Lord mayor Robert Doyle's Team Doyle won five of 11 council seats with the help of more than $100,000 from the property industry, including Central Equity. Cr Doyle this week vowed that the five would not vote on projects before the council from donors to his campaign. ''They know the moment any development of theirs comes up, anybody on my whole team has to rule themselves out,'' he said.

But other councillors, including planning committee chairman Ken Ong, also received donations from property interests, including some of the developers that contributed to the Doyle campaign.

As a consequence, those developers may have inadvertently compromised the majority of the council, denying them a say on the very proposals for which they seek support.

Cr Ong acknowledged that he and fellow councillors had ''clear conflicts'' of interest as a result of developer donations. He confirmed the donations could leave the council without a quorum and therefore unable to pass judgment on some planning matters, or give advice to the state government on larger development projects.

Some councillors have expressed concern about the impact donations could have on the council's ability to consider planning applications. ''There are going to be potential consequences. I don't know what they will be but if a development comes before the committee and there is not a quorum then we won't be able to vote on significant planning decisions,'' said Greens councillor Cath Oke.