GUY GRATES CHEESE
Cheeseman whacks Lib leader as ‘in pocket’ of Spring Creek developer as $110k donation emerges
LABOR’S Darren Cheeseman has launched a stinging attack on Matthew Guy, accusing the Opposition Leader of being in the pockets of developers in Spring Creek. It comes as the Geelong Ad
vertiser reveals one developer in the valley has donated $110,000 to the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party since July 2013.
Parklea — a regular financier to the Liberals — stood to make a huge profit from a decision by Mr Guy in 2014 to rezone land in Spring Creek.
It is understood Parklea is also a financial backer of Labor as a member of the Progressive Business Association, which has regularly donated money to Daniel Andrews’ party.
The developer was a key shareholder in a syndicate that bought 38 hectares of land in the valley in December 2012, more than a year before Mr Guy — then the state’s planning minister — rezoned the area for urban development.
The syndicate’s initial purchase of the land in Spring Creek came with an $8.5 million price tag, however the value would have likely skyrocketed following Mr Guy’s decision.
Parklea’s ties to the Liberal Party also extend to chairman Andrew Facey, who has previously declared himself an enthusiastic supporter of the party, including as a member of the Berwick Ranges 500 Club.
Mr Cheeseman, the Labor candidate for South Barwon, used the revelation to slam Mr Guy for his handling of development in Spring Creek.
“Liberal leader Matthew Guy’s Spring Creek mess just stinks — he rezoned this pristine tract of land against the wishes of locals, giving windfall profits for his developer mates,” he said.
“Matthew Guy and his sidekick Andrew Katos are in the pockets of the Spring Creek developers.
“We’ll protect Torquay’s town boundaries in law to prevent the kind of overnight deals with developers that flourished under Matthew Guy and the Liberals.”
The ruling in 2014 was not the first time Parklea became a major beneficiary from a planning decision under the current Opposition Leader.
In 2012, it was revealed the company was in line to cash in after Mr Guy green-lit development on 350ha of farmland it owned in Pakenham.
On that occasion, Mr Guy said the decision followed a “thorough and transparent” process, including the oversight of an independent probity auditor.
Yesterday, Mr Guy and Liberal Party state director Nick Demiris were contacted for comment, but did not respond before deadline.
The previous owner of the land in Spring Creek had speculatively bought the property for $11 million in 2008, but walked away with a $2.5 million loss from the investment for unknown reasons.
Parklea’s purchase in 2012 also came at a time the Surf Coast Shire was planning to redirect urban growth to Torquay’s north, away from Spring Creek.
The developer has previously revealed it holds about 350 lots in the valley.
If each lot was sold for the average price of vacant land in Torquay — $377,000 — the company would receive more than $130 million in return.
But a director for the company said that profit margin was grossly inflated.
“Parklea will not receive profit anything like the figures quoted by you if development proceeds,” the director said.
He said the syndicate — Duffields Road Pty Ltd — chose to buy the land after former Labor planning minister Justin Madden fixed it as a future urban area in 2010.
“Duffields Road Pty Ltd relied on statements made by Minister Madden,” he said.
“Minister Madden at the time said, among other things, that the boundary was fixed once and for all at 1km west of Duffields Rd.”
The director said Parklea was a minority shareholder within the syndicate.