[Greens-Media] Developers and donations

[Manderson, Roland]

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ACT GREENS MLA DEB FOSKEY MEDIA RELEASE
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28 Feb 08

Developers and donations

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has today called on the Canberra Liberals to
come clean on the view of the proposed Tralee Development.

NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor is under fire for giving planning
approval to the Tralee residential development between Canberra and
Queanbeyan, after it was disclosed that the NSW Labor Party accepted a
sizeable donation from Tralee developer Village Building Company.

"It is not unusual for developers to give donations to political
parties. In this case, Village Building Company has also given
significant support to the Canberra Liberals in the run up to the last
federal election, and a little support to ACT Labor as well" Dr Foskey
said today.

"It is worth noting that Canberra Liberals - at both a local and a
national level - have been silent on the airport noise and Tralee
development issue."  

"Disclosure laws being what they are, we don't even know what donations
have been made to Labor or Liberal since the end of last June.  But in
2006/07 the Village Building Company donated $13,760 to the Canberra
Liberals (and $1,500 to ACT Labor)."

"While we understand that ACT Labor opposes Tralee, we don't yet know
what the Canberra Liberals think."

"It would be good to be sure that the Village Building Company's
donations haven't bought Liberal Party silence from Senator Humphries or
from his Assembly colleagues." 

"There is a bigger issue about political donations. When the ACT
Government's Electoral Legislation Amendment Bill is debated in the
Assembly, the Greens will move to have all political donations publicly
declared before elections (rather than afterwards), and for donations
from developers declared every time they make a development
application."

 "There is a persuasive case to put a stop to all political donations to
politicians and political parties.  At the very least, however, we need
a really transparent system" Dr Foskey said.


================================
Roland Manderson   Media Advisor
ACT   Greens    MLA  Deb  Foskey  
Legislative Assembly for the ACT 
ph(02)62050551      m 0412241379
==== www.act.greens.org.au ===== 
  
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