Premier Acts, Hay Asked To Step Aside

Illawarra Mercury

Saturday March 1, 2008

By BRETT COX

WOLLONGONG MP Noreen Hay has been stood down as parliamentary secretary for health after her involvement with developer Frank Vellar was revealed at yesterday's Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry.

Just hours after the second week of hearings into Wollongong City Council ended, Premier Morris Iemma asked Ms Hay to stand down immediately from her role as parliamentary secretary.

Ms Hay was drawn into the ICAC inquiry after a taped phone call in which she agreed to help Mr Vellar gain political support for the North Beach Bathers' Pavilion was tendered as evidence.

Ms Hay declined to talk to the media yesterday, but issued a statement saying ICAC had not named her as a person of interest.

"I have done nothing wrong," she said. "I have detailed these discussions with developers and Wollongong council to the ICAC.

"I am ready to assist the commission further ... but I have been advised they don't expect to call me as a witness."

Ms Hay said she accepted Mr Iemma's decision to stand her down while the inquiry continued.

In the phone intercept, from October 6, 2006, Ms Hay tells Mr Vellar she will speak to Wollongong Labor councillors Kiril Jonovski, Zeki Esen and Frank Gigliotti about Mr Vellar's development plans for the pavilion.

Under questioning from counsel assisting the commission, Noel Hemmings, QC, Mr Vellar said he had sought the council's assistance as the cost of the project had risen.

Mr Hemmings asked Mr Vellar whether Ms Hay had arranged a meeting between Mr Vellar and the three councillors for October 18, 2006 - a meeting where Mr Vellar has alleged the councillors solicited a bribe from him.

"I don't believe that ... she did suggest that she would ... make contact with them but she then suggested that I should talk to the three councillors to seek their views and their support on the matter," Mr Vellar said.

Mr Vellar told ICAC his company, Sebvell, had given donations to Ms Hay and he had attended functions with her since 2003.

THE BATHERS' PAVILION

In August 2004 Frank Vellar was given a 35-year lease for the historic North Beach Bathers' Pavilion by Wollongong City Council.

In December that year Mr Vellar's company Pavilion Enterprises Pty Ltd lodged an application to build a two-storey glass and steel structure inside the heritage-listed building allowing room for four cafes.

The plan generated significant community opposition and in 2006 the NSW Heritage Office commissioned their own design concept to better recognise the building's heritage value.

A revised development application was lodged with council in January this year but on January 15 it was rejected for failing to meet heritage standards.

PHONE TRANSCRIPT

OCTOBER 6, 2006, 1.29PM.

Frank Vellar And Noreen Hay (State Parliament)

VELLAR: Listen, um, what I rang you for was the, the pavilion.

HAY: Yeah.

VELLAR: What's, what's transpired there is that I had attendance with Rod Oxley and we verbally cut a deal.

HAY: Yeah.

VELLAR: With all and sundry there that they, they are going to do some major, major works, um, to push the deal through. Because basically the two concepts there was a million dollars difference in construction costs.

HAY: Yeah.

VELLAR: And my viability and feasibility went out the door.

HAY: Yeah.

VELLAR: So we did a trade-off. I said well you spend a million dollars in infrastructure that I don't have to spend.

HAY: Yeah.

VELLAR: Anyway we've cut the deal verbally along those lines. Now do you suggest that I start making contact with the Labor aldermen or should I leave that with you?

HAY: Yeah you'd better, I'd better get more detail on this Frank.

VELLAR: Yeah because then you can go and talk to Kiril, Zeke and Frank.

HAY: Yeah exactly so.

VELLAR: And get the Labor people onside.

HAY: Yeah. Can you call into my office next week at all?

VELLAR: Ah, it'll be Thursday or Friday.

HAY: That's right the following week I'm back in Parliament so it sounds fine if you call in and I'll just get some more detail.

VELLAR: Yeah.

HAY: And then I'll talk to -

VELLAR: All right.

HAY: - I'll talk to the councillors then.

VELLAR: Okay.

HAY: Do not, yeah don't approach them because they'll all just cut each other's throats and you know.

VELLAR: Yeah.

HAY: It's like panic-stricken.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

Back to News Index | Back to Home