Recently a Sunshine Coast Councillor declared that he had a “conflict of interest” when considering an application being put forward by a Local Developer.
The approval of a 24/7 service station on the David Low Way, which for many years the town plan stated was designated “residential development” is an example of poor judgement by the local representative.
Councillor O’Pray left the Council Meeting that was to debate and decide the outcome of the application as he advised the Applicant had paid for signage during the recent 2016 election. Councillor O’Prey would have been well aware that this Developer owned land in his area that was the subject of an application before the Council yet he chose to forget the conflict of interest he had by accepting campaign funding from the Applicant ahead of the thousands of local residents he was elected to represent. It would appear this was the real conflict of interest.
Even more interesting is the number of Developers who have financially supported various Councillors in their quest for election and who are awarded contracts for development of ratepayer owned assets. Yet another conflict of interest?
One only has to look at the list of developers who financially supported the various Councillors’ in the last election to understand the problem that Sunshine Coast residents face when they wish to be properly represented. Democracy cannot be based on deceit and lies. This must stop.
