficult planning portfolio.
Today's revelations about Mr Maclellan's phone calls to Ms Bartel are further evidence of networks of Liberal influence both for and against the Ventnor rezoning and could increase pressure on Mr Guy over his handling of sensitive planning matters.
Mr Maclellan is a long-term resident of San Remo, a seaside town that neighbours Phillip Island. He was well known to Mr Hopkins' father Don, the region's only GP for many years. Jim Hopkins is also well known to local Liberal MP and lower house speaker Ken Smith, who backed the Ventnor rezoning.