Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
Politics
Tim Swanston

Logan Mayor urged to stand aside by fellow councillor amid ongoing CCC probe

Logan City Mayor Luke Smith outside the Crime and Misconduct Commission in Brisbane. (ABC News)

A Logan City Councillor wants Mayor Luke Smith to step down in the wake of the Crime and Corruption Commission's (CCC) Operation Belcarra report examining the 2016 local government elections.

The report found Cr Smith's election fund Logan Futures, established before last year's election, submitted an incomplete donation disclosure return that contained a number of errors, some of them labelled "significant".

The CCC also confirmed the Logan Mayor was facing an ongoing investigation into allegations he attempted to unlawfully influence the outcome of council decisions on development applications that would be beneficial to his campaign donors.

Councillor Darren Power said Cr Smith should stand down while the investigation continued.

"I've read the report and I think residents have read the report and they'll be deeply concerned particularly about accepting cash donations, not giving receipts, not keeping proper records, not completing his disclosure return," Cr Power said.

"These to me are very serious things.

The CCC report found Cr Smith received $377,833 in donations, the most money received by a single candidate or group of candidates in Queensland.

The state's corruption watchdog also identified a number of donors who gave funds to Logan Futures appeared to "have some interest in or relationship to property development in the Logan area".

"The CCC's view is that the poor governance of Logan Futures reduced the transparency of the donations received by Cr Smith," the report said.

"Likewise, Cr and [wife Andrea Smith's] direct involvement in the operation of Logan Futures indicates that the company did not serve Cr Smith's stated purpose of keeping campaign funds separate from him and his family."

Giving evidence at public hearings conducted as part of Operation Belcarra, Cr Smith said Logan Futures was established to be transparent and so that donation money was not "anywhere near me or my family home".

Cr Power said Queensland's electoral laws were too lax and the CCC needed stronger powers.

"I think Queensland should be ashamed of itself, I think it's got some of the most relaxed laws and I think the CCC should have a lot more teeth than they have."

Cr Smith has been contacted for comment.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.