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Crakanthorp was ‘knocking on doors’ over redevelopment his family could have benefited from
By Michael McGowan and Max Maddison
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp was intimately involved in discussions over proposals for a multibillion-dollar redevelopment in his electorate that could have financially benefited members of his family.
Crakanthorp on Wednesday became the first minister of the new government to be sacked after Premier Chris Minns said he failed to disclose “substantial” private family holdings in his capacity as the minister for the Hunter.
Tim Crakanthorp (left) and Chris Minns pose together shortly after this year’s election.Credit: Instagram/@timcrakanthorp
Minns said he had referred the issue to the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, and on Thursday said there might have been “other breaches” by Crakanthorp in the four months since the government was elected.
“I do have to report to the House that there may have been matters over the preceding four months that may have caused other breaches or caused for an investigation by the corruption watchdog particularly in relation to those undisclosed properties and his actions as a minister,” Minns said.
The Herald can reveal Crakanthorp held numerous meetings as a minister over plans for a potential multibillion-dollar redevelopment in Newcastle that could have substantially improved the value of land held by his extended family.
Crakanthorp’s wife, Laura Crakanthorp, and father-in-law, Joe Manitta, own a substantial property portfolio in Broadmeadow, a suburb in Newcastle’s west.
Property records show that Manitta, Laura Crakanthorp, and other members of their extended family own at least seven parcels of land on Broadmeadow Road. Minns said on Thursday that there was no issue with the family holding the properties, but that ministers had an obligation to disclose them.
The land is part of a proposed redevelopment of the suburb which is currently being examined by the city’s council. Discussions between major landholders and the Department of Planning in the mostly industrial part of Broadmeadow where the family owns land have been ongoing for some time.
Nearby, plans for a massive entertainment and residential redevelopment are also under way. The so-called Hunter Park redevelopment – which includes plans for a new entertainment centre and about 2700 new homes – is worth about $3.7 billion, according to the City of Newcastle council.
Crakanthorp, as the minister for the Hunter, was involved in a series of meetings over the Hunter Park redevelopment and received a business case for the plan from sports minister Steve Kamper which was cabinet-in-confidence, documents seen by the Herald show.
NSW Premier Chris Minns announces Tim Crakanthorp had been sacked over his failure to disclose his extended families significant property holdings.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Kamper said on Thursday that the government had asked the acting Secretary of the Cabinet Office to conduct an audit of major developments in the Hunter as a result of the sacking.
“I understand that the acting Secretary of the Cabinet Office has been instructed to arrange for an urgent examination of all current major Hunter Region development processes involving state government agencies,” he said.
“We want to be sure that governance assurance and decision-making processes are sound,” he said, saying more information would be provided later.
The Herald has also confirmed Crakanthorp’s office was arranging a meeting with other Hunter MPs and stakeholders over the Hunter Park redevelopment.
On May 25, he had a meeting with Venues NSW, which owns much of the land, about the Hunter Park redevelopment, and in June he told a Property Council lunch in Newcastle that he was “knocking on the door of [Kamper] every day, I can tell you” over the development.
Crakanthorp did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but the Herald does not suggest his interest in the development was untoward.
Speaking at the Royal North Shore Hospital on Thursday, Minns said he was concerned Crakanthorp had acted in his “public capacity for private interests”, referencing development in the Newcastle area.
“Obviously like any town in NSW … there is the potential for development within those places. If you look at any regional centre from Newcastle in particular, that’s the case,” Minns said.
“Now if there is or there has been a concern about [Crakanthorp] acting in his public capacity, or potential private interests that needs to be investigated. I do have concerns about that; I’m being honest about it and that’s why we refer to the ICAC.”
Minns sought to clarify the sequence of events that resulted in Crakanthorp’s sacking, saying he had been provided with information relating to the commercial property empire of Crakanthorp’s wife’s family, particularly her father, across Newcastle.
The findings resulted in a formal letter from Minns to Crakanthorp.
Minns’ explanation appeared inconsistent with a statement provided by Crakanthorp to parliament late on Wednesday night. He claimed he had proactively self-reported the omission once he discovered the potential conflict of interest.
“In recent days I have made a subsequent disclosure to the premier’s office to self-report an omission on my ministerial disclosures as required by the code of conduct,” he said.
“I also took steps to subsequently notify the premier that I had now become aware that properties owned within Broadmeadow by my in-laws also now represented a conflict of interest.
“I appreciate and firmly believe ministers must be held to the highest standards and would like to note that this oversight was identified due to my own self-reporting.”
Present in parliament but consigned to the backbench, Crakanthorp became the focus of a spiteful question time, as Opposition Leader Mark Speakman accused the government of intentionally withholding key details.
In response, Minns accused the Coalition of waiting for a media inquiry before it disclosed any wrongdoings, pointing to shadow treasurer Damien Tudehope’s resignation over his Transurban shareholdings, and the beginning of former Liberal minister John Sidoti’s downfall.
Suspending standing orders in pursuit of all papers relating to Crakanthorp’s sacking, the Coalition was defeated after the minority Labor government received support from the entire crossbench besides independent Kiama MP and former Liberal Gareth Ward.
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