Jeffrey Raymond 'Jeff' McCloy is an Australian property developer, who was
Lord Mayor of Newcastle between 2012 and 2014. Before entering politics, he ran his own construction company, which built
John Hunter Hospital
The John Hunter Hospital and John Hunter Children's Hospital (sometimes known as the JHH and JHCH respectively, or more colloquially The John Hunter) is the principal referral centre and a tertiary hospital for Newcastle, and northern New South ...
. In 2008 he won the Hunter Business Chamber 2008 Business Person of the Year, and in 2009 he won the City of Newcastle Medal.
McCloy campaigned for the removal the
rail line through the centre of Newcastle and, despite being nominally an
independent
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* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, supported
Liberal
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* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
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* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidates in the Council ward elections.
Polling day in 2012 was marked by controversy when the running mate of an opposing candidate switched sides to support McCloy.
[
In 2012, McCloy met the then Opposition Leader (and future ]Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
) Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
to discuss the future of the Newcastle CBD. In 2013, he held a joint press conference with Abbott and Newcastle victims of the Bali bombings in support of Abbott's proposed legislation to assist victims of terrorism overseas.
McCloy opposed rainbow crossings in support of Gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
, referring to them as "nonsense", and used council resources to remove them, despite claims they did not breach any laws. After Lake Macquarie and Cessnock councils expressed support for the rainbow crossings, McCloy attacked Cessnock as a "bloody mess" and threatened to arrange for Lake Macquarie City Council chambers to be "chalked with half a ton of chalk".
McCloy appeared at a hearing of the Independent Commission Against Corruption 14 August 2014 relating to Operation Spicer, an investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct in relation to the 2011 elections in New South Wales. He was recalled to give further evidence on Friday 12 September 2014.
Tim Owen
Timothy Francis Owen (born 29 October 1955) is a former Australian politician and a former deputy commander of the Australian Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the elector ...
, the Liberal member for Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, and Andrew Cornwell
Andrew Stuart Cornwell (born 29 December 1969) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from the 2011 election until 2014, representing the electorate of Charlestown. He was elected as a Li ...
, the Liberal member for Charlestown, each admitted accepting amounts of $10,000 from McCloy. As a result, both Owen and Cornwell resigned from parliament on 12 August 2014.
On 17 August 2014, McCloy resigned as Lord Mayor of Newcastle, effective immediately. He said his resignation was due to ongoing controversy over his appearance before the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which he said "may effect icthe proper functioning" of Newcastle City Council.
In 2015, McCloy's attempts to overturn part of a New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Act of Parliament
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, enacted to prevent developers from making political donations
Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...
, were rejected by the High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
. The case was significant in Australian constitutional law
Australian constitutional law is the area of the law of Australia relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Australia. Several major doctrines of Australian constitutional law have developed.
Background
Constitution ...
, as it clarified the extent to which the Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...
provides an implied freedom of political communication
Australian constitutional law is the area of the law of Australia relating to the interpretation and application of the Constitution of Australia. Several major doctrines of Australian constitutional law have developed.
Background
Constitution ...
, and expanded on the proportionality test
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* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
developed in ''Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation
''Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation''. is a High Court of Australia case that upheld the existence of an implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution of Australia, Australian Constitution, but found that it did not n ...
''.
Corruption findings by Independent Commission Against Corruption
In 2016, The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption released a report on their investigation codenamed Operation Spicer. Operation Spicer was an 'Investigation into NSW Liberal Party Electoral Funding for the 2011 State Election Campaign and Other Matters'.
In 2011, Jeff McCloy, as a property developer, was a banned donor, to parties and candidates in state elections as state governments have jurisdiction over land appropriations etc. in Australia. McCloy not only made political donations, he made so many large cash payments to Members of Parliament that he referred to himself in the Independent Commission Against Corruption hearings as a 'Walking ATM'.
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption sought to prove that Jeff McCloy intentionally made covert payments to state government election candidates and that McCloy was aware that his donations were illegal because of his 'developer' status.
It was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
that Cardiff vet Andrew Cornwell was in the middle of an operation on a dog when he was summoned outside by McCloy. McCloy handed Cornwell $10,000 in cash, cash that was later used to fund Cornwell's state parliament election campaign.
On 30 August 2016, the Newcastle Herald reported that MCloy called Independent Commission Against Corruption 'A $20m waste of time'. 47% of Fairfax's online respondents agreed with McCloy's view. McCloy described the factual findings against him as 'a parking fine, a speeding fine'.
Correlation between the corruption findings and McCloy Group developments
Listed in the 'Principal Factual Findings made by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption in regards to Operation Spicer are the below references to Jeff McCloy.
Finding Reference Group 1: Regarding The Seat of Port Stephens
''Quote page 22 of the commission's report:'' "In 2007, Craig Baumann, the NSW Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Port Stephens, entered into an arrangement with Mr McCloy and Mr (Hilton) Grugeon to disguise from the Election Funding Authority the fact that companies associated with Mr McCloy and Mr Grugeon had donated $79,684 towards Mr Baumann’s 2007 NSW election campaign."
Finding Reference Group 1 Correlation with Development: Craig Baumann held the seat of Port Stephens in the NSW Parliament from 2007 to 2015. McCloy Group has developments within the Port Stephens state seat areas including ''The Bower'' (Medowie, NSW) and ''Potter's Lane'' (Raymond Terrace, NSW)
Finding Reference Group 2: Regarding The State Seat of Newcastle
''Quote page 20 of the commission's report:'' "In about February 2011, Jeffrey McCloy gave Hugh Thomson $10,000 in cash as a political donation to fund Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign for the seat of Newcastle with the intention of evading the Election Funding Act laws relating to the ban on the making of political donations by property developers and the applicable cap on political donations.
''Quote page 21 of the commission's report:'' "Mr (Mike) Gallacher was responsible for proposing to Mr McCloy and Mr (Hilton) Grugeon an arrangement whereby each of them would contribute to the payment of Luke Grant for his work on Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign. He did so with the intention that the Election Funding Act laws in relation to the prohibition on political donations from property developers and the requirements for the disclosure of political donations to the Election Funding Authority would be evaded..."
''Quote page 21 of the commission's report:'' Mr Owen, Mr Thompson, Mr Grugeon and Mr McCloy were parties to an arrangement whereby payments totalling $19,875 made to Mr Grant for his work on Mr Owen’s 2011 election campaign were falsely attributed to services allegedly provided to companies operated by Mr McCloy and Mr Grugeon.
Finding Reference Group 2 Correlation with Development: Part a
Jeff McCloy and McCloy Group has ongoing commercial development concerns within the Newcastle State seat locality, including 'City Exchange' and 'Telstra Civic'. Both sites will benefit significantly from the highly controversial Newcastle Transport Interchange and Light Rail due for completion in 2019, a major infrastructure project implemented by the NSW Liberal state government.
Finding Reference Group 2 Correlation with Development: Part b
McCloy Group's 'City Exchange' is tenanted by a gym owned by Wests Group. Wests Group are a not-for-profit gambling entity that, according to its 2017 Annual Report', made $143m in revenue in the year ending January 2017. As a group whose business interests are primarily involved in gambling, Wests Group are an illegal donor to political candidates in NSW, and as Lord Mayor of Newcastle and proprietor of McCloy group, incomes from Wests Group to Jeff McCloy or McCloy Group are considered indirect political donations.
Other Hunter Street property concerns
Relative to the highly controversial Newcastle Interchange, McCloy bought the Blackwoods property at Hannell St, Wickham in December 2006, the former Hunter Water headquarters at 591 Hunter Street in October 2007 (since subdivided, with the 591-address property sold and the 593-601 address retaining its heritage exterior), and a half shareholding of 356 Hunter Street in 2009. 591 Hunter Street and 356 Hunter Street are multi-block buildings that are on the Light Rail route, planned for completion in 2019.
The Newcastle Herald reported that in late 2007, McCloy bought the former Toymasters building at 615 Hunter Street, which was sold by McCloy in 2009.[
As of December 2017, 615 Hunter Street is tenanted by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services. The address 615 Hunter Street Newcastle West is on the Light Rail route.
Also in late 2007, McCloy bought 'the former Churchills building' at 633 Hunter Street Newcastle West, which he sold in February 2015.][ In 2008, McCloy bought The Lucky Country Hotel, now known as The Lucky, which was one of only two of his Hunter Street purchases that saw development under his tenure.
Over a ten year spending spree which included Hunter Street properties plus other holdings (a commercial property in Brown Street, a stately 'town' home in Church Street and Bolton Street's 'Legacy House' (now demolished and replaced with apartments) McCloy claims to have suffered $15.7 million in losses.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloy, Jeff
Mayors and Lord Mayors of Newcastle
New South Wales local councillors
Independent politicians in Australia
Living people
Rights in the Australian Constitution cases
Year of birth missing (living people)