West Australian premier Colin Barnett has admitted he is the subject of a complaint made to the Corruption and Crime Commission over his campaign to remove a $20 million Perth property owned by mining entrepreneur Mark Creasy from the state’s heritage list.
According to a statement released by Barnett, the complaint alleges that there was “some form of misconduct” in relation to Barnett’s role in seeking the removal of ‘The Cliffe’ (a property in Barnett’s Perth electorate of Cottesloe which was owned by Creasy) from the Register of State Heritage Places.
Barnett, who was in Opposition at the time of the incident, says he was unaware that Creasy, who was valued at $219 million by BRW this year, is a major shareholder in Freedom Eye, a pharmaceutical company chaired by his son, Russell Barnett.
“The allegation appears to suggest that my motivation to have ‘The Cliffe’ removed from the Register of State Heritage Places was in some way designed to benefit my son, Russell Barnett, who is chair of a public company. Mark Creasy, the owner of ‘The Cliffe’, is a shareholder of that company,” Barnett said in a statement.
“I have only become aware of this association since this complaint has been made and knew nothing of it at the time of taking action in relation to ‘The Cliffe’.
“This allegation is false and I refute it unequivocally. I take particular exception that this allegation involves my son who is not a public figure and played no role whatsoever in my actions with respect to ‘The Cliffe’.”
Barnett says he campaigned for the removal of ‘The Cliffe’ from the heritage list because he was representing Creasy as a constituent.
He says he has no intention of stepping down.
Freedom Eye released a statement supporting the Premier’s remarks.
“The company implicitly agrees with all statements made by the Premier with respect to this matter and hereby reject and deny all of the claims made within the complaint.”
“The directors of Freedom Eye are currently receiving advice on what further
actions (if any) they may take in regard to this matter and will take whatever action they deem necessary and appropriate to protect the company from any adverse commercial consequences that might result from these unsubstantiated allegations.”
Creasy, who invests heavily in the residential property sector, is the owner of Yandal Investments, which is the major shareholder of Freedom Eye with 12 million shares.
Freedom Eye is attempting to produce a drug that the company claims could help treat certain cancers. The company recorded a revenue decline of 13% in the six months ending December 31, and also posted a net loss of $649,730.
The CCC has said it does not have any power to investigate the complaint because the issue involves circumstances of parliamentary privilege, but it has referred the complaint to Legislative Assembly speaker Grant Woodhams.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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