Coronation Property Group’s MN Builders heads to court to fight cancellation

The dreams of 10,000 homeowners and thousands of jobs are now on the line after Fair Trading cancelled the building practitioner number of Coronation Property Group’s MN Builders.

The stakes in a $5 billion feud between the state government and a building company that hired John Barilaro have incredibly got even higher, with the dreams of 10,000 homeowners and thousands of jobs now on the line.

Coronation Property Group’s building arm, MN Builders, has been told by NSW Fair Trading that its building practitioner number has been cancelled because of a string of alleged safety breaches and a prohibition order slapped on it by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler that has now been lifted.

The cancellation prevents the company from submitting compliance documentation for proposed developments.

Without them, the 10,000 dwellings in its development pipeline cannot be built.

But MN Builders said it would fight the matter in court. For now, it can keep working until the court makes a ruling.

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler. Picture: Tim Hunter

Coronation Property Group is the company the former deputy premier Mr Barilaro left earlier this year.

It is one of the top five largest construction companies in NSW, employing thousands of employees and subcontractors.

Their jobs are also now on the line.

MN Builders will go to the NSW Supreme Court on September 20 to try to get the prohibition orders removed. If it fails, the company will need to get government approval to set up another building arm of the company.

If the government refuses, that would be a potentially massive hit to NSW’s already stressed building sector.

A spokesman for NSW Fair Trading said it had cancelled MN Builders’ registration on August 23.

MN Builders was also mentioned in NSW budget estimates last week. During that hearing, NSW Police and the NSW Crime Commission, speaking under parliamentary privilege, undertook to examine alleged connections between crime figures and the Coronation Property Group.

Coronation Property Group spokesman Tim Allerton said: “It was ridiculous to try and draw any connection between alleged crime figures and the company.

“This is a misinformed political witch hunt with parliamentary privilege used as a cover”.

Speaking on behalf of MN Builders, Mr Allerton said it had applied to the court for a judicial review of a purported cancellation of its building practitioner registration.

“MN Builders is seeking orders quashing the purported cancellation … MN Builders was not afforded procedural fairness and the purported cancellation was given without … procedural fairness,” he said.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]