Scott Ian Munro gave misleading information about a political donation leading to a false declaration being made to the NSW Electoral Commission, a court has found.
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The 56-year-old Orange councillor was the subject of a trial in Orange Local Court this week in relation to his independent campaign for the state seat of Orange in the 2016 by-election.
The commission accused him of giving misleading information to his electoral agent, Karen Romano, which led to the false declaration. He was also accused of failing to provide a receipt.
The false information related to $2600 donated by the United NSW Greyhound Industry Fighting Fund Trust, set up in response to dog racing's temporary ban in 2016. That money was listed as a personal contribution when it should have been listed as a reportable donation, as it was more than $1000.
The $2600 donation was the maximum allowed for an independent candidate and was the only reportable donation he received. It appeared on a bank statement for his electoral account that was sent to Cr Munro's Baldry address.
Although Mrs Romano was a signatory, the statement was not sent to her or the electoral office.
Mrs Romano said during cross examination she was not aware of the greyhound fund's donation until she saw the bank statement, which only contained the fund's acronym.
Before the declaration was submitted she sent a text to Cr Munro asking if the $2600 from "UNSWGIFF Trust", as well as another amount of $6857, were donations or if they were personal contributions. Cr Munro only replied "yes", to which Mrs Romano asked if he meant, yes to personal contributions, and he replied "yes" again. The $6857 was a personal contribution but not the $2600.
Magistrate David Day said the text message was clear about the amount and who sent it, and Cr Munro was not a political novice.
"Her inquiry in the text referred to 'electoral commission' as such I'm satisfied that the accused gave information to his agent knowing that it was not accurate," Mr Day said.
He said Cr Munro lobbied the greyhound fund for the donation and met representatives at Wentworth Park.
"It was anticipated by the accused because he provided the banking details to the fund," Mr Day said.
Mr Munro is due to be sentenced in July. Mrs Romano was not prosecuted.
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Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
