Deputy Mayor Paul Pingiaro appeared uncomfortable and defensive during a tense debate on election donation rules at last night’s Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting, as a 5-5 split vote killed off a push for tougher transparency.
A move to tighten the rules around who can bankroll Mornington Peninsula council candidates was defeated after a 5-5 split on a motion from Cr David Gill. The group of councillors regularly described by critics as the “bloc of six” was one short, with Mayor Anthony Marsh absent from the chamber, but the remaining five still had the numbers to block the proposal.
Cr Gill’s notice of motion asked council to call on the Victorian Government to strengthen controls on campaign donations, including who can donate, how much can be given and how quickly that money must be disclosed. Donations would be limited to people on the local electoral roll, with stronger disclosure requirements and a ban on donations in the final fortnight of a campaign.
This is a motion in the public interest. We need to ensure that companies are not set up to hide donors or enable candidates to hide where donations come from. People should know. This should be transparent. You are going to take $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 from a donor or a series of donors, and people are voting for you. I think that should be on the public record, and it should be on the public record immediately.
Patton warns how money can tilt the field
Cr Max Patton backed the motion and highlighted the power of campaign spending.
In the age of social media advertising, I think the dollar can go a long way in reaching greater audiences and can help people win elections. Your average person who might not be as well-heeled to be able to run an effective campaign that might make a really great councillor or represent a really underrepresented part of the community will not even end up getting a look-in.
Pingiaro appears uncomfortable as he resists wording
Pingiaro, the only councillor to voice opposition, said he supported transparency in principle but warned of unintended consequences if donation rules were tightened without care, particularly for candidates whose support base sits just outside the shire boundary.
The principle behind this motion is clear. Our community does expect transparency and fairness in council elections. So do I. But I think we have already debated this space several times over the year, and we need to be careful we do not rush into something that creates new problems while trying to solve another.
He also raised concerns about a section of the motion asking the state government to investigate donations received after elections, arguing it could be read as implying sitting councillors had done the wrong thing.
Cr Patton interjected to say he did not believe the motion accused current councillors of misconduct. After that exchange, Pingiaro withdrew the suggestion that the motion directly alleged improper conduct, but maintained his concern about how the wording could be interpreted.
How the vote fell
Crs Gill, Michael Stephens, Patrick Binyon, Patton and Kate Roper supported the motion.
Crs Cam Williams, Andrea Allen, Bruce Ranken, Stephen Batty and Pingiaro opposed it, leaving the chamber tied 5-5 and the motion declared lost. Marsh was not present for the debate or the vote.
The five councillors who voted against the motion are the same five who, together with Marsh, are often described by critics as the “bloc of six” because of their voting patterns on key issues over the past year.
Developer linked donations in the background
The debate unfolded against ongoing concern about developer linked funding in the 2024 Mornington Peninsula council elections.
Earlier this year, The Age reported that a private company called Friends of the Peninsula Pty Ltd, run by residential property developer Ariel Lakman, donated more than $35,000 to candidates running for Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. According to that report, first term MPSC councillors Cam Williams and Bruce Ranken received $5,055 and $7,136 respectively from Friends of the Peninsula, while failed candidates Peter Clarke and Susan Bissinger received $14,066 and $8,873. The company was registered shortly before the 2024 council elections and has since been at the centre of community concern about developer influence on local decisions.
One of the first decisions of the newly elected council in December 2024 was to abolish its affordable housing development contributions strategy and scheme. Williams and Ranken both voted with the bloc to scrap the scheme.
It should be noted that Cr Gill’s motion did not seek an outright ban on developer or company donations. Instead, it aimed to put pressure on the state government to tighten who can donate, limit the use of private entities such as Friends of the Peninsula to channel money into campaigns, and require near real time publication of contributions so voters can see who is funding candidates before they vote.
