Perth Voice Interactive

LISA SCAFFIDI “signally failed in her duties” as Perth lord mayor by not disclosing several gifts and travel packages, the WA corruption and crime commission has found in a report that rocked Perth this week.

In addition to a big hospitality package to the Beijing Olympics from mining giant BHP, the CCC reveals property developer Hawaiian Investments offered the lord mayor three nights’ accommodation in Broome with husband Joe Scaffidi. At the time Hawaiian had been part of a consortium seeking $180,000 from the city.

“Mrs Scaffidi did not even make an impartiality declaration,” the CCC notes in its explosive report. “It should have been obvious to Mrs Scaffidi that Hawaiian as part of the BID consortium would benefit from the City’s approval of $180,000.”

The CCC report released Monday October 5 finds “serious misconduct” relating to the failure to disclose those gifts. The decision now rests with the WA local government department as to whether to take action against Ms Scaffidi, who is seeking re-election.

WA local government minister Tony Simpson stopped short of calling for her sacking but echoed premier Colin Barnett in noting a member of Cabinet would have been sacked for similar conduct.

Ms Scaffidi also did not declare free tickets, food and accommodation for Chris Isaak tickets, worth more than $600 (anything higher than $300 must be declared if “the donor is undertaking or intending to undertake an activity that requires council authorisation”).

Ms Scaffidi says she’d asked then-CEO Frank Edwards if she was allowed to accept the gifts and he’d given her the okay, but the commission determined she was ultimately responsible for her actions.

The report noted that Mr Edwards had co-operated with Ms Scaffidi to keep details of her Olympic visit secret from other councillors for fear it could be used against her, and he’d worked up a declaration of interest for her that “camouflaged” the true nature of the trip. The lord mayor had later used that declaration to publicly state the Perth city council had approved her trip.

The commission “did not determine that Mrs Scaffidi had acted corruptly”.

In a written statement in response to the CCC’s finding, Ms Scaffidi says “I accept I failed to comply with the relevant provisions of the local government act, and for that I am truly and deeply apologetic”.

But she also says “would I do the same again? The answer is absolutely, it is my work, all in the line of duty”.

“But as a result of the report’s findings I am now acutely aware of the relevant provisions of the local government act and the need to comply with the law.”

Ms Scaffidi says BHP invited “many key representatives of the WA government and business community to attend to ensure that their presence at the Beijing Olympics had the required status to suitably impress the senior Chinese representatives present”.

However, premier Colin Barnett says, “I don’t see there was any benefit to the state out of that and at any rate it was too expensive, very much a personal thing and the failure to declare was a problem”.