Stewart McArthur (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the report into the City of Greater Geelong Council by Merv Whelan, Inspector of Municipal Administration. Mr Whelan was commissioned to investigate campaign donations received by City of Greater Geelong councillors for the November 2004 council elections. The terms of reference provided to Mr Whelan were constrained, but a number of important discoveries were made which should be recorded on the parliamentary record.

A brief background to this issue is that the Labor Party in Geelong conspired to elect a number of party hacks to the council for political purposes. Labor councillor David Saunderson, who worked for the upper house Geelong Labor MP John Eren, collected moneys from respected businessmen to allocate to various council candidates. The majority of these candidates were unknown to the donors.

Mr Whelan has recommended that David Saunderson be prosecuted for failing to disclose campaign donations in excess of $500. Councillor Peter McMullin, the current Mayor of Geelong City, originally denied receiving campaign donations. Councillor McMullin, who was the ALP candidate for Corangamite in 2004, has a credibility problem, because Mr Whelan found he effectively received a $5,000 loan for his election campaign from the Saunderson fund, which Councillor McMullin later repaid in full.

Further investigation is required into Mr McMullin’s involvement in the matter and that of John Eren, the upper house member, who allowed his staffer to collect the money and meet with candidates in his office. I call on the Victorian government to fully investigate this local Labor scandal— (Time expired)