LAWS TO COVER UP MPs’ PROPERTY FORTUNES

We’ve received a report that NSW politicians will hide the address of their home any investment properties they have from the public after sneaking new laws through state parliament.

The secrecy provision follows the discovery by the Daily Telegraph that Housing Minister Matt Brown owned 14 properties.  One property was exposed to be a two – bedroom unit being utilised by a tenant for unauthorised sub-letting to five students.

The amendments to the pecuniary interests register will require MPs to give only a general description of where they live or own second homes.  The laws were passed in the last week of August when all eyes were on the debate over electricity privatisation.

Premier Morris Iemma’s office at the time said the changes were made because of “security issues” and were a recommendation from a parliamentary privileges and ethics committee.

However, the recommendation from June this year stated the addresses of MPs be removed from the register only to allow declared interests to be published on the internet.

The ICAC recommended in 2003 that MPs’ declared interests which includes property investments, dividends and share holdings, be made available on the internet.  This was not included in the changes.

The new amended regulations to the pecuniary interests register under the NSW constitution, will apply not just to an MPs’ primary residence but to their secondary properties as well.

The regulations allow for new forms to replace the existing register because MPs were finding that filling out the old form was too complex.

A spokesman for Premier Iemma said that the changes followed the committee’s recommendation.  “Bipartisan committees of the Parliament recommended that MPs home addresses be replaced by their home suburb because having their home addresses publicly available posed a security issue,” he said.