from Mike Carlton 

Very ugly developments in the genteel world of town planning ….. 

Frank Vellar, the badly shaven property developer, has not done any favours for the industry in which he has suddenly become such a colourful figure.

If we are to accept even a shred of the evidence at the ICAC inquiry into property development in Wollongong, Mr Vellar has been a very bad boy indeed. 

Bonking the attractive blonde town planner while inviting a convicted criminal to give her a "pretty heavy duty" going over; matey telephone chats with the ever-so-helpful former Wollongong council chief executive Rod Oxley; a bribe or three in the right places; this gives property development and local government a bad name. It is most unfortunate. 

As everyone knows, property developers are altruistic souls whose high purpose in life is to nurture a healthy democracy. We see this, in the most practical way, in their handsome donations to political parties. They are inspired by the hope that their contributions will encourage political debate to flourish for the benefit of all. 

A few cynics will see things otherwise, as cynics always do. There are even people who think some property developers are greedy touts who stump up the cash to obtain favours in return. A swift rubber-stamping of a shonky development application here, a friendly rezoning there, a handy relaxation of the building codes somewhere else, that sort of thing.

But this would assume that politicians and local government councillors might also be on the make.

The cynics would also have us believe there are venal politicians who actually solicit wink-nod donations from property developers and the like; politicians who rub shoulders with sleazy wheeler-dealers at party fund-raisers; politicians who might even fix jobs for their mates in government departments and so on; politicians who will do almost anything for a buck. 

Surely not.

This is unthinkable.

The great political parties - government or opposition, Labor, Liberal or National - accept corporate donations in the noble spirit in which they are given. 

The Labor Party is particularly good at this.

But consider, also, the odd million dollars that the Melbourne cardboard king Dick Pratt contributed to the Liberals over the years. 

Does anyone seriously believe that he forked out for the base motive of encouraging the Howard government not to bring in jail penalties for the price-fixing racket he was engaged in ?

Or worse, that the government, well aware of Pratt's generosity, helpfully overlooked five years of promises to legislate for those penalties? 

We must continue to believe that this great country of ours is well served by the happy interaction of big money and big politics. But I fear that Frank Vellar and friends have undone much of the good work.