The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday issued a statement confirming it had conducted a “preliminary investigation” into whether Crakanthorp “failed to declare a conflict of interest” over his family’s property holdings in the Hunter region.
Chris Minns and Tim Crakanthorp (right) in November.Kate Geraghty
In its statement the ICAC said it had prepared a report laying out its “factual and other findings” over Crakanthorp’s “conduct in relation to the NSW Ministerial Code of Conduct”.
It did not reveal the findings of that report,but said it was “satisfied that there are no reasonable prospects of finding Mr Crakanthorp’s conduct is sufficiently serious to justify a finding of corrupt conduct”. As a result,the watchdog said it had “terminated its investigation”.
“The report has been furnished to the secretary of the Cabinet Office,and the premier of NSW,who are the relevant public authority and responsible minister for the purposes of this matter,” the ICAC said in a statement.
“The report has been provided so that they are appraised of the outcome of the commission’s investigation,the commission’s findings and for the purpose of taking any action they consider appropriate.”
Crakanthorp has not been reinstated to cabinet at this stage and because the ICAC’s statement refers to his conduct in relation to the ministerial code it is unlikely he will return to the frontbench.
After the ICAC issued its statement on Wednesday afternoon,a spokesperson for Premier Chris Minns said the government was seeking legal advice over whether it could release the report.
“There are clearly public interest considerations in favour of disclosure of the ICAC’s report,” the spokesperson said.
Crakanthorp has been contacted for comment.
Last August,Crakanthorp became the first minister of the new government to be sacked after Minns said he had failed to disclose “substantial” private family holdings in his capacity as the minister for the Hunter.
The issue related to Crakanthorp’s failure to disclose the significant property holdings of his wife’s extended family in Newcastle.The Sydney Morning Herald the MP,who was appointed minister for the Hunter after the 2023 election,had been involved in discussions over a potential multibillion-dollar redevelopment in Broadmeadow that could have financially benefited members of his family.
Crakanthorp’s wife,Laura Crakanthorp,and father-in-law,Joe Manitta,own a substantial property portfolio in Broadmeadow.
His former chief of staff,Elliott Stein,had reported the property holdings of his boss’s family to the premier after raising repeated concerns with the MP for failing to disclose the issue.
Minns said at the time he was concerned there may 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 … an investigation by the corruption watchdog particularly in relation to those undisclosed properties and his actions as a minister,” Minns said in August last year.
At the time,Crakanthorp insisted the failure to disclose the property interests was an “omission” and that he had self-reported it.
“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,” Crakanthorp said.
“In recent days,I again notified the premier’s office that I had now spoken to both my in-laws and my siblings’ in-laws to assemble a full list of each of their interests,and I have provided those to the premier’s office.”
The premier will likely face questions over whether Crakanthorp should remain in the party room.
TheHeraldrevealed this week that the Labor Party’s administrative committee had put a freeze on new memberships in Crakanthorp’s ultra-safe seat after.
After asking Crakanthorp to stand aside from the ministry,Minns had initially said he would remove the MP from the Labor party room if the ICAC began an investigation. Minns later clarified that he would only remove him if there was a formal investigation.
“If they do go to the next stage,obviously,I’ll have to take action,” Minns said in September.
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