Premier Chris Minns remains unsure about whether a NSW minister referred to an anti-corruption body was involved in decisions that benefitted his in-law’s “vast” property portfolio.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has moved to the back bench and his future in the NSW Labor party is under a cloud after he failed to declare commercial holdings while minister for the Hunter region.
Mr Minns asked for Mr Crakanthorp’s resignation on Wednesday after learning the MP’s family owned “a vast number of properties” in the Hunter.
After resigning, the former minister said the properties were primarily in the Newcastle suburb of Broadmeadow, home to an NRL and A-League stadium and a proposed route for the Newcastle Light Rail extension.
While the portfolio had no executive powers, Mr Crakanthorp was responsible for lobbying and co-ordinating other ministers to drive development in the Hunter.
Mr Minns on Thursday declined to say whether Mr Crakanthorp was involved in decisions about the light rail extension.
“I do have concerns actions may have been taken that could have led to a private benefit … but I’m not going to speculate on particular ones,” he told reporters.
“I’m not trying to be coy about it but having referred it to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, it’s important that they’re able to do their investigation, free from ongoing commentary from me.”
The failure to disclose the properties until Wednesday breached the ministerial code of conduct, prompting Mr Crakanthorp’s resignation.
The government was still investigating whether any projects or plans needed to be paused due to the Hunter minister’s involvement, the premier said.
“I don’t have an answer for that right now,” he said.
“Our immediate task and immediate actions were in relation to his executive role.”
In a late-night speech to parliament, Mr Crakanthorp revealed he made two separate disclosures after his initial declaration of interests about the time of the Minns cabinet’s swearing-in in early April.
One mentioned a property owned by his wife and that his father-in-law owned property at Broadmeadow.
Mr Crakanthorp said he later became aware properties owned by his in-laws within Broadmeadow also represented a conflict of interest.
Discussions in recent days with his wife’s parents and siblings resulted in “a full list of each of their interests” being provided to the Premier’s Office, he told parliament.
“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,” Mr Crakanthorp said.
Mr Minns has repeatedly declined to reveal how he first learned of the in-laws’ property interests.
He has promised to boot Mr Crakanthorp from the parliamentary Labor party should ICAC launch an investigation and has reminded other ministers of their obligations.
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the premier must further detail the commercial real estate holdings, ministerial decisions potentially impacted by them and the future of those decisions.
“What we’ve seen in the first 129 days of this government through inexperience (and) arrogance is a failure to manage conflicts of interest properly,” he told reporters.
Breaches of the ministerial code, on their own, can be means for a finding of corrupt conduct by ICAC.
The anti-corruption commission in June found former premier Gladys Berejiklian engaged in serious corrupt conduct by involving herself in decisions in Wagga while in a long-term romantic relationship with local MP Daryl Maguire.
As a result of Mr Crakanthorp’s resignation, Deputy Premier Prue Car will take the skills, TAFE and tertiary education and training portfolios and Swansea MP Yasmin Catley will add the Hunter to her police and counter-terrorism portfolios.
