The New South Wales minister for the Hunter, Tim Crakanthorp, has been sacked from his ministry and referred to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog for allegedly failing to declare “substantial private family holdings” in a breach of the ministerial code.
In a snap press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the premier, Chris Minns, said he asked Crakanthorp to resign as a minister after he became aware of the properties across the Hunter region, for which he was the minister responsible.
Minns said the Newcastle MP had “failed to comply with his obligations as a minister” by not declaring the properties owned by his wife and in-laws, causing potential conflicts of interest for matters discussed by the cabinet and within his ministry.
“This has 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,” Minns said.
“Mr 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.”
Minns said he had forwarded the information to the Independent Commission Against Corruption to assess and potentially investigate.
If the commission begins an investigation, Minns said Crakanthorp would no longer be welcome in the parliamentary Labor party.
Newcastle MP Crakanthorp said he self-reported the breach and would remain as the local member.
“I have self-reported a breach of the ministerial code of conduct to premier Chris Minns and resigned as a minister in the NSW government,” he said.
“I will continue as the member for Newcastle. I will not be making further comment at this time.”
In his most recent publicly available disclosure from 2022, Crakanthorp declared part-ownership with his wife on their primary place of residence in Hamilton South, Newcastle, as well as an apartment in Darlinghurst.
While refusing to give much detail, the premier said he had been made aware of properties owned by the minister earlier in the week and had sought further information.
He was then informed the allegations that Crakanthorp did not disclose the properties held by the minister’s wife and other family members in the Hunter region were an alleged breach of the ministerial code.
Crakanthorp was sacked as minister for skills, Tafe, tertiary education and training, and the Hunter, after question time on Wednesday.
Minns said he was “disappointed” to dump a minister so quickly into Labor’s government.
“We were elected not long ago with a promise to restore trust and integrity to public matters and public life,” he said.
“Breaches of the ministerial code in this manner are a clear breach to that undertaking.”
Minns and his colleagues campaigned heavily on integrity ahead of the election, following the resignation of the former premier Gladys Berejiklian over an Icac probe.
Asked if Crakanthorp had lobbied to become the minister for the Hunter after the March election, Minns said he could not remember.
“The circumstances in relation to the divvying up of portfolios were made very early in the government,” he said.
“Obviously, I had discussions with the former minister for the Hunter in relation to his portfolios.”
The deputy premier, Prue Car, will assume responsibility as interim minister for skills, Tafe and tertiary education and training, and the police and counter-terrorism minister, Yasmin Catley, will serve as interim minister for the Hunter.
The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, said the government needed to reveal any decisions that Crakanthorp was part of relating to the Hunter.
“The obligations are fairly clear,” he said.
“This is very disappointing so early in the government, but the public now needs to know what decisions are potentially impacted by this conflict and what the premier proposes to do about them.”
Crakanthorp was elected to state parliament in 2014 while serving as a councillor. He was on the Newcastle council from 2008 to 2016.
