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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-25 Daily Xml
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LE CORNU SITE

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:10): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about the Le Cornu development.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am sure that members will recall that, on 2 May last year, when asked a question about the reasons for donations to the Labor Party, Mr John Blunt, Chief Executive of the Makris Group of Companies, said:

Yeah, we want to make our projects happen. That's for sure. But, you know, that's a part of the way the system, you know, politics works here.

On 26 July last year I asked the Leader of the Government whether or not a former Labor senator and member of state parliament, Mr John Quirke, had discussed with the leader on behalf of the Makris Group the proposed developments at the Le Cornu site by the Makris Group of Companies. The Hansard record shows that, on 26 July, the Leader of the Government did not respond to that question. In fact, he said that I was 'oozing sleaze' and that this was a 'sleazy accusation' in relation to Mr Quirke's lobbying on behalf of the Makris Group of Companies. Finally, it was revealed in the Independent Weekly a month later, on 17 August 2007, when the—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: They're picking things up from the Sunday Mail.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: It was revealed by the Leader of the Government, the Hon. Mr Holloway. If the Hon. Mr Hunter wants to doubt the veracity of his own leader, he can join the queue, as plenty of us on this side are doing.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The leader conceded in the Independent Weekly that, indeed, Mr John Quirke had attended the meeting in early to mid 2006 with the Makris representatives seeking approval for the Makris development at the Le Cornu site. Questions remain not only about Mr Blunt's statement to which I referred earlier about the reasons for his company's donations of $261,000 to the Hon. Mr Holloway's Labor Party but also about the close association of minister Holloway and the murky world of lobbying and, in particular, Mr Quirke's lobbying on behalf of the Makris Group of Companies. My questions to the Leader of the Government are:

1. Is it correct that the minister has attended private dinner parties at the eastern suburbs home of the lobbyist, Mr John Quirke?

2. If that is correct, did he have any discussions with Mr Quirke about the Makris proposed developments at the Le Cornu site on those occasions?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:13): The honourable member would well know that John Quirke and I were members of the House of Assembly from 1989 to 1993. Mr Quirke is a longstanding colleague and friend of mine. When he was the chair of the Economic and Finance Committee and I was a member, we regularly went to dinner. Yes, occasionally I do catch up with John Quirke, including at his house. As I said, he is a former colleague of mine. Unlike the Hon. Rob Lucas, I manage to keep good relationships with some of the people in politics.

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