An associate of the man who sold a powerboat to Logan mayor Luke Smith denies the purchase was linked to any promise to push through a hotel development approval.
Former Logan mayor Luke Smith faces a committal hearing in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on two charges of perjury and one of corruption.
These charges relate to allegations he corruptly agreed to receive a powerboat from political donor SKL Cables Queensland to progress the development approval of a Springwood hotel.
A development application for the 15-storey hotel wanted to exceed the council's building height restriction, the court heard.
But former SKL director Ruquiang Yu, and policy adviser to the mayor, Mark Pascoe, gave evidence the powerboat had nothing to do with the development approval.
Mr Yu told the court the boat had belonged to another former SKL Cables director, Nathan Mai.
He sold the boat to Smith in 2016, about six months after he resigned from the company and seven months after the application was submitted to council.
Mr Yu said Mr Mai had owned the boat for a few years before the sale, and that it had been damaged in two floods.
This timeline was agreed by Smith's former adviser Mr Pascoe, who said he first learnt of the purchasing of the boat in September of 2016.
Mr Pascoe said the mayor told SKL Cables' directors before his election win in 2016 that he could influence the changing of council's building height restrictions.
However, he told the court Smith's desire to increase building heights was consistent with his vision of developing the region's infrastructure and business opportunities.
Smith faces another charge of failing to correct his council register of interests, which is not involved in the hearing.
He was arrested in 2018 after a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation.
The entire Logan council was sacked in May last year following the CCC's investigation.
The committal hearing will continue on Thursday.
Australian Associated Press
