Democracy for Sale

At a recent Political Donations public meeting held in Manly, Manly Councillor Brad Pedersen moved a motion to adopt the following Charter for Political Reform, based on a motion he had previously moved successfully on Manly Council.


Warringah Charter of Political Reform

1) All council candidates will be asked to make a public commitment not to
accept any direct or indirect donations from property developers and persons
with commercial real estate interest.

Immediately on announcing their candidature, all those aspiring to public
office will be asked to sign a statutory declaration committing themselves
to such a principle.

2) That the true original source of all donations over $500 or equivalent
in-kind to a councillor, candidate, group or party be fully disclosed.
Before accepting any donation, the candidate, group or party must inform the
donor that this information will be publicly disclosed.

3) That all candidates be asked to voluntarily fully declare all their
business and property interests before the election. These declarations to
be made available for public scrutiny within seven (7) days of formal
candidature.

4) A councillor candidate, group or party must ensure all auction
fundraising donations over $500 or equivalent in-kind fully disclosed before
the election.

5) A councillor candidate, group or party must immediately declare during
the campaign and before the election any incoming donations over $500 or
equivalent in-kind. The Council will administer an up-to-date public
declaration that includes financial donations received that are over $500 or
equivalent in-kind and promises of any forthcoming donations.

6) Councillor candidates are to be asked to declare by statutory declaration
any current or previous membership of any political parties within the last
four (4) years.

7) Political 'trust funds' or the like, set up to benefit any candidates,
sitting councillors, groups or political parties should be fully disclosed
within one (1) week of its creation. The original source of all trust fund
donations over $500 or equivalent in-kind to be disclosed.

8) Councillors must act with due diligence to ensure they are aware of any
donations over $500 or equivalent in-kind made to their respective parties
at state or federal level. A councillor whose party receives a donation at
state or federal level must not vote on a matter that delivers a financial
advantage to that donor. The councillor must treat the matter as a conflict
of interest, just as if the donation was made directly to that councillor.

9) This Charter is to be administered by the Council. All the information on
donations, party membership and financial interests of candidates must be
collated on statutory declarations, and signed by those candidates. The
council administration will ensure all the statutory declarations are

on public view at the council, on the council website and published a week
prior to and the day prior to the election in the Manly Daily.

10) The definition of Property Developer in the Charter is: any person or
body that carries out or has as one of its principal objectives the carrying
out of development within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979 "more or less" on a continuous or repetitive basis with
a view to making a profit (whether or not a profit is made.)

or

Definition 2

Meaning of "major developer"

1) In this Part, major developer means a person who has, in any 5-year
period, lodged a development application or applications relating to the
carrying out of development on any one or more parcels of land if the
estimated cost of carrying out the development (as specified in the
development application or applications) totals $5,000,000 or more.

2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the carrying out of development on a
parcel of land if it is intended that at least 75 per cent of the total
floor area of any buildings on the land after the development has been
carried out will initially be occupied by the person carrying out the
development for a period of at least 12 months.

3) For the purposes of subsection (2), an intention to occupy land must be
evidenced by a letter or other document stating that intention submitted to
the consent authority in connection with the relevant development
application or by a statutory declaration.

4) Despite subsection (1), a person is not a major developer on any
particular day if, in the period of five (5) years immediately preceding
that day, no development application has been lodged by the person that
would have contributed to the person being a person to whom subsection (1)
applies.

5) If a corporation is a major developer, every director of the corporation
is taken to be a major developer.

In this clause, development and development application have the same
meanings as in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Motion

1) That this public forum endorses the Charter of Political Reform.

2) That this public forum calls on all candidates for both Manly and
Warringah Councils to abide by the Charter principles and complete a
statutory declaration within 7 days of declaration of candidature.

3) That this public forum requests that the Manly Daily, Council websites
and the Council reports the details of the completed statutory declarations
7 days prior to the election.

4) That this public forum requests that the Manly Daily, Council websites
and Council newsletters reports any candidates that decline to complete the
statutory declaration and/or decline to commit to the Charter of Political
reform principles.