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.
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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.