NSW Labor cabinet member and Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Minister, Tim Crakanthorp, has been asked to resign, after it was revealed that he concealed a private property portfolio held by members of Crakanthorp’s family.
The personal holdings include an extensive estate across the Hunter region, which is held in Crakanthorp’s wife and father-in-law’s names. As Crakanthorp currently serves as Member for the Hunter, his breach of ministerial code shows a conflict between public duties and private interests.
The lack of disclosure by the cabinet member is a “clear breach of the ministerial code,” said Premier Chris Minns in a public interview released yesterday.
The findings bring forward questions about Crakanthorp’s contribution to matters that concern the Hunter Region’s development and public interest.
Crakanthorp allegedly self-reported the personal holdings to the minister earlier this week, which lead to Minns’ request for his resignation and the forwarding of the case to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
The concealed personal property holdings and subsequent resignation are Minns’ first ministerial sacking, within just five months of holding office.
Should the ICAC choose to investigate the allegations of a breach of ministerial code of conduct, Crakanthorp will be required to step down from governmental responsibility, and the Labor Party room.
