Tim Crakanthorp has thanked his supporters as the corruption watchdog dropped its investigation of the Newcastle MP for his alleged failure to fully declare his family's property interests.
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"I want to thank the countless people who have offered kind words and support. It has truly been appreciated," Mr Cakanthorp said in a statement on Thursday morning.
"I welcome yesterday's statement from the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that they have terminated their inquiry.
"My focus for the last 16 years, as both a Councillor and a Member of Parliament, has been to serve the people of Newcastle to the best of my ability. That will continue to be my priority."
Door still open for Premier to take action
Although ICAC cleared Mr Crakanthorp of corrupt conduct, it left the door open for Premier Chris Minns to "take any action" he "considers appropriate" over the Newcastle MP's property declaration failure.
Mr Minns has a copy of ICAC's investigation report and his spokesperson told the Newcastle Herald that he was taking legal advice on whether it could be released publicly.
"There are clearly public interest considerations in favour of disclosure of the ICAC's report," the spokesperson said.
"The Premier is taking legal advice on options for timely publication of the report."
ICAC said in a public statement on Wednesday that it had closed its "preliminary" investigation into whether the Newcastle MP had failed to declare a conflict of interest.
"As the Commission is satisfied that there are no reasonable prospects of finding Mr Crakanthorp's conduct is sufficiently serious to justify a finding of corrupt conduct, it has terminated its investigation," ICAC said.
'Other findings'
The commission said it had made "other findings concerning Mr Crakanthorp's conduct in relation to the NSW Ministerial Code of Conduct".
It has sent its full investigation report to the Premier and the Secretary of the Cabinet Office.
"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," ICAC said.
Mr Minns sacked Mr Crakanthorp from his cabinet in August and referred him to ICAC for allegedly failing to disclose "substantial private family holdings in the Hunter".
"He has breached the ministerial code," Minns said at the time.
"I've lost confidence in his ability to be a minister in my government."
Mr Minns has the power to expel Mr Crakanthorp from the Labor party, whose administration will act on any direction from the Premier.
He said last year that he would seek Mr Crakanthorp's removal from the party if ICAC progressed its inquiries to "the next stage".
The Premier last year described the then Minister for the Hunter's conduct as a "significant breach of the ministerial code".
Following his sacking, Mr Crakanthorp 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.
He said he had self-reported the omissions.
"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," he told Parliament.
"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 Broadmeadow properties are near the government's proposed Hunter Park sports, leisure and residential precinct and in a suburb earmarked for substantial housing development.
Mr Crakanthorp later clarified that the omitted property belonging to his wife was not in Broadmeadow.
The government paused planning work on Hunter Park after the ICAC referral to conduct a review of "all current major Hunter region development processes involving state government agencies".
The review cleared the project to go ahead.
'Clear breach'
Mr Minns said in August that he had "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".
"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," he said.
"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.
"This is unacceptable and I have referred the matter to the ICAC."
Mr Minns said at the time that 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 Crakanthorp was appointed Minister for the Hunter and Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education after Labor's win in the March election last year but survived only four months in the job.
The NSW Labor leadership last week froze branch membership applications in Newcastle and Wallsend electorates in response to prolonged infighting connected with speculation over Mr Crakanthorp's political future.
ICAC's full statement
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption conducted a preliminary investigation into information referred to it by The Cabinet Office concerning whether the then minister for the Hunter, Mr Timothy Crakanthorp MP, had failed to declare a conflict of interest.
The Commission has prepared a report pursuant to section 14(2) of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 including the Commission's factual and other findings concerning Mr Crakanthorp's conduct in relation to the NSW Ministerial Code of Conduct. 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 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.
As the Commission is satisfied that there are no reasonable prospects of finding Mr Crakanthorp's conduct is sufficiently serious to justify a finding of corrupt conduct, it has terminated its investigation.
The Commission will not be making further comment.
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
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.
