A little while ago I drew attention to the prevalence of developer donations to both sides of politics. Maybe we are about to find out much more about it.
The biggest donor to the Liberal Party is George Cheihk who passed across around $250,000, giving him almost first mortgagee status. His donations to the ALP appear to be substantial, but more modest. He is now being sued by a disgruntled silent partner in his property developments, Sydney medical registrar Dr Lloyd Tang.
Dr Tang alleges that the donations were made without proper authorisation. Will be interesting to see what comes out in the case. The Courier Mail reports that the donations were made “to curry political favour in respect of residential subdivision developments”. This of course doesn’t constitute corruption, unless there was an obligation arising or an understanding that Cheihk would be treated favourably, rather than just an expectation on Cheihk’s part.
Still, it was unwise of either party, and in particular the less wealthy Liberal Party, to allow one individual to contribute so much to their campaign funds, as it could easily give rise to a perception of corruption, and in politics perception frequently stands-in for truth.