Tim Crakanthorp has told Parliament he "unfortunately omitted" a property owned by his wife, Laura, from his initial ministerial disclosure and became aware of a conflict of interest involving his in-laws' Broadmeadow properties some time after lodging that first disclosure.
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The embattled Newcastle MP addressed the lower house late on Wednesday night, hours after Premier Chris Minns had forced him to resign from cabinet for failing to "promptly" disclose the extent of his family's "substantial" property holdings in the Hunter.
Mr Minns said at an afternoon media conference that he had lost faith in Mr Crakanthorp's ability to serve in his cabinet and had referred the matter to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The Premier described the breach of the ministerial code of conduct as "clear" and "unacceptable".
Mr Crakanthorp, the Minister for the Hunter, told the Newcastle Herald late Wednesday afternoon that he had self-reported the "unintended breach" to Mr Minns.
Later in Parliament, he went further, providing details of the property he omitted from his ministerial disclosure of interests and how he had now "assembled a full list" of his in-laws' extensive property holdings.
"Under my initial disclosure, I included a property owned by my wife and another property owned by my wife with her siblings," he said.
"A further property owned by my wife was unfortunately omitted in that disclosure.
"I believe that disclosure was the first required after my appointment as a minister in the Minns Labor government.
"At the time I also disclosed that my father-in-law owned property at Broadmeadow but undertook that I would notify under the code of conduct any changes to any perceived conflict.
"Subsequently, I provided another return which included the omitted property owned by my wife.
"I also provided a subsequent updated disclosure under the ministerial code of conduct that again identified the subject property owned by my wife at Broadmeadow.
"I also took steps to subsequently notify the Premier that I now had become aware of the properties owned within Broadmeadow by my in-laws also now represented a conflict of interest.
"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've provided those to the Premier's office."
Mr Crakanthorp's father-in-law, Joseph Manitta, is a property developer whose family has more than a dozen residential and commercial land holdings in Newcastle, including along Broadmeadow Road, Broadmeadow, an area earmarked by the government for future housing development.
Title searches show Laura Crakanthorp bought a commercial property at 30 Broadmeadow Road from a Manitta entity in February for $1.25 million.
REPORTED EARLIER
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has been forced to resign from state cabinet after failing to disclose "substantial private family holdings in the Hunter".
Premier Chris Minns said late Wednesday afternoon that Mr Crakanthorp, the newly appointed Minister for the Hunter and Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, had been referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
"I have formed the view that Mr Crakanthorp has failed to comply with his obligations under the ministerial code of conduct to promptly notify me of a potential conflict of interest," he said.
"This has given rise to concerns that he may have acted in matters in which he had a conflict between his public duties and the property interests of members of his family.
"This is unacceptable and I have referred the matter to the ICAC."
Mr Crakanthorp said on Wednesday night that he had self-reported an "unintended omission from my ministerial disclosures".
"In doing so, I identified a potential and accidental breach of the ministerial code of conduct," he said.
"This was an unintended breach, and I self-reported this to the NSW Premier.
"I appreciate the high standards ministers must be held to; this is why I self-reported this breach.
"I have never acted in an inappropriate manner."
Mr Minns said Mr Crakanthorp's failure to comply with the "letter and the spirit" of the ministerial code had "caused me to lose confidence in his ability to discharge his duties as a minister".
"In light of this, I have asked Mr Crakanthorp to resign and he has agreed."
Mr Minns said he had learned earlier in the day that Mr Crakanthorp's family held commercial real estate holdings in a "clear" breach of Labor's promise to clean up NSW politics.
"I formed the view that minister Crakanthorp failed to comply with his obligations under the ministerial code of conduct and he failed to do that promptly, providing potential conflicts of interest to the NSW cabinet office and, through them, to me as the premier of NSW.
"This has also given rise to concerns that he may have acted in matters in which he had a conflict between his public duties and private interests of members of his family.
"In short, minister Crakanthorp did not supply information about substantial private family holdings in the Hunter region until recently when he should have, constituting a clear breach of the ministerial code.
"I have forwarded that information and other information to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for an inquiry by them if they choose to do so."
Mr Crakanthorp will continue as the Member for Newcastle, but Swansea MP Yasmin Catley will take over as Minister for the Hunter.
Mr Minns said the Labor government had been elected "not long ago with a promise to restore trust and integrity to public matters".
Mr Crakanthorp, a former Newcastle councillor, was elected in 2014 in a by-election and served eight years on the opposition back-benches before being elevated to the Minns ministry in April.
The Newcastle Herald reported in 2014 that Mr Crakanthorp's parents-in-law owned an 8000-square-metre development site at Wickham which would likely need to be bought by the government if a planned Stewart Avenue bypass went ahead.
Mr Crakanthorp received support on Wednesday from Hunter-based Nationals senator Ross Cadell.
"I have always respected his commitment to the city of Newcastle and its people, a dedication that never faltered," he said.
"Today's revelations from the Premier concerning land holdings by the family of Mr Crackanthorp's wife come as no surprise to me as they are openly known.
"I would be very surprised if this was anything more than a clerical oversight."
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
