I thought a little trip down memory lane may be timely given some of my recent posts regarding the goings on in the Wollongong electorate and the questionable manner in which Sussex St has been dealing with the matter.

Below is a part of the Hansard Transcript of a debate in NSW Parliament on  an ammendment to the Election Funding Political Donations and Expenditure) Bill 2008 from 24^th June 2008, the entire transcript can be viewed via this link.

The speaker in the section quoted is Lee Rhiannon MP of The Greens and she is speaking regarding the Member For Wollongong Noreen Hay.

I dredge this up now as I think it is relevant given that Noreen Hay is now the NSW Opposition Whip. It is worth reading part of Noreen’s history to determine if you think that Noreen is an appropriate person to have in the position of Opposition Whip.

 An examination of the activities of the member for Wollongong, Noreen Hay, shows that that is not always clear. Ms Hay told the ABC Four Corners program on political funding, aired earlier this year:

“You know having dinners and raising funds, that’s the system that exists and I work within the system that exists.”

Ms Hay raised almost double the amount she declared for the 2007 election campaign, taking her total from $120,000 to $230,000. She has admitted to receiving a donation of office space from a developer, Frank Vellar. Ms Hay initially failed to disclose that donation and other donations totalling $65,000. All up, the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry found that Ms Hay had received $181,000 more in donations than she declared. That is a lot of money. I think it is important that Ms Hay discloses full details of these donations, as she is obliged to do under the current election funding law. Ms Hay should reveal to her constituents and the Election Funding Authority how much was spent on the renovation of her house by developer Ken Tugrul. The locals have a right to see the receipts for this work. This would be one of the quickest ways Ms Hay could clear her name.

Ms Hay has had some interesting adventures with developers, and it appears that in some cases the full story is yet to be revealed. It has been reported that Ms Hay lobbied to have a publicly owned car park rezoned in an area that benefited the developer Jempak, who purchased this land very cheaply and in murky circumstances involving the former corrupt Wollongong City Council. Indeed, the developer’s representatives publicly thanked Ms Hay for her assistance in securing the rezoning. Jempak is the same corporate outfit that constructed a massive, non-conforming residential development, the Landmark Executive Apartments, across the road from the rezoned car park. According to official records, Ms Hay is listed as an owner of a unit in this development, which she has listed as purchasing for $340,000. Several similar units purchased that year were resold within months, and some within weeks, for $490,000.

If Ms Hay did purchase a unit at a rate below market value, the people of Wollongong need to know how this came about and be absolutely sure that her decision to invest in this developer’s project had nothing to do with the assistance she apparently provided to the same developer in his other controversial projects. Developers and their donations are doing enormous damage to the planning and democratic processes in this State. Another problem with the fundraising efforts of lower House candidates is that many do not spend all their money on the election campaign for which the moneys are raised, and there is a large question mark over what happens to this money. The member for Wollongong, Noreen Hay, and the member for Kiama, Matt Brown, have more than $280,000 in unspent election funds sitting in their campaign accounts.

Election Funding Authority records reveal that after the 2007 State election both Noreen Hay and Matt Brown had funds left over. Mr Brown raised $209,000 in his campaign but spent only $113,000, while Ms Hay raised $230,000 and spent only $39,000. Both used personal bank accounts for the campaign funds, which are not audited by Labor Party headquarters. I understand that both these members of Parliament have stated that surplus funds are retained in their accounts for later campaigns. Ms Hay has also used some of her leftover money to assist other Labor candidates, but these donations have been small. Ms Hay made a $2,000 donation to Tweed Labor candidate Neville Newell and one of $240 to Paul McLeay’s Heathcote campaign. Ms Hay’s donation chest has also received contributions from Wollongong and Shellharbour councils. Wollongong City Council reportedly paid $2,250 for nine councillors to attend a Noreen Hay fundraiser at the Lagoon Restaurant in 2005. Ms Hay ended up paying for these tickets as there was so much criticism of Wollongong ratepayers being hit up for this donation.

Not quite middle of the road – Noreen Hay  Image – Illawarra Mercury

Later in the same conversation Lee Rhiannon goes on to say

Ms LEE RHIANNON: Election Funding Authority records show that Shellharbour council donated $1,250 to Ms Hay’s campaign in December 2004. Mayor David Hamilton has stated that there was only a $500 cost to ratepayers after councillors paid their own way. Shellharbour councillors also attended one of Ms Hay’s fundraisers on the evening of Friday 23 November last year, the eve of the Federal election. This is an interesting event. Some of the invited guests saw it as a fundraiser; others saw it as a briefing from key Labor Ministers. There were plenty of Ministers on hand. At this event Ms Hay had the support of Treasurer Michael Costa, health Minister Reba Meagher and ports Minister Joe Tripodi. Dress was business attire for a $200 a head dinner at the Lagoon seafood restaurant, a venue favoured by Ms Hay for many of her fundraisers. The event was not advertised as a fundraiser and attendees were asked to make cheques payable to the Noreen Hay campaign account. The invitation was sent out under the crest of the New South Wales Parliament. So, what was this event—a fundraiser or a briefing from leading Government Ministers?

At the public inquiry into Shellharbour council, Councillor Helen Gillett in sworn evidence denied she knew that the 23 November event was a fundraiser. She stated she was under the impression it was a meet the Ministers dinner. She said she tried to have the councillors’ money refunded by Ms Hay but when this did not happen she personally paid the money back to the council. The story got even better when the Australian Labor Party Mayor of Shellharbour, Mr David Hamilton, took the stand at the Shellharbour inquiry and said in his evidence that he did not know the business briefing dinner he attended was a political fundraiser for Noreen Hay until after he arrived and found his ticket had been paid. Why would he? Nowhere on the invitation does it say or suggest that this event was a political fundraiser. On the contrary, the New South Wales parliamentary crest, the official titles of the Ministers and the member for Wollongong, and the title of the event, “Annual business briefing”, are clearly designed to convey the impression that this was official Government business. The question on everyone’s lips in Wollongong is: How can a member of the Government use her official position and that of other Ministers of the Crown to pocket thousands of dollars of funds from her constituents? Is this not a question of obtaining personal benefit from public office? Does this not constitute corrupt behaviour?

Noreen is not only the Opposition Whip, she is also convener of the Labor Right faction Centre Unity of which NSW General Secretary Jamie Clements is also a prominent member, and sources close to the action credit Clements with ensuring Hay landed the role of Opposition Whip.

While these may be the standards embraced by Jamie Clements and Noreen Hay I would like to think they are not the principals of the entire faction, however nobody within it appears to making a stand against the pair.

I would like to think that the Labor Party in NSW is capable of heading in the same direction as the Labor Party in the rest of the country, however under current management that does not appear likely.

Something needs to give or else it would seem NSW Labor could be on a Hayride to Hell.

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