NSW Premier Chris Minns says a decision by a parliamentary committee to refer him to the state’s corruption watchdog is “disgraceful” and based on “completely unsubstantiated” allegations.
The parliamentary committee inquiring into the re-development of Rosehill Racecourse has voted to refer the premier to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over his relationship with one of the key figures behind the project.
Minns says the allegations are ‘unsubstantiated’
Chris Minns says there are no facts or evidence to support the allegation.
“To put in place unsubstantiated rumours, dress them up as a corruption allegation, refer it off, and then in an easy way, do a media release to suggest that someone has something wrong, whilst providing absolutely no information, no facts, no evidence to support that exact allegation.”
Minns says the referral shows building new homes is ‘almost impossible’
NSW Premier Chris Minns says the referral shows why it’s difficult to build housing in Sydney.
“I believe this referral is an example of why it’s almost impossible to build housing in Australia’s most expensive city, in fact the second most expensive city on Earth,” he says.
NSW Premier is speaking
NSW Premier Chris Minns is speaking about being referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
A parliamentary committee — which is made up of a majority of opposition and crossbench MPs — voted to refer Mr Minns to the ICAC over the redevelopment of the Rosehill Racecourse.
The decision concerns Mr Minns’s relationship with Steve McMahon, the head of government relations at the Australian Turf Club, the organisation that owns the site.
The premier described the claims as “based on no fact or evidence”.
He publicly acknowledged at a budget estimates hearing in June that he’s known Mr McMahon for more than 20 years.
The committee is chaired by a Liberal MP and is made up of a majority of opposition and crossbench MPs.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Mr Minns said “it’s completely disgraceful to politicise the ICAC with unsubstantiated rumours”.
“There is absolutely no evidence or even an attempt to quantify what rule, practice or procedure has been breached,” he said.
“This is an old-fashioned smear from a group of politicians opposed to changes at Rosehill.
“But while opposing a policy may be understandable, unsubstantiated allegations of corruption is a cynical attempt at political point scoring.”
The premier was asked at the budget estimates hearing who had come to him with the proposal to redevelop the racecourse.
“It would’ve been — I can’t remember his position — but Steve McMahon at the ATC,” Mr Minns said at the time.
“I have known him a long time”.
Mr Minns said the matter was not “outrageous”.
“Obviously, when you’re in government, people come to you and say, ‘Look, we’ve got an idea. We think this would be good for our organisation’,” he said.
“They might make a pitch that it’d be good for the state as well.”
Mr Minns said he made the announcement about the redevelopment “not long” after Mr McMahon approached him.
The parliamentary committee looking at the development proposal has voted to make the referral in its report, which will be released on Friday.
ICAC may not investigate, minister suggests ‘political stunt’
A referral to the ICAC does not mean the corruption watchdog will investigate.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park told ABC Radio National he would be “very surprised” if the claims go any further and said he hoped parliamentary committees were not being used as a “political weapons”.
“I hope parliamentarians aren’t using parliamentary committees to weaponise ICAC,” Mr Park said.
“Certainly happy to have debates about the issues that government raises but I hope it’s not being used as a political stunt … given the high-profile nature around the debate on this particular issue.”
Project would convert track into 25,000 homes
The controversial Rosehill redevelopment would see the historic Parramatta track converted into 25,000 new homes in a bid to “re-shape Sydney”.
Mr Minns has continued to defend the proposal, and previously said Sydney would be “stuck in the mud” if institutions like the ATC were not open to change.
When it was announced in December last year, a spokesperson for Mr Minns said it was the “biggest thing we will ever do as the government. If this comes off, put it that way”.
High-profile racehorse trainer Gai Waterhouse has previously testified the racing industry is “incensed” by the plan and said she was confident that ATC members would never agree to the sale when it goes to a vote.
In July, she told the parliamentary inquiry into the racing industry the ATC had no right to agree to the sale without a vote from its members, who she said would never sell the historic race track.
“We would not be here today to discuss the sale of the cricket ground the SCG, or Bondi Beach, but yet we are here to discuss the sale of Rosehill,” Ms Waterhouse told the inquiry.
“The members are who own Rosehill. If they put it to the members now for a vote, it would be overwhelmingly against the sale.”
The ATC maintains it has the right to agree to the sale.
Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys also gave evidence at the inquiry, and faced off against independent MP Mark Latham amid a number of allegations including that Racing NSW intended to keep the money from the sale of the site for themselves, which Mr V’landys denied.
Mr V’landys told the inquiry the regulator did not intend to keep the money but wanted there to be impendent oversight of how it is spent by the ATC.
“We wanted oversight to make sure they are spending the money on racing infrastructure,” he said.
“We didn’t want the money spent on members’ indulgences like ski chalets and resorts in Fiji and resorts in Paris.”
