The Carr/Iemma Labor government has mastered the art of media management over the past 12 years. Their strategy of following up major announcements with regular re-announcements is very clever. It creates a perception that something is being done to alleviate the crisis in our hospital and transport systems when the opposite is the case.
They have perfected the art of providing ‘spin’ over substance.
But this week’s parade of shifty councillors, dodgy developers, crook officials, and a naive blonde council official before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has revealed an interesting insight into how to do business under Labor in NSW. Bribery, nepotism, cronyism, cover-ups, sexual harassment and a ‘bit-on-the-side’ are straight out of a former Labor powerbrokers book – Whatever it Takes’.
Graham Richardson wrote the book. Maurice Iemma, who worked for Richo as a junior staffer, obviously read it.
The payoffs for property developers, who attend Labor fundraisers with key Labor Ministers and subsequently make generous donations to the ALP, are enormous.
Witness the report where Planning Minister Frank Sartor overruled the objections of local planning authorities and approved a land rezoning deal that turned a $4 million property into a $200 million bonanza for the developer. The developer had reportedly ‘donated’ $165,000 to the ALP.
Another report reveals the Premier and the Planning Minister received large donations from a developer wanting approval for an over-sized apartment block that had been rejected by the local council. The Planning Minister over-ruled the Council and gave the go-ahead.
If these reports are true then NSW has the best government money can buy!
The frightening thought of Frank Sartor and his Labor mates now wanting to raid Section 95 contributions of local councils is enough to send a shiver up the spine of every honest councillor in the state.
If anybody thinks the corruption, nepotism, bribery and cronyism unfolding in Wollongong is limited to the Illawarra they are delusional. One only has to review the level of property developer donations to the ALP throughout NSW to appreciate that ‘where there’s smoke there’s fire’.
There is a pungent smell of dog-poo on the shoes of Labor Ministers associated with the dodgy developers now appearing before ICAC. And a strong stench of corruption is beginning to permeate through Labor’s Wollongong valve. If it extends into the bowels of their wider caucus the Iemma government should take note of the old Italian proverb: ‘A fish rots from the head down’.
There is also an odour about the proposal to build an Islamic school for 1400 teachers and students in Camden. It becomes more pungent when the motives and money of the proponents are scrutinised and the political objectives of Labor are examined.
Whew!
Tags: Developers, Development, Donations, Labor, New South Wales, Planning, Politics
