Nick Petroulias’ instructions to former Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council chairwoman Debbie Dates were clear: “Just sign it.”
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And so she did, on dozens of legal documents relating to the sale of millions of dollars worth of land council-owned land around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
The most significant of the documents were contracts that authorised the sale of five parcels of land in Warners Bay and Waratah worth about $12 million to Sunshine Property Investment Group, owned by Chinese businessman Tony Zong in 2015.
Ms Dates told the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday that she had no recollection of signing the documents.
“That’s my signature, but I never saw the paperwork. I don’t remember signing it,” Ms Dates said repeatedly when presented with numerous documents that appeared to bear her signature.
Further, Ms Dates admitted she did not understand the legal ramifications of the documents that she had signed.
“I had a lot of trust. They asked me to sign something and I signed it,” Ms Dates said.
It is also probing whether one of the deals was a sham set up by Mr Petroulias, a disgraced former assistant tax commissioner, using a company he allegedly controlled called Gows Heat.
It is alleged Mr Petroulias then on-sold his interests to other buyers, including Mr Zong.
Ms Dates, Mr Green, Mr Petroulias, Mr Zong and Mr Zong’s associate Sammy Sayed met at the Awabakal office in Islington on October 23, 2015, where the documents confirming the sale of the five parcels of land to Mr Zong were signed.
When asked by counsel assisting the commission Nicholas Chen, SC, why she had signed the documents without the permission of the Awabakal board, Ms Dates said she believed the land sales would be endorsed by land council members at a later date.
“It’s not my land to sell,” she said.
“I thought I was signing something that would take it to the next level [a members’ meeting].”
Ms Dates admitted she had signed the documents in the knowledge the money from the land sales would not go to the land council.
Despite that, she said she believed Mr Petroulias, who she thought was a solicitor, had the land council’s best interests at heart when he asked for her signature on a raft of documents.
“He said, ‘Just sign it. It will help the land council move forward. It will be good,’” Ms Dates told the commission.
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Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
