Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece has finally come clean about the “generous Italian family” behind a multimillion-dollar fountain gift, as the developers behind the plan moved to defend the donation amid conflict of interest concerns.
An investigation by The Age on Tuesday revealed the Marcocci family were promising to fund a fountain in Argyle Square, off Carlton’s Lygon Street, and that they were also property developers who donated to Reece’s election war chest. The family also owns a large parcel of land in the Macaulay precinct in North Melbourne, which the City of Melbourne is considering whether to compulsorily acquire.
Pressed on the revelations, Premier Jacinta Allan and the state opposition refused to commit to integrity rule changes that would have disallowed the developer donation in the first place.
Maurizio Marcocci, managing director of University Food Group, defended his family’s contributions and engagement with the council in a statement to The Age on Tuesday night.
“The family has at all times followed due process and complied with council officer requests to introduce the concept, design and funding of the fountain to councillors through the appropriate channels,” Marcocci said.
He said the family had relocated their wholesale meat business from near the square at the corner of Cardigan and Pelham streets during the pandemic, at which time patriarch Eusebio Marcocci proposed “gifting” a fountain to symbolise the migrant community’s contribution to the city.
Reece had declined to identify the donor in three separate interviews during the past 18 months, but named them on ABC Radio Melbourne’s Mornings program.
“We have had an offer by an Italian family, the Marcoccis, to make a philanthropic donation to the City of Melbourne to build a fountain in the square,” Reece told host Waleed Aly.
“The Marcocci family did make a donation to my campaign, and if it comes to pass that the council makes a decision about that donation to the city to build a fountain, then I will recuse myself from that decision. I’ll step out for that particular council vote.”
In November, Reece said the fountain was expected to cost between $1 million and $5 million. Neither the lord mayor nor the family have to date confirmed the total cost.
The family are developing the $80 million “La Storia” apartment complex in Carlton, which directly overlooks Argyle Square, the proposed site of the fountain development.
Through their investment vehicle, Lou Nominees, the Marcocci family donated $10,000 to the mayor’s election campaign for him and his fellow “Team Nick” councillors Roshena Campbell (now deputy lord mayor), Kevin Louey and Mark Scott.
Reece’s team raised more money during last year’s council election than any previous Melbourne mayoral campaign, at nearly $1 million. The Marcocci donation came just weeks after Reece pledged in August 2024 to refuse donations from property developers.
Speaking to the ABC, Reece justified the donation by stating the family had no “live developments” in the city. “I’m not aware of them having any live applications for a development. And so that donation was made in good faith, and I received it in good faith,” he said.
Integrity experts warned such “gifts” were a well-known red flag and corruption risk. Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore and Dr Colleen Lewis, of ethics advocacy group Accountability Round Table, reiterated calls for Victoria to follow NSW, South Australia and the ACT in banning developer donations to councillors.
The approval for the Marcocci family’s Carlton complex was issued under the previous term of the council, of which Reece was a part. The council is considering whether to acquire large tracts of land in the Macaulay development area, including a parcel owned by the Marcocci family. Reece and his team have recused themselves from two of three votes related to Macaulay.
Addressing the Macaulay land, Maurizio Marcocci said the family had learnt of the proposal to apply a public acquisition overlay via a letter sent last month. He described the proposal as relating to a “very narrow strip of land” – approximately 650 square metres of a site of almost 11,000 square metres – required for open space planning.
In a statement to The Age, Reece defended the fountain as a decades-old community priority, and said the space for the project was included in the 2004 Argyle Square masterplan.
On Tuesday, Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell renewed calls for bans on developer donations and the introduction of real-time disclosures.
“Decisions should be made based on what’s best for the community, not property developers who bankroll politicians,” she said.
“Victoria is already lagging behind other states that have already banned developer donations, and the only reason Labor hasn’t acted on this yet is because they’re cashing in cheques from the same vested interests.”
Allan would not be drawn on whether Victoria would ban developer donations or cap donations in local government. Currently, the amount of money a donor can give a council candidate is unlimited, while the state candidates are limited to about $5000.
Allan said she needed to seek an update on how far her government’s policy work had progressed and suggested further talks would hinge on which MP held the local government portfolio in a reshuffle to be finalised on Wednesday. MP Nick Staikos currently holds the role.
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury said the Coalition did not support industry-specific bans on donations that would “count people out of being part of the democratic process”. But he said it was fair to ask whether council donations should be disclosed in a more timely manner, in line with state and federal processes.
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Rachael Dexter is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at rachael.dexter@theage.com.au, rachaeldexter@protonmail.com, or via Signal at @rachaeldexter.58Connect via Facebook or email.
Daniella White is a state political reporter for The Age. Contact her at da.white@nine.com.auConnect via X or email.
