Jackie Trad sells controversial Wooloongabba investment house

Jackie Trad has denied that a controversial investment home in inner Brisbane has been sold in secret, blasting claims as ‘manufacturing a soap opera’.

DEPUTY Premier Jackie Trad insists the sale of her contentious Woolloongabba has not been kept secret with the property being sold for exactly the price she paid it.

The Courier-Mail today reported that Ms Trad had secretly offloaded the Woolloongabba house at the centre of a recent integrity scandal despite no trace of the sale with local agents or online.

Ms Trad’s office confirmed the Queensland Treasurer had found a buyer for the rundown three-bedroom weatherboard house but would not disclose the final sale price.

Ms Trad had also previously refused to name a date for the sale under questioning from the LNP in State Parliament.

This morning, however, she took to Facebook to insist she was not keeping it a secret.

“Oh, for heavens sake! Talk about manufacturing a soap opera … ,” the Deputy Premier wrote in a post to Facebook this morning.

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“The fact is the sale is not a secret, it’s just not complete. As is normal, conditions of a sale of contract have to be met and we’re waiting for that to happen.

“The Abingdon Street property is being sold for exactly the same price. Exactly - $695,500.

“When the sale is settled the details will be made public. This is what happens when any other house sells - this is no different.”

Ms Trad committed to sell the property, bought by her husband Damien van Brunschot, for no more than the $695,500 purchase price after receiving damning advice from Queensland’s integrity commissioner.

“The Deputy Premier made a commitment to sell the property for no more than the purchase price,” her spokesman said.

“This commitment is being delivered on.”

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has sold this three bedroom house at Woolloongabba that cost her any dealings with the Cross River Rail project. Pic: Josh Woning

No other details were offered about the sale other than her husband’s law firm DWF had not been engaged to conduct the conveyancing.

“Conveyancing work in relation to the sale of the property has not been undertaken by DWF Australia,” her spokesman said.

The Queensland Treasurer was forced to sell the property after she failed to publicly declare the purchase of the home which was on the route of the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project.

The house is a short distance from the future Boggo Rd train station to be constructed as part of the Cross River Rail project, for which Ms Trad had ministerial responsibility.

The contract for the 405sq m property was signed the week before the Government announced the winning bidder for the Cross River Rail project.

Inside the rundown house at 48 Abingdon Street, Woolloongabba which Deputy Premier Jackie Trad offloaded in private.

The Courier-Mail revealed Ms Trad and her husband signed a contract for the three-bedroom home in late March, and the sale was registered with Queensland’s Lands Title Office on May 1.

However, the purchase was not declared on State Parliament’s Register of Member’s Interest within a month as required under the Parliament of Queensland Act.

Ms Trad referred herself to Queensland’s corruption watchdog over the issue.

While the Crime and Corruption Commission found the Deputy Premier’s actions did not breach any laws, it recommended sweeping changes that would make her failures a crime in the future.

LNP Opposition leader Deb Frecklington said this was a mess of Ms Trad’s own undertaking and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk should have dumped her from cabinet.

“Jackie Trad should have never have created this integrity crisis by failing to declare her interest in a $700,000 investment property,” Ms Frecklington told The Courier-Mail.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk should have sacked Jackie Trad from the cabinet and the house should have been sold weeks ago.”