Developers choose Sydney Labor
Newcastle Greens
28 September 2006
Developers choose Sydney Labor over Greens
Newcastle Greens Councillor Michael Osborne, who has been preselected as a candidate for the State seat of Newcastle for the next State election, has been refused a position on a developer-sponsored panel meeting today to discuss the future of the Lower Hunter.
“It is very disappointing that the developers’ lobby group, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, has invited one of the candidates for the seat of Newcastle but has refused to allow me, as the only other endorsed candidate, to be on the panel,” Michael Osborne said.
“The future of the Lower Hunter is a very important issue and the discussion needs to include all sections of the community, not just developers.
“It comes as a surprise that the Sydney-appointed Labor candidate for Newcastle, Jodi McKay, may make her first public policy announcement at the developers’ function.
“According to Australian Electoral Commission records, property developers have donated $7.258M to Sydney Labor over the last 5 years. This includes donations from companies such as Buildev, Hardie Holdings, North Lakes, Rosecorp, Westfield and Winten Property Group.
A searchable database of donations is available at Democracy 4 Sale
“It is concerning that if members of the public want to attend the developers’ function, they have to book and send the $60 fee to a Sydney address.”
