Weightlifter Con Vasiliades was a Liberal councillor in Canterbury. The home and office of his father, George, a real estate agent and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, have been searched. Credit:@w8lifta on Instagram A decade later, on June 22, 2016, ICAC officers executed search warrants at a number of premises including Canterbury council chambers in Beamish Street, a firm of architects, the home of councillor Michael Hawatt (Liberal), as well as the home and office of local real estate agent George Vasiliades (frequently shortened to Vasil) whose son Con, a weightlifter, was a Liberal councillor. Speaking from Morocco, Mr Hawatt denied any wrongdoing. He said that ICAC were a bunch of "amateurs" who "haven't got a clue how council operates and how to resolve planning problems". He said ICAC's targeting of Mr Vasil was "very disappointing" as Mr Vasil was a "walking encyclopedia" when it came to council and planning matters. Another councillor, Labor's Pierre Azzi, claimed ICAC's investigation was a "political stunt" and that the council's planners "never let anyone jump above the law." Of particular interest to ICAC has been the planning decisions along Canterbury Road and Charles Street, which saw some Liberal and Labor councillors voting together to approve developments which council's planning staff had previously rejected due to non compliance.

Fairfax Media understands ICAC has been examining meetings hosted in private homes attended by developers, lobbyists, councillors and staff. However, the lack of any formal announcement by ICAC about its investigation or the timing of a public inquiry has power brokers from both major political parties in a quandary. Until the new-look ICAC, headed by three commissioners, takes effect at the end of July, no announcement will be made on whether the corruption watchdog will proceed to public hearings. For its part, an ICAC spokeswoman said, "The commission doesn't comment on operational matters." Without any information on whom, if anyone, may be caught up in a future inquiry, both parties are struggling with pre-selections for the September 9 council election.

The Labor party has decided to remove the process from the rank and file, with head office choosing the candidates. Nominations have closed for the Liberal party with the pre-selection process occurring on July 27. Canterbury and Bankstown councils amalgamated in May 2016 with an administrator, Richard Colley, appointed to oversee the merger. Mr Colley had only been in the job for a few weeks when ICAC came knocking on the door. "It is common knowledge that there is an investigation," he said. "When I first took up this role it became apparent that there were a number of properties on Canterbury Road and close by that had compromised policies of the previous Canterbury council."

Mr Colley also said that a number of developments in "that very important corridor" had breached the council's policies "fairly dramatically in terms of bulk, scale and height". The combined Canterbury Bankstown council is already the largest in the state and, with the state government's recent announcement of plans to put another 100,000 people in the area, there is widespread community concern that potentially corrupt planning decisions could have a major effect on parking, traffic and overdevelopment. Among those nominating for Liberal pre-selection for the new council are George Vasiliades' sons Will and Con. Mr Vasiliades, a Commonwealth weightlifting gold medallist, runs the Ray White real estate agency in Earlwood. His two sons both weightlifters, run a weightlifting gym behind the real estate agency. The real estate interests of the Vasiliades family have provoked discussion within the local community. When he was on council, Con Vasiliades' declared a pecuniary interest in 11 properties.

Residents near the council-owned public space in Kingsgrove Road, Belmore, were furious to discover that after a brief advertising campaign, the council sold an area of open land to Cr Vasiliades' father George, who has development approval to build a four-storey block of flats which exceeds the council's height limit. When asked about ICAC's raid on his office, Mr Vasiliades said, "I can't make any comments on that whatsoever." His son Con did not return calls. Meanwhile, one of the properties believed to be of interest to ICAC is the old hardware store site at 548 Canterbury Road, Campsie. Property developer Charlie Demian finalised his $14 million purchase of the site in November 2014. Last month, Mr Demian secured $52.8 million when he flicked the property to Queensland developer Derek McCartney. While not a sod was turned during the two years he owned it, Mr Demian secured a very lucrative windfall when the council approved an extra two floors on top of his existing approval for a six floor, 254-unit complex. The approval exceeded the council's height restrictions. Local government minister Gabrielle Upton declined to comment on whether requests had been made to defer the Canterbury Bankstown election.