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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-23 Daily Xml
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WHYALLA CITY COUNCIL

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations a question about the sale of land by Whyalla council.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: I refer to an article in The Independent Weekly entitled 'Landing the big one at Whyalla', by Hendrik Gout. The article sets out the circumstances surrounding the sale of parcels of land owned by Whyalla council for well under their market value.

In 2005, negotiations were entered into between Whyalla council and a company called Crown Island Investments for the sale of a parcel of some 12 hectares of land by a process called 'expressions of interest'; that is, no option or tender process was undertaken. The parcel of land was sold for $850,000. Just six months later, a quarter of the allotted land—some 3.7 hectares—was sold to a buyer for $4.6 million. I have also been advised that the correctional building in Whyalla was sold for much less than it was worth and, it is alleged, without council approval.

Whyalla ratepayers are understandably bewildered and very concerned as to why their council would short-change them in selling public land. There are also allegations calling into question whether proper council procedures were followed in relation to the approval process for the sale, and that some members of the council stood to benefit due to their holding interests in companies which bought the land from the council. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware of the concerns of Whyalla ratepayers regarding the transactions undertaken by the Whyalla council?

2. Does the minister know whether or not the land sales referred to were authorised by the director of planning with the approval of the Whyalla council?

3. Was the process by which the land sale was approved by council adhered to and, if not, why not?

4. What steps have been taken to investigate the allegations made regarding the council's dealings, and will the minister undertake to urgently investigate these matters?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions. I am aware that there was an article in a newspaper recently which raised issues of concern around the sale of land by the Whyalla council to Crown Island Developers. I understand that the article alleges that the council did not follow proper process and sold the land for what was believed to be an inadequate sum of money. I am also aware that the Hon. John Darley and others have referred to this article and have asked that the allegations be investigated. I have also received correspondence from the Hon. John Darley in relation to this.

A person who is entitled to have their identity protected under the Whistleblowers Protection Act has made a statement to a government investigation officer within the Attorney-General's Department. The Anti-Corruption Branch has received a copy of the statement taken from the whistleblower in relation to this matter, and I am advised that it is currently undertaking a preliminary assessment of the information contained within the statement to determine whether an investigation is warranted. As this matter is currently being assessed by the Anti-Corruption Branch it would be most inappropriate for me to make any further public comment at this time.

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