Newcastle swung back to Labor with increased Greens votes (Labor preferences) in the NSW State elections last weekend after eight months of political turmoil, and by-elections following the resignations in 2014 of three Liberal MPS and the Newcastle Mayor on charges of corruption over political donations and slush funds, in Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiries in the Hunter and Newcastle areas. Overall ten Liberal MPS have resigned over the course of the inquiry into political donations and links to mining and property development. In contrast, during the same term of the NSW Liberal government there were cuts of $1.7 billion to education introduced by the Government, resulting in the axing of fine art courses in the Hunter TAFE.
Background
August 2014: Then Newcastle Mayor and property developer Jeff McCloy stood down following an inquiry into corruption by the ICAC for his history of political donations- it is illegal for property developers to make political donations in NSW. This was the charge that all ten MPs faced and were found guilty of and stood down over.
August 2014: Three Liberal MPs for the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area, Tim Owen (Newcastle), Andrew Cornwell (Charlestown) and Garry Edwards (Swansea) stood down on the same charges of corruption accepting illegal political donations from Jeff McCloy, who argued that he was not a corrupt property developer in this capacity when he donated as he said not all his companies are in property development, which was rejected in his defence by the ICAC.
"Mr McCloy said he'd given Mr Edwards [Swansea Liberal MP] about $1,500 in cash during the last state election campaign. That's on top of the bundles of $10,000 he'd given to two other candidates: the former member for Newcastle, Tim Owen, and the former member for Charlestown, Andrew Cornwell." (ABC news transcript 8.14.2014).
This is now well documented in the media, but for several years corruption over development coal loader plans for the former steelworks in Newcastle was implicated in the 'dirty tricks' against former Labor Newcastle MP Jodi McKay who lost her Labor seat after an insider Labor driven campaign against her (Labor's) plans for a container terminal project at the former BHP steelworks site at Mayfield - which a widely distributed leaflet falsely claimed would see "1000 trucks a day in the suburban streets'.
An ICAC inquiry in September 2014 found that former Labor powerbroker Joe Tripodi was the anonymous face behind the leafletting and that he had designed and organised its distribution to households across Newcastle. The ICAC inquiry found that Tripodi was interested in employment by Buildev owned by Nathan Trinkler mining magnate which planned to use the Mayfield site for a fourth coal terminal, in conflict with Jodi McKay's Labor plans. The health implications of a fourth coal terminal in Newcastle are dire, and have been researched as such.
This was evidence of dirty tricks in the NSW Labor party, which lost the 2011 election, and which showed that Labor were not immune to the corruption of property development and mining interests.
The Australian Greens party remains the only party in Newcastle that avoids corrupt dealings over the future of the city and its development in transition from a former major steel city.
Newcastle, New South Wales, needs the Greens Party to counter the corrupting influences, and hold the major parties to account and can play a vital and socially necessary role, in enabling artists to have a place in society and supporting arts education in TAFE again. The Greens are the only political party in Newcastle and the Hunter that has not been subject to an ICAC inquiry, and has not had party members involved in corrupt dealings. This and the political opposition to big mining and coal seam gas mining and opposition to ruthless roadway development plans in Sydney, has resulted in a big swing to the Greens in NSW gaining three so far counted, and perhaps four, seats in the Lower House.
Ruth Skilbeck
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-14/eighth-nsw-government-mp-stands-down-over/5671816http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-14/eighth-nsw-government-mp-stands-down-over/5671816
http://ruthskilbeck.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/could-this-really-be-last-grad-show-at.html
http://www.nswlabor.org.au/jodimckay
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2489538/icac-strike-10th-liberal-mp-skittled-at-inquiry/
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2527325/icac-stop-jodis-trucks-wasnt-my-idea-says-joe-tripodi/
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2497761/icac-joe-tripodi-organised-and-designed-stop-jodis-trucks-brochure/
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