BuzzFeed News has also reported on Russo’s personal access to the prime minister and senior government ministers, and the eye-watering $600 million contract she won in 2015, which led to her expanding from 25 Australian offices to 95 in the space of 90 days.
Showing posts with label political donations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label political donations. Show all posts
Sunday 5 February 2017
The Turnbull Government doesn't even bother to pretend it cares about an individual's privacy anymore
Buzz Feed, 25 January 2017:
According to the Herald Sun, in May a contractor had stumbled upon the open dumpster outside the recently closed Melbourne office belonging to self-dubbed “job queen” and Liberal donor Sarina Russo.
The open dumpster was overflowing with thousands of jobseekers’ confidential files which, according to the report, included, “bank details, phone numbers, home addresses, employment histories and education records”.
It was outside the government-contracted agency of Queensland businesswoman Sarina Russo, who in recent weeks has been thrust into the limelight for her cosy relationship with the most senior members of the federal government.
Sussan Ley was forced to resign when it emerged she’d been flouting the generous politicians’ expenses system, including charging the taxpayer for attending Russo’s opulent NYE parties.
BuzzFeed News has also reported on Russo’s personal access to the prime minister and senior government ministers, and the eye-watering $600 million contract she won in 2015, which led to her expanding from 25 Australian offices to 95 in the space of 90 days.
BuzzFeed News has also reported on Russo’s personal access to the prime minister and senior government ministers, and the eye-watering $600 million contract she won in 2015, which led to her expanding from 25 Australian offices to 95 in the space of 90 days.
At the time of the dumpster incident, employment minister Michaelia Cash ……announced her department would launch an investigation into how the confidential data had found its way onto the footpath.
Responding to a request from BuzzFeed News about the results of the departmental “investigation”, a spokesperson said the matter was now resolved, with the blunder blamed on “human error”.
Tuesday 24 January 2017
While Trump pleads for money ACLU receives six times its annual donations in a single day
The Committee to Defend the President (a project of the Republican Stop Hillary Hybrid PAC1 which raised money to assist Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign) is again seeking donations and expressions of support for Trump:
Mirror UK, 29 January 2017:
Donald Trump's presidency is under attack from the crooked media - that was the bizarre message beamed into millions of homes last night, urging supporters to call a phone number to help.
The vaguely sinister advert warns Trump's agenda to tear up the Affordable Healthcare Act, slash taxes for corporations and spend billions of US taxpayers cash are under "vicious attack".
In a shouty, robotic voice, it insists: "They think they are going to destroy Trump's Presidency - but THEY ARE WRONG."
It goes on to claim Democrats are setting up a "war room" to undermine the President, but doesn't really explain what that means.
And in a tone reminiscent of a TV infomercial, it warns "time is running out" and urges people to call a toll free number to prove Trump has the "overwhelming support of the American people."
Video of the deeply weird clip quickly spread on social media with confused Americans questioning why a sitting President appeared to be in campaign mode…..
You may think Donald Trump isn't a candidate any more, but you'd be wrong.
On the day of Trump's inauguration, he registered with the Federal Elections Committee as a candidate in the 2020 Presidential election. He's legally running for re-election already.
Is that unusual?
Yep. Nobody's ever registered as a candidate in the next election before their Presidency has started in the history of the United States.
Image found at @resisterhood
The Hill, 30 January 2017:
The American Civil Liberties Union received more than $24 million in donations over the weekend after the ACLU sued over President Trump’s executive order blocking refugees and people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The donations are roughly six times what the ACLU normally receives in one year, CNN reported.
About 356,306 people contributed $24,164,691 to the organization this weekend, CNN reported.
A spokesman said the group ran “one last set of numbers” at the end of the night on Sunday that brought the total to more than $24.1 million, CNN reported.
Officials have called the swift rise in donations “unprecedented.” An organization official, in an interview in CNN, had just one word to describe the rise in donations: “Wow.”
The organization is also reporting a rise in membership since the start of the Trump administration.
Yahoo News reported ACLU membership rose from 400,000 to more than 1 million since the election.
NOTES:
1. The Stop Hillary PAC was one of three co-filing a lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in December 2016, seeking to stop the Wisconsin vote recount after the November 2016 presidential election.
Labels:
Donald Trump,
political donations,
political probity
Thursday 15 December 2016
Yet another attempt to reform Australia's political donation rules set for 2017
ABC News, 7 December 2016:
Declared donations and payments to Australian political parties is about to top $1 billion, a new analysis of data shows.
But the true figure could be triple that because donations under $13,200 do not have to be declared.
"It's very hard to know because disclosure laws in Australia are very opaque, they're not transparent," Monash University's Dr Charles Livingstone said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was twice or three times as much as been declared, at least."
Dr Livingstone has studied political donations and in particular how donations made by the gambling industry have influenced public policy.
He says the current laws are "corrupt, they're opaque and they undermine democracy".
The new database has been compiled by The Greens from donations and payments declared to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) between 1998 and 2015.
The current funding and disclosure scheme has been in place since the 1984 election, but the electoral commission website only publishes returns from 1998 onwards.
An analysis by the ABC shows tracing the source of the donations is also difficult, because more than 20 per cent of the money was funnelled through organisations called associated entities.
Labor and The Greens are expected to push for reforms to political donation laws when Parliament resumes next year.
They want a ban on foreign donations and for all donations above $1,000 to be declared…..
Donations and payments declared to the AEC between 1998 and 2015 have been collated into a central, searchable database.
It includes receipts for $994,822,181 in donations and other payments called "other receipts" or "subscriptions".
The largest corporate donors over the 17-year period were:
Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd — $21,664,196
One of Clive Palmer's companies, now in liquidation, has donated to his own political party and to the Liberal and National parties.
Mineralogy Pty Ltd — $14,692,636
Another of Clive Palmer's companies that made significant donations to his own party and to the Liberal and National parties, despite reporting consecutive losses to the ASX.
Village Roadshow Limited — $5,022,263
The company made large payments to both the Labor and Liberal parties while lobbying for a crackdown on digital piracy.
Pratt Holdings — $4,609,733
Linked to Melbourne's well-connected Pratt family who made their fortune with Visy Industries, a paper, packaging and recycling company.
The most generous industries over the 17-year period were:
The property industry — $64,099,161
Financial and insurance industries — $37,078,539
Pharmaceutical/health — $12,625,078
In terms of total donations, the most generous individuals were:
Lord Michael Ashcroft — $1,772,938
A conservative UK businessman who has donated to the Liberal Party in Australia.
Graeme Wood — $1,680,795
A digital entrepreneur and environmentalist who has donated to The Greens.
Henry Ray Gillham — $1,035,900
A Queensland grazier who stood as a candidate for the Citizens Electoral Council in the 2004 federal election, but forgot to fill in his own ballot paper correctly. His donations were all to the CEC……
The searchable database Democracy 4 Sale was established in 2002 and was expanded this year. It now contains all donation receipts reported to the AEC since 1998 and includes donations which were declared by the donor but not the party.
Labels:
political donations,
political probity
Thursday 24 November 2016
Is president-elect Donald J Trump likely to enter the White House with a large personal debt?
He may be a single digit billionaire but this is not the sort of money U.S. president-elect Donald J. Trump can expect to find down the back of one of his Fifth Avenue sofas – so where will the US$47.5 million come from to pay back these loans declared below?
Did he borrow from his own companies to help fund his election campaign or did he borrow elsewhere?
Will he go the way of many a suspect politician and decide to quietly 'sell' petitioners access to himself as president after 20 January 2017? After all, Trump obviously sees himself as a businessman first and a president second.
Campaign contributions to DONALD J. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT, INC. from individuals totaled US$85,958,458 and Donald Trump’s own contribution was an additional US$8,599,568.
US$47,508,505 of his campaign funding was money he borrowed or loans which he has guaranteed, with candidate loan repayments to date totaling zero.
Total receipts were US$254,946,267.78 and total disbursements US$238,951,814.21 (specific outlays listed here).
Cash on hand as of 19 October 2016 was US$15,994,454.
Donald J. Trump For President, Inc. owes US$2,086,572 and to date has had to refund contributions totaling US$ 406,776. As of 20 November the US Federal Election Commission has notified the campaign treasurer that there have been potential violations of electoral law totaling tens of thousands of dollars in excessive, prohibited and impermissable contributions which are required to be refunded to contributors.
[See: http://docquery.fec.gov/pres//2016/12G/C00580100.html and http://docquery.fec.gov/pres//2016/12G/C00580100/A_STATE_C00580100.html]
Political donations to the Trump campaign by state
STATE
|
SUM
|
Alaska
|
24,726.00
|
Alabama
|
100,475.00
|
Arkansas
|
41,311.00
|
Arizona
|
128,119.00
|
California
|
528,053.00
|
Colorado
|
97,902.00
|
Connecticut
|
51,435.00
|
District of Columbia
|
11,200.00
|
Delaware
|
14,650.00
|
Florida
|
518,009.75
|
Georgia
|
179,845.96
|
Hawaii
|
15,434.00
|
Iowa
|
54,717.00
|
Idaho
|
24,212.00
|
Illinois
|
142,379.38
|
Indiana
|
60,830.00
|
Kansas
|
53,343.00
|
Kentucky
|
52,057.00
|
Louisiana
|
98,470.00
|
Massachusetts
|
82,895.00
|
Maryland
|
78,154.98
|
Maine
|
12,674.00
|
Michigan
|
141,878.00
|
Minnesota
|
44,339.00
|
Missouri
|
70,822.00
|
Mississippi
|
38,400.00
|
Montana
|
16,224.00
|
North Carolina
|
114,228.00
|
North Dakota
|
15,542.00
|
Nebraska
|
27,560.44
|
New Hampshire
|
18,380.00
|
New Jersey
|
117,382.00
|
New Mexico
|
46,055.00
|
Nevada
|
80,581.08
|
New York
|
225,577.55
|
Ohio
|
134,695.77
|
Oklahoma
|
76,169.00
|
Oregon
|
46,016.00
|
Pennsylvania
|
149,508.03
|
Puerto Rico
|
500.00
|
Rhode Island
|
7,846.00
|
South Carolina
|
75,422.00
|
South Dakota
|
10,569.00
|
Tennessee
|
100,885.00
|
Texas
|
583,537.40
|
Utah
|
39,237.00
|
Virginia
|
181,666.00
|
Virgin Islands
|
250.00
|
Vermont
|
4,534.00
|
Washington
|
131,435.07
|
Wisconsin
|
44,838.00
|
West Virginia
|
12,580.00
|
Wyoming
|
17,904.00
|
Generated Thu Oct 27 21:35:10 2016
Monday 3 October 2016
Stuart Robert MP - the archetypal Liberal Party politician
Stuart Rowland Robert, Liberal MP for Fadden (QLD) since 2007, is truly the archetypal Liberal Party politician - in parliament for his own personal financial advancement, less than transparent about his investments and business connections or gifts he receives, as well as being quite comfortable with those dodgy political donations schemes operating at state and federal level.
The Australian, 30 September 2016:
A well-connected lobbyist gave more than $110,000 of her “own money’’ to the fundraising entity of federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert as her company was being wound up with unpaid debts.
Simone Holzapfel, a former longtime adviser to Tony Abbott, owed more than $430,000, including $355,000 to the Australian Taxation Office, when she donated $114,000 in 12 separate payments to Mr Robert’s “Fadden Forum’’ in mid-2013, ahead of the federal election.
Ms Holzapfel was then a lobbyist for Gold Coast developer Sunland Group, now at the centre of the latest controversy to embroil Mr Robert, the Gold Coast MP sacked last year from the Turnbull ministry.
Months before the donations were made, Mr Robert had defended Sunland in parliament over its involvement in the detention of two Australians in Dubai, with a speech largely lifted from briefing notes supplied by Ms Holzapfel.
The notes had been sent to both Mr Robert and Mr Abbott’s chief of staff, Peta Credlin, on the morning of the November 26, 2012, speech to parliament.
It can also be revealed that Ms Holzapfel sent the notes to Mr Robert and Ms Credlin while working as Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate’s media officer.
She left the council in February 2013 to pursue “commercial ventures’’ and reboot lobbying and PR company Shac, which had been set up in 2005.
The $114,000 donation in 2013 and Mr Robert’s bankrolling of “independent’’ candidates ahead of the Gold Coast council elections in March this year — as revealed by The Australian — are now part of an investigation by Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission.
Ms Holzapfel has previously told The Australian the donations were her “own money’’ and rejected suggestions she had given the money to Mr Robert’s Fadden Forum on behalf of clients.
“I donated because I wanted my former boss (Mr Abbott) to become prime minister, and that is my right to do,’’ she said then.
It has now been confirmed that at the time of making the donations — between July and September 2013 — Ms Holzapfel’s company was in external administration, with $437,000 in debt.
Ms Holzapfel was the sole director of the company, Coolabird, which had changed its name from Shac months earlier and was eventually wound up.
Administrators confirmed yesterday that the company had debts of $437,000 when it was put into liquidation, including a debt of $355,000 to the ATO……
The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 September 2016:
A speech Turnbull government MP Stuart Robert gave to Parliament defending the Gold Coast property developer Sunland was substantially written by the lead lobbyist for the company.
Fairfax Media can reveal that former Tony Abbott staffer-turned-developer-lobbyist Simone Holzapfel was the true author of whole sections of the speech that Mr Robert delivered in November 2012.
Ms Holzapfel wrote a four-page defence of Sunland after a November 17 newspaper article scrutinised the company's dispute with an Australian man who spent five years trapped in a legal nightmare in Dubai.
Seven sections of that response - provided to various government officials and obtained by Fairfax Media - subsequently found their way into Mr Robert's adjournment debate speech on November 26.
Ms Holzapfel's words make up more than half of the speech.
Mr Robert has refused to comment on the revelation, which once again puts the spotlight on his connections with Sunland. Mr Robert's links to the company have come under scrutiny as part of a Queensland corruption inquiry into political donations to Gold Coast City Council candidates, which involves his fundraising body, the Fadden Forum......
UPDATE
The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 October 2016:
Turnbull government MP Stuart Robert has close ties to an African church that supports harsh anti-gay laws and is run by a preacher described as "one of the most homophobic people in the world".
Mr Robert was a founding director of Watoto Australia, an offshoot of the Ugandan-based pentecostal Watoto Church, and has called church leader Gary Skinner one of the "great influences" on his life…..
Gay and lesbian activists say Watoto and Mr Skinner are virulently anti-gay and have contributed to violent homophobia in Uganda. Mr Robert – who was also a member of Watoto's International Board – has travelled to the Ugandan capital Kampala many times to meet Mr Skinner, who says homosexuality is "degrading" and an "inhuman sin" that brings disease and destroys families.
Wednesday 28 September 2016
NSW Political Donations & Election Funding: over the next six months watch for further mentions buried deep in mainstream newspapers
The Sydney Morning Herald on 30 August 2016 indicated that NSW voters may yet see a number of former state politicians fronting local magistrates in the near future:
Former NSW Liberal MPs have been issued letters of demand to repay potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal donations solicited before the 2011 state election.
As the corruption watchdog prepares to table its report into Liberal Party rorting of political donations laws on Tuesday, Fairfax Media can reveal the NSW electoral commission has issued the demand to some of those caught up in the Operation Spicer inquiry.
The electoral commission has the power to demand repayment of illegal donations. If it is determined that an MP or candidate knew the donation was illegal, they can be forced to repay twice the amount.
An electoral commission spokesman would not release names of those sent the demand, but confirmed it had completed an investigation.
It had "formed the view that sufficient evidence is available to justify recovery action against some of the persons who have received or benefited from unlawful donations, loans or indirect campaign contributions," he said.
"Those persons have been issued with demands for payment. The commission reserves its right to pursue recovery action in the event of non-payment."
It is understood there is some uncertainty over whether the former MPs can be prosecuted under the Election, Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act.
The time within which prosecutions can be launched was extended from three to 10 years by Premier Mike Baird in October 2014, but the change only applied to offences committed after that date. The offences in question were committed in 2010.
But there is a question over whether the law could be applied from when they were uncovered by the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 2014 and therefore fall within the original three-year limit…..
The Australian on 31 August 2016 reported that the NSW Liberal Party is still short of funds due to donor identity issues:
The NSW Liberal Party could launch legal action against the NSW Electoral Commission if attempts to recover about $4.3 million in withheld campaign funding are unsuccessful.
The party’s state division has been forced to renegotiate millions of dollars in loans taken out from Westpac to cover the shortfall. It is understood division chiefs were hopeful that the findings of Operation Spicer — which found that few within the party’s hierarchy knew about the donations scheme run through the now-defunct Free Enterprise Foundation — would clear the way for the return of the money.
Instead, it appears the NSW Electoral Commission is continuing to demand the party conduct an audit of all its donations to ensure there were no inappropriate third-party donations such as those made through the Free Enterprise Foundation, which took prohibited donations from developers including Brickworks and Elmslea Land Developments.
In a statement, however, the NSW Liberal Party said only that it “continues to work with the NSW Electoral Commission in relation to its 2010-11 return”.
A NSW Electoral Commission spokesman said there had been “no change in relation to the commission’s determination to withhold funding”.
“The party is ineligible for funding on the basis that it has not disclosed the identity of donors for the 2010-11 period,” he said. “The party’s eligibility for public funding is not related to the ICAC report. Eligibility is prescribed in the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981.”
The Daily Telegraph on 22 September 2016 reported that the Liberal Party finally submitted the required donors names and one former Liberal MP has returned $10,000 of the $60,000 in unlawful donations the party received in 2011:
The Liberal Party will get the $3.8 million of the $4.4 million the Electoral Commission withheld from it because of its receipt of illegal donations during the 2011 state election campaign, the Commission has announced in a statement this afternoon.
The Electoral Commission had withheld the money pending what it believed was a proper declaration by the Liberal Party in relation to the illegal developer donations funnelled through the Free Enterprise Foundation and exposed by ICAC.
The Electoral Commission has also announced that it has received a $10,000 payment from former Liberal Charlestown MP Andrew Cornwell, which relates to money he received from developer Jeff McCloy during the 2011 election campaign.
“Following an investigation by inspectors of the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC), the NSWEC determined that a number of unlawful donations were made to endorsed candidates of the NSW Liberal Party in the lead up to the 2011 State election.” a statement from the Electoral Commission said.
“This investigation was informed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Operation Spicer.
“One of the matters examined as part of this investigation was a AU$10,000 cash donation for the benefit of former MP Andrew Cornwell.
“That donation was subsequently paid into the account of the Charlestown State Electoral Conference, NSW Liberal Party.
“The NSWEC has the power to take legal action to recover the value of unlawful donations……
On the payment to the Liberal Party, the Commission said: “On 23 March 2016 the NSW Electoral Commission NSWEC determined to withhold almost AU 4.4 million in administrative and election funding from the Liberal Party of Australia, NSW Division (NSW Liberal Party) due to the party’s failure to disclose past donations.
“The donations were primarily made to the party by donors via the Free Enterprise Foundation in the 2010-11 disclosure period.
“On 22 September 2016 the NSWEC determined that a number of these and other undisclosed donations were unlawful and deducted the value of the unlawful donations from the amount of public funding payable to the party.
However ongoing political donation issues are not confined to New South Wales. North of the Rio Tweed, the Queensland Liberal National Party was reported in the Brisbane Times on 25 September 2016 as having troubles of its own:
However ongoing political donation issues are not confined to New South Wales. North of the Rio Tweed, the Queensland Liberal National Party was reported in the Brisbane Times on 25 September 2016 as having troubles of its own:
A special anti-corruption taskforce has been assigned to investigate claims of dodgy political donations that have embroiled Turnbull government MP Stuart Robert and a Liberal fundraising body he controls.
The investigation comes amid new questions about Mr Robert's connections to property developer Sunland and his support for the company's controversial $600 million plan for two high-rise towers on the Gold Coast.
Mr Robert has admitted his Fadden Forum – a fundraising arm of the Queensland Liberal National Party – was used to secretly bankroll two candidates with $60,000 to run in the March Gold Coast City Council election.
Kristyn Boulton and Felicity Stevenson, who were given $30,000 each, were both members of Mr Robert's staff but ran as independents and did not disclose their Liberal links until after the poll. Ms Boulton was successfully elected while Ms Stevenson failed and returned to Mr Robert's employ.
Political rivals have accused Mr Robert and the LNP of seeking to stack the council by stealth with pro-development councillors.
The Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission this month launched an investigation into the election and has assigned a "specialist team" with political expertise to spearhead the investigation.
It's understood the investigation will seek to examine the provenance of money donated to the Fadden Forum, including suggestions it came from property developers whose involvement was concealed.
One high-profile donor to the Fadden Forum has been Gold Coast developer lobbyist Simone Holzapfel, a former adviser to Tony Abbott, who gave more than $100,000 to the fundraising vehicle.
Wednesday 31 August 2016
NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption 'Operation Spicer': you saw the telemovie now read the book
Operation Spicer hearings were a feature of nightly news reports and journalists' live tweeting during this period.
Given the number of legal challenges mounted against ICAC since those hearings ended the final inquiry report has only now been released to the general public.
Operation Spicer
investigation has exposed prohibited donations, fund channelling and
non-disclosures in the NSW Liberal Party’s 2011 state election campaign.
The Commission’s report, Investigation into NSW Liberal Party electoral funding for the 2011 state election campaign and other matters, was made public today. The ICAC’s findings include that Raymond Carter, Andrew Cornwell, Garry Edwards, the Hon Michael Gallacher MLC, Nabil Gazal Jnr, Nicholas Gazal, Hilton Grugeon, Christopher Hartcher, Timothy Koelma, Jeffrey McCloy, Timothy Owen, Christopher Spence, Hugh Thomson and Darren Williams acted with the intention of evading laws under the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (the election funding laws) relating to the disclosure of political donations and the ban on donations from property developers.
Messrs Grugeon, Hartcher, Koelma, McCloy, Owen, Thomson and Williams were also found to have acted with the intention of evading the election funding laws relating to caps on political donations. The Commission also found that Craig Baumann, Nicholas Di Girolamo, Troy Palmer and Darren Webber acted with the intention of evading the election funding laws relating to the disclosure of political donations and that Bart Bassett knowingly solicited a political donation from a property developer.
The ICAC found that during November and December 2010 the Free Enterprise Foundation was used to channel donations to the NSW Liberal Party for its 2011 state election campaign so that the identity of the true donors was disguised. A substantial portion of the $693,000 provided by the foundation and used by the NSW Liberal Party in the campaign originated from donors who were property developers and, therefore, prohibited donors under the election funding laws.
Undisclosed political donations were also channelled through a business, Eightbyfive, to benefit Liberal Party 2011 state election campaigns on the Central Coast. These donations included donations from property developers and donations in excess of the applicable caps on donations.
The ICAC also found that there were payments made by property developers, who were prohibited donors, to help fund NSW Liberal Party candidates’ campaigns in the Hunter. The true nature of these payments was disguised, for example, as consultancy services or funnelled through another company with the intention of evading the election funding laws.
The above are findings of fact, not findings of corrupt conduct. As explained in the Foreword to the report, the ICAC cannot make corrupt conduct findings in cases of failure to comply with the requirements of the election funding laws where, although those failures could have affected the exercise of official functions of the then Election Funding Authority of NSW, officers of that authority were not involved in any wrongdoing.
The ICAC makes a finding of serious corrupt conduct against Joseph Tripodi for, sometime prior to 16 February 2011, misusing his position as a member of Parliament to improperly provide an advantage to Buildev by providing to Darren Williams of that company a copy of the confidential 4 February 2011 NSW Treasury report, Review of Proposed Uses of Mayfield and Intertrade Lands at Newcastle Port.
The Commission’s report notes that at the relevant time proceedings for an offence under the election funding laws had to be commenced within three years from the time the offence was committed. As the Operation Spicer public inquiry did not conclude until September 2014, and the matters canvassed in the report occurred mostly from 2009 to 2011, a prosecution for relevant offences is now statute barred.
The Commission’s report, Investigation into NSW Liberal Party electoral funding for the 2011 state election campaign and other matters, was made public today. The ICAC’s findings include that Raymond Carter, Andrew Cornwell, Garry Edwards, the Hon Michael Gallacher MLC, Nabil Gazal Jnr, Nicholas Gazal, Hilton Grugeon, Christopher Hartcher, Timothy Koelma, Jeffrey McCloy, Timothy Owen, Christopher Spence, Hugh Thomson and Darren Williams acted with the intention of evading laws under the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (the election funding laws) relating to the disclosure of political donations and the ban on donations from property developers.
Messrs Grugeon, Hartcher, Koelma, McCloy, Owen, Thomson and Williams were also found to have acted with the intention of evading the election funding laws relating to caps on political donations. The Commission also found that Craig Baumann, Nicholas Di Girolamo, Troy Palmer and Darren Webber acted with the intention of evading the election funding laws relating to the disclosure of political donations and that Bart Bassett knowingly solicited a political donation from a property developer.
The ICAC found that during November and December 2010 the Free Enterprise Foundation was used to channel donations to the NSW Liberal Party for its 2011 state election campaign so that the identity of the true donors was disguised. A substantial portion of the $693,000 provided by the foundation and used by the NSW Liberal Party in the campaign originated from donors who were property developers and, therefore, prohibited donors under the election funding laws.
Undisclosed political donations were also channelled through a business, Eightbyfive, to benefit Liberal Party 2011 state election campaigns on the Central Coast. These donations included donations from property developers and donations in excess of the applicable caps on donations.
The ICAC also found that there were payments made by property developers, who were prohibited donors, to help fund NSW Liberal Party candidates’ campaigns in the Hunter. The true nature of these payments was disguised, for example, as consultancy services or funnelled through another company with the intention of evading the election funding laws.
The above are findings of fact, not findings of corrupt conduct. As explained in the Foreword to the report, the ICAC cannot make corrupt conduct findings in cases of failure to comply with the requirements of the election funding laws where, although those failures could have affected the exercise of official functions of the then Election Funding Authority of NSW, officers of that authority were not involved in any wrongdoing.
The ICAC makes a finding of serious corrupt conduct against Joseph Tripodi for, sometime prior to 16 February 2011, misusing his position as a member of Parliament to improperly provide an advantage to Buildev by providing to Darren Williams of that company a copy of the confidential 4 February 2011 NSW Treasury report, Review of Proposed Uses of Mayfield and Intertrade Lands at Newcastle Port.
The Commission’s report notes that at the relevant time proceedings for an offence under the election funding laws had to be commenced within three years from the time the offence was committed. As the Operation Spicer public inquiry did not conclude until September 2014, and the matters canvassed in the report occurred mostly from 2009 to 2011, a prosecution for relevant offences is now statute barred.
Here are excerpts from the final report, INVESTIGATION INTO NSW LIBERAL PARTY ELECTORAL FUNDING FOR THE 2011 STATE ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND OTHER MATTERS: ICAC REPORT AUGUST 2016:
Chapter 34 of this
report contains statements made pursuant to s 74A(2) of the ICAC Act that the
Commission is of the opinion that consideration should be given to obtaining
the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with respect to the
prosecution of the following persons:
* Samantha Brookes for
two offences of giving false or misleading evidence under s 87 of the ICAC Act
• Andrew Cornwell for two offences of giving false or misleading evidence under
s 87 of the ICAC Act [Wife of former Liberal MP for
Charlestown Andrew Cornwell]
* Timothy Gunasinghe for
an offence of giving false or misleading evidence under s 87 of the ICAC Act [GM /Director at Commercialhq]
* Christopher Hartcher
for an offence of larceny [former Liberal MP
for Terrigal & NSW Minister for State, Minister for Resources and Energy,
Minister for Central Coast]
* Timothy Koelma for
three offences of giving false or misleading evidence under s 87 of the ICAC
Act [Proprietor, Eightbyfive]
* William Saddington for
an offence of giving false or misleading evidence under s 87 of the ICAC Act [Director, PW Saddington & Sons Pty Ltd]
* Joseph Tripodi for the
common law offence of misconduct in public office. [former Labor MP for Fairfield]
Note: My red annotations
Excerpt Two:
Set
out below are some of the principal factual findings made by the Commission.
*
Sometime shortly prior to 16 March 2011, Nathan Tinkler offered to make a
political donation to Jodi McKay’s election campaign. In making this
offer, Mr Tinkler was attempting to induce Ms McKay to accept a donation from a
person she knew to be a prohibited donor and which would be falsely disclosed
to the Election Funding Authority as coming from private individuals. Mr
Tinkler knew at the time he made the offer that he was a prohibited donor and
was not able to make a political donation and that Ms McKay was not able
to accept a political donation from him (chapter 11).
*
Each of Mr Williams, David Sharpe and Ann Wills of Buildev played an active
part in the “Stop Jodi’s Trucks” mailout campaign, which was designed to damage
Ms McKay’s prospects of re-election. Given its inherent political nature, the
expenditure on the leaflets amounted to “electoral communication expenditure”,
as defined by the Election Funding Act. This expenditure was incurred in the
period between 1 January 2011 and the end of the polling day for the 2011 NSW
state election and was therefore incurred within the “capped expenditure
period” as defined in s 95H of the Election Funding Act. As the electoral
communication expenditure exceeded $2,000 in a capped expenditure period,
Buildev was operating as a “third-party campaigner” as defined in s 4 of the
Election Funding Act. Buildev failed to register as a third-party campaigner as
required by s 96AA of the Election Funding Act and failed to disclose to
the Election Funding Authority its electoral communication expenditure as
required by s 88(1A)(a) of the Election Funding Act (chapter 11).
*
Mr Tripodi played a central role in the Stop Jodi’s Trucks campaign by
nominating the printer for the mailout pamphlets and involving himself in the
drafting and design process for the pamphlets (chapter 11).
*
During November and December 2010, the Free Enterprise Foundation was used to
channel donations to the NSW Liberal Party for its 2011 NSW state election
campaign so that the identity of the true donors was disguised. A substantial portion
of the $693,000 provided by the Free Enterprise Foundation and used by the NSW
Liberal Party in its 2011 state election campaign originated from donors who
were property developers and, therefore, prohibited under the Election Funding
Act from making political donations (chapter 15).
*
Each of Simon McInnes, Paul Nicolaou and Anthony Bandle knowingly used the Free
Enterprise Foundation to channel political donations, including political
donations from property developers, to the NSW Liberal Party to fund its
2011 state election campaign so that the identity of the true donors was
disguised from the Election Funding Authority (chapter 15).
*
Timothy Koelma used his business, Eightbyfive, to receive and channel political
donations for the benefit of Christopher Hartcher, Christopher Spence, Darren
Webber and the NSW Liberal Party for the 2011 Central Coast election campaign
with the intention of evading the election funding laws relating to disclosure
of political donations, the ban on donations from property developers, which
operated from 14 December 2009, and, in relation to payments made after 1
January 2011, the applicable cap on donations. The funds obtained and
channelled in this way were used for the purposes of the NSW Liberal Party 2011
election campaigns in the seats of Terrigal, The Entrance and Wyong. Mr Koelma
directly benefited from the donations through Eightbyfive, as he was able to
draw from those funds to give himself a salary, thereby, enabling him to work
for Mr Hartcher on the 2011 NSW state election campaign. Mr Koelma subsequently
obtained full-time employment in Mr Hartcher’s ministerial office after the 2011
election (chapter 17).
*
Mr Hartcher was involved in the establishment of Eightbyfive and took an active
part in using Eightbyfive to channel political donations from Australian Water
Holdings Pty Ltd, Gazcorp Pty Ltd and Patinack Farm Pty Ltd for the benefit
of the NSW Liberal Party, himself, Mr Spence and Mr Webber with the
intention of evading the election funding laws relating to disclosure of
political donations, the ban on donations from property developers (in the case
of Gazcorp) and, in relation to payments made after 1 January 2011, the
applicable cap on donations. Mr Hartcher benefited from this arrangement
because part of the funds channelled through Eightbyfive enabled Mr Koelma to
work for him on the 2011 NSW state election campaign at no cost to Mr Hartcher,
while other funds channelled through Eightbyfive ensured that
Mr Hartcher’s likeminded political colleagues were funded to campaign for
the Central Coast seats of Wyong and The Entrance (chapter 17).
*
Mr Hartcher was a party to an arrangement with Nicholas Di Girolamo and Mr
Koelma, whereby Mr Di Girolamo made regular payments through Australian Water
Holdings to Eightbyfive. Under this arrangement, between April 2009 and May
2011, Eightbyfive received $183,342.50 from Australian Water Holdings. These
payments were ostensibly for the provision of services by Eightbyfive to
Australian Water Holdings but were in fact political donations made to assist
Mr Hartcher by providing funds to Mr Koelma so that Mr Koelma could work for Mr
Hartcher in the lead up to the 2011 NSW state election. Mr Hartcher and the
others involved in this arrangement intended to evade the election funding laws
relating to the disclosure of political donations. The payments totalling
$36,668.50, made after 1 January 2011, exceeded the applicable cap on political
donations (chapter 18).
*
Mr Hartcher, Nabil Gazal Junior, Nicholas Gazal, Mr Koelma and Mr Spence (the
NSW Liberal Party candidate for the seat of The Entrance) were parties to an
arrangement whereby, between May 2010 and April 2011, Gazcorp made payments
totalling $121,000 to Eightbyfive. These payments were ostensibly for the
provision of services by Eightbyfive to Gazcorp but were in fact political
donations which were mainly used to help fund Mr Spence so that he could
work on the Central Coast election campaign and on his campaign for the seat of
The Entrance. Mr Hartcher, Nabil Gazal Jnr, Nicholas Gazal, Mr Koelma and Mr
Spence intended by this arrangement to evade the disclosure requirements of the
Election Funding Act and the ban on the making and accepting of political
donations from property developers. The payments totalling $33,000, made
after 1 January 2011, exceeded the applicable cap on political donations
(chapter 19).
*
Mr Hartcher, Mr Koelma, the Hon Michael Gallacher MLC, Troy Palmer and Mr
Williams were parties to an arrangement whereby, between July 2010 and March
2011, Patinack Farm made payments totalling $66,000 to Eightbyfive. These
payments were ostensibly for the provision of services by Eightbyfive to
Patinack Farm but were in fact political donations to help fund the NSW Liberal
Party 2011 Central Coast election campaign. The parties to this
arrangement intended to evade the disclosure requirements of the Election
Funding Act. The payments made after 1 January 2011, totalling $33,000,
exceeded the applicable caps on political donations. Although the payments to
Eightbyfive were made by Patinack Farm, the arrangement was organised through
Buildev, a property developer (chapter 20).
*
Mr Koelma and Mr Webber (the NSW Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Wyong)
were parties to an arrangement whereby, between 2010 and 2011, Mr Koelma’s
business, Eightbyfive, made payments totalling at least $34,650, and up to
$49,500, to Mr Webber. These payments were ostensibly for the provision of
services by Mr Webber to Eightbyfive but were in fact political donations to
help fund Mr Webber’s 2011 election campaign for the seat of Wyong. The
parties to this arrangement intended to evade the disclosure requirements of
the Election Funding Act. The payments made after 1 January 2011 exceeded the
applicable caps on political donations (chapter 20).
*
Raymond Carter used the Free Enterprise Foundation to channel political
donations to the NSW Liberal Party for its 2011 NSW state election campaign so
that the identity of the true donor was disguised from the Election Funding
Authority. A portion of this money was from property developers (chapter 21).
*
Mr Carter and Mr Koelma entered into an arrangement to use Mr Koelma’s
business, Eightbyfive, to channel political donations to the NSW Liberal Party
for the 2011 Central Coast election campaign with the intention of evading the
Election Funding Act laws relating to disclosure to the Election Funding
Authority of political donations and the ban on accepting political donations
from property developers. The political donations obtained by Mr Carter
under this scheme included $5,000 from each of LA Commercial Pty Ltd, Yeramba
Estates Pty Ltd and Brentwood Village Pty Ltd, and $2,200 from Crown Consortium
Pty Ltd (chapter 21).
*
In March 2011, Mr Carter used a business, Mickey Tech, with the intention of
evading the Election Funding Act laws relating to disclosure of political
donations by disguising from the Election Funding Authority political donations
of $2,000 from INE Pty Ltd and $2,000 from Maggiotto Building Pty Ltd. In each
case, the money was sought and received by Mr Carter as a political donation
for the 2011 NSW state election campaign. Although at the time Mr Carter
received the money he intended to apply all the money for the purposes of the
election campaign, he eventually only applied $2,400 for this purpose, the
balance being applied to private use (chapter 21).
*
In March 2011, Mr Hartcher received three bank cheques payable to the NSW
Liberal Party totalling $4,000. They were received by Mr Hartcher for the
benefit of the NSW Liberal Party for the March 2011 state election campaign. In
November 2011, some eight months after the election, Mr Hartcher arranged for
the cheques to be paid into the trust account of Hartcher Reid, a legal firm,
and for that firm to draw a cheque for $4,000 in favour of Mickey Tech, a
business owned by Mr Carter’s partner. After the $4,000 was deposited into that
account, it was withdrawn in cash by Mr Carter and given to Mr Hartcher.
These steps are inconsistent with an intention on the part of Mr Hartcher to
apply the $4,000 for the benefit of the NSW Liberal Party (chapter 23).
*
In about November 2010, Mr Gallacher sought a political donation from Mr Sharpe
of Buildev by inviting him to attend a New Year’s Eve political fundraising
function for which Mr Sharpe or Buildev would make a payment. Mr Gallacher knew
that they were property developers, and he sought the political donation with
the intention of evading the election funding laws relating to the ban on
property developers making political donations (chapter 25).
*
In late 2010, Mr Gallacher, Mr Hartcher and Mr Williams of Buildev were involved
in an arrangement whereby two political donations totalling $53,000 were
provided to the NSW Liberal Party for use in its 2011 election campaigns for
the seats of Newcastle and Londonderry. To facilitate this arrangement, on 13
December 2010, Mr Palmer, a director of Boardwalk Resources Limited, a company
of which Mr Tinkler was the major shareholder, drew two cheques totalling
$53,000 payable to the Free Enterprise Foundation. These were provided to Mr
Hartcher who arranged for them to be sent to Mr Nicolaou. Mr Nicolaou sent the
cheques to the Free Enterprise Foundation. The Free Enterprise Foundation
subsequently sent money to the NSW Liberal Party, which included the $53,000.
Of the $53,000, some $35,000 was used to help fund Timothy Owen’s 2011 election
campaign in the seat of Newcastle and $18,000 was used towards the purchase of
a key seats package for Bart Bassett’s 2011 election campaign in the seat of
Londonderry. Although the cheques for the donations were drawn on the account
of Boardwalk Resources, they were made for Buildev, a property developer. Each
of Mr Gallacher, Mr Hartcher and Mr Williams entered into this arrangement with
the intention of evading the Election Funding Act laws relating to the accurate
disclosure to the Election Funding Authority of political donations (chapter
26).
*
In about February 2011, Jeffrey McCloy gave HughThomson $10,000 in cash as a
political donation to fund Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign for the seat of
Newcastle with the intention of evading the Election Funding Act laws relating
to the ban on the making of political donations by property developers and the applicable
cap on political donations. By not reporting the donation, he intended to evade
the disclosure requirements of the Election Funding Act. In accepting the
political donation, Mr Thompson intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws
relating to the ban on accepting political donations from property developers
and the applicable cap on political donations. By not ensuring the donation was
disclosed, he intended to evade the disclosure requirements of the Election
Funding Act (chapter 27).
*
In early 2011, Mr McCloy gave Mr Owen $10,000 in cash as a political donation
to fund Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign. In making the payment, Mr McCloy
intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on the
making of political donations by property developers and the applicable cap on
political donations. By not reporting the donation, he intended to evade the
disclosure requirements of the Election Funding Act. In accepting the political
donation, Mr Owen intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to
the ban on accepting political donations from property developers and the
applicable cap on political donations. By not ensuring the donation was
disclosed, he intended to evade the disclosure requirements of the Election
Funding Act (chapter 27).
*
In early 2011, Hilton Grugeon gave Mr Thomson $10,000 in cash as a political
donation to fund Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign. In making the payment, Mr
Grugeon intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on
the making of political donations by property developers and the applicable cap
on political donations. By not reporting the donation, he intended to evade the
disclosure requirements of the Election Funding Act. In accepting the political
donation, Mr Thompson intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating
to the ban on accepting political donations from property developers and the
applicable cap on political donations. By not ensuring the donation was
disclosed, he intended to evade the disclosure requirements of the
Election Funding Act (chapter 27).
*
Services provided by Mezzanine Media Australia Pty Ltd for Mr Owen’s 2011
election campaign were paid for, in part, by a political donation of $5,000
made by Keith Stronach, a property developer. The payment evaded the
Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on the making of political
donations by property developers. The political donation was not disclosed as
required by the Election Funding Act. Mr Owen and Mr Thomson were aware that Mr
Stronach was a property developer and were aware that Mr Stronach paid money
towards Mr Owen’s election campaign (chapter 27).
*
Services provided by Mezzanine Media Australia for Mr Owen’s 2011 election
campaign were paid for, in part, by a political donation of $14,190 organised
by Mr Williams on behalf of Buildev, a property developer. In organising the
payment, Mr Williams intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws
relating to the ban on the making of political donations by property developers
and the applicable cap on political donations. By not reporting the donation he
intended to evade the disclosure requirements of the Election Funding Act. Mr
Owen and Mr Thomson were aware that Buildev was a property developer and
that it had paid money towards Mr Owen’s election campaign (chapter 27).
*
Mr Gallacher was responsible for proposing to Mr McCloy and Mr Grugeon an
arrangement whereby each of them would contribute to the payment of Luke Grant
for his work on Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign. He did so with the
intention that the Election Funding Act laws in relation to the prohibition on
political donations from property developers and the requirements for the
disclosure of political donations to the Election Funding Authority would be
evaded (chapter 27).
*
Mr Owen, Mr Thompson, Mr Grugeon and Mr McCloy were parties to an arrangement
whereby payments totalling $19,875 made to Mr Grant for his work on Mr
Owen’s 2011 election campaign were falsely attributed to services allegedly
provided to companies operated by Mr McCloy and Mr Grugeon. Those involved
in this arrangement intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws in relation
to the prohibition on political donations from property developers and the
requirements for the disclosure of political donations to the Election Funding
Authority. The payments were also in excess of the caps imposed on
individual donors (chapter 27).
*
Services provided by Joshua Hodges for Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign
were paid for, in part, by a political donation of $3,998.50 made by William
Saddington of PW Saddington & Sons Pty Ltd. The payment was disguised as
being for consultancy services provided to that company. The payment had the
effect of evading the disclosure requirements of the Election Funding Act. Mr Owen
and Mr Thomson were aware that Mr Saddington was contributing to Mr Owen’s
election campaign expenses by paying Mr Hodges. They did not ensure that the
donation was disclosed as required by the Election Funding Act (chapter 27).
*
Services provided by Australian Decal Sales and Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd for
Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign were paid for in August 2011 by a
political donation of $3,198.80 organised by Mr Williams on behalf of Buildev,
a property developer. By organising the payment, Mr Williams intended to
evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on the making of
political donations by property developers and the disclosure requirements of
the Election Funding Act. Mr Owen and Mr Thomson were aware this political
donation had been made by a property developer and participated in this
arrangement with the intention of evading the Election Funding Act laws
relating to the ban on accepting political donations from property developers.
They did not ensure the donation was disclosed as required by the Election
Funding Act (chapter 27).
*
During the 2011 NSW state election campaign, a third-party campaign known as
“FedUp” was conducted by Rolly De With, Neil Slater and Paul Murphy using the
name of a local business association, the Newcastle Alliance. The purpose of
the campaign was to assist in defeating the sitting member for the seat of
Newcastle, Ms McKay, in the 2011 NSW state election. In March 2011, a
payment of $50,000 was arranged by Mr Williams of Buildev and authorised by Mr
Tinkler to fund the campaign. The payment was ostensibly made by Serene Lodge
Racing Pty Ltd but was in fact money from Mr Tinkler and was made for Buildev,
a property developer. The $50,000 payment was a political donation and was in
excess of the $2,000 cap on political donations made for the benefit of a
third-party campaigner. The political donation was not disclosed to the
Election Funding Authority by Buildev, Serene Lodge Racing or Mr Tinkler
(chapter 28).
*
On 6 October 2010, Mr McCloy paid $10,000 in cash to Andrew Cornwell, the NSW
Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Charlestown, as a political donation
for Andrew Cornwell’s 2011 election campaign. By making the donation, Mr McCloy
intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on property
developers making political donations and the requirement for the disclosure of
political donations. By accepting the donation Andrew Cornwell intended to
evade the Election Funding Act requirement relating to the ban on property developers
making political donations and the requirement for the accurate disclosure of
political donations (chapter 29).
*
Andrew Cornwell, his wife, Samantha Brookes, and Mr Grugeon were parties to an
arrangement involving the pretence that a payment of $10,120 made in early 2011
by Mr Grugeon, a property developer, was for a painting. The $10,120 was in
fact a political donation made by Mr Grugeon to fund Andrew Cornwell’s
2011 NSW state election campaign. In participating in this arrangement, Mr Grugeon
intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on the
making of donations by property developers and the requirement for disclosure
of political donations. In participating in this arrangement, Andrew Cornwell
intended to evade the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on
accepting political donations from property developers, and the requirement for
accurate disclosure of political donations received. The payment exceeded the
applicable cap on political donations (chapter 29).
*
During the 2011 NSW state election campaign, Garry Edwards, the NSW Liberal
Party candidate for the seat of Swansea, received a political donation by way
of a cash payment of about $1,500 from Mr McCloy, a property developer. Mr
Edwards accepted the donation with the intention of evading the election
funding laws relating to the ban on accepting political donations from property
developers and the requirements for disclosure of political donations. Mr
McCloy knew he was making a political donation and that, as a property
developer, he was prohibited from making such a donation (chapter 30).
*
In 2007, Craig Baumann, the NSW Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Port
Stephens, entered into an arrangement with Mr McCloy and Mr Grugeon to
disguise from the Election Funding Authority the fact that companies associated
with Mr McCloy and Mr Grugeon had donated $79,684 towards Mr Baumann’s 2007 NSW
election campaign. As part of this arrangement, a company associated with
Mr McCloy made a political donation of $32,604 and a company associated
with Mr Grugeon made a political donation of $47,080. These political donations
were paid to Mr Baumann’s company, Mambare Pty Ltd, which, in turn, paid the
money to the Medowie branch of the NSW Liberal Party to be used for Mr
Baumann’s 2007 election campaign. Mr Baumann caused Mambare to lodge a
declaration with the Election Funding Authority that falsely claimed that it
had donated the money to the NSW Liberal Party. Mr Baumann did so with the
intention of evading the election funding laws relating to the accurate
disclosure of political donations (chapter 31).
*
In about November 2010, Mr Baumann entered into an arrangement with Vincent
Heufel with the intention of evading the Election Funding Act laws relating to
the truthful disclosure of political donations. Under this arrangement, Mr
Heufel made a donation of $100,000 for Mr Baumann’s election campaign and Mr
Baumann reduced the amount his company, Mambare, charged for building Mr
Heufel’s house by that amount. This was done so that Mr Heufel could falsely
represent that he was responsible for making the political donation, rather
than Mr Baumann’s company and so that Mambare could evade disclosing that it
had made a political donation for Mr Baumann’s 2011 NSW state election campaign
(chapter 31).
*
In 2010, for the purposes of his 2011 NSW state election campaign, Mr Bassett,
the NSW Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Londonderry, solicited a
political donation from Buildev, a property developer. This culminated in the
drawing of a cheque, dated 13 December 2010, for $18,000 on the account of
Boardwalk Resources, which was payable to the Free Enterprise Foundation. The
Free Enterprise Foundation subsequently sent money to the NSW Liberal Party,
which included the $18,000. The $18,000 was used towards the purchase of
a key seats package for Mr Bassett’s 2011 election campaign in the seat of
Londonderry. Although the cheque for $18,000 was drawn on the account of
Boardwalk Resources, the donation was made for Buildev. Mr Bassett was aware at
the time he solicited the political donation that Buildev was a property
developer and knew it was not able to make a political donation and he was not
able to accept a political donation from a property developer (chapter
32).
Full 172 page report here.
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