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ABC NEWS (Australia)

The man appointed to oversee the state's property strata industry has failed to publicly disclose his own holdings in a multi-million-dollar real estate and strata business.  John Minns denies he's done anything wrong, but the minister for fair trading has asked for an urgent review.

Transcript

00:00The country's largest strata management firms, Netstrata, is under investigation over allegations

00:07of charging exorbitant fees and taking kickbacks.

00:10I know today you've disclosed a few things here which again has made me feel really awkward.

00:15John Minns, the NSW Strata and Property Services Commissioner, is yet to report its findings.

00:20He says the industry has a conflict of interest problem.

00:23Issues around looking after their own interests ahead of the interests of an owner's corporation.

00:28John Minns has his own conflict of interest.

00:31In 2021, John Minns told the public he'd sold his interest in a major real estate and strata

00:37firm called Independent Property Group.

00:40Now a Four Corners investigation has discovered that statement was not true.

00:45In fact, Mr Minns, through a family trust, continues to hold more than 500,000 shares

00:51in the company, currently worth three quarters of a million dollars.

00:55As we sit here today, you continue to hold shares and you'll continue to hold them for

00:58at least the next five days.

01:00I'd be very surprised if I don't continue to hold them for longer than that.

01:03How is it possible that the Strata and Property Services Commissioner could have a vested

01:09interest in a real estate agency?

01:12That doesn't make sense.

01:15John Minns says his shareholding was fully disclosed to the NSW Government when he was

01:19appointed and denies it's improper.

01:21For the past three years, while you've been a commissioner over the property industry,

01:26you've been a shareholder in a major property and strata services company.

01:29That is an impossible conflict, is it not?

01:31If the Government had viewed it as an impossible conflict, I wouldn't have taken the role on.

01:36It's a cause of great disappointment to discover that that same person has an interest, a commercial

01:43interest in the trading of apartments.

01:46The NSW Minister for Fair Trading, Analak Chanthavong, says he has asked for an urgent

01:51review of the matter.

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