Tim Crakanthorp’s mother-in-law goes on expletive-laden tirade amid medical episode
The mother-in-law of Tim Crakanthorp said she’s glad the NSW minister was sacked, and has gone on an expletive-laden tirade.
NSW
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Tim Crakanthorp’s mother-in-law Santina Manitta has unloaded on the dumped minister, saying she wished he never went into politics and she’s happy he was sacked.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to Mrs Manitta in the Hunter on Wednesday where she said she was distressed by the media coverage of the dumping of Mr Crakanthorp, along with the property dealings connected to the family.
“I don’t give a f**k about my son-in-law … my son is a f**king politician, f**k them,” she said.
“I’m happy (he got sacked) because he never should have been a politician, he wasted his time.”
She said the decision for her son-in-law to become a politician in the first place was “dumb”.
“Politicians are f**king dumb, and he thought he was going to solve the problems of the world,” she said.
Ms Manitta said she was distressed about the media coverage around the $1.25 million Broadmeadow property, saying her family had spent a fair bit of money on it.
“He (Joe Manitta) has done so much work on that property — it’s not Tim, it’s not my daughter — I’m paying the bloody bill,” she said.
Ms Manitta said it had been a tough week for her family. She said she had recently come back from hospital, while her husband, Joe, had gone up to Ballina for a family funeral on Friday.
She said that there were bigger issues afoot in Newcastle, and claimed she and her husband had trouble with drug dealers coming to trade on the street in her neighbourhood.
“One day someone would shoot you. Lucky I don’t have a gun I would shoot you,” Ms Manitta said in response to questions about her son-in-law’s disclosures.
Ms Manitta claimed to be suffering a medical episode while being questioned, after which The Daily Telegraph called an ambulance.
Paramedics arrived on the scene to treat her before walking her back into her Merewether home.
Ms Manitta is not accused of any wrongdoing.
DISAPPOINTED TENANT
Earlier, the tenant of one of the Newcastle properties that brought down Mr Crakanthorp criticised the sale of a property owned by the MPs in-laws, who run a property empire across the Hunter.
The tenant said he was disappointed in the family after he claims he was not given a right of first purchase clause on their lease.
“We thought we had a contractual right to buy the property,” the tenant said.
“I lost a lot of trust for the family after that.”
On Wednesday, Premier Chris Minns sacked minister Crakanthorp for failing to disclose that his wife and in-laws owned dozens of properties in the Hunter, with the Premier stating a “potential conflict of interest” and a breach of the Ministerial code.
The Broadmeadow commercial property originally owned by Tim Crakanthorp’s father-in-law, Joe Manitta, was sold to his daughter Laura Crakanthorp in February this year for $1.25 million.
Mr Crakanthorp did not disclose the purchase of 30 Broadmeadow Road in either his MP disclosures from October 2022 or May 2023, but is understood to maintain that the purchase has been disclosed in accordance with the rules.
According to a lease agreement seen by The Daily Telegraph, Gallagher Smash Repairs had signed the agreement in December 2015 with a clause the tenant had first right of purchase.
The tenant was dismayed upon Mr Manitta’s sale to his daughter, that an opportunity to purchase the property did not eventuate.
The Daily Telegraph understands solicitors engaged by the Manittas at the time argued it was transferred between family members, so the right of purchase clause did not apply.
The Broadmeadow property sits directly adjacent to a large housing development project.
SACKING
In addition to dumping Mr Crakanthorp on Wednesday, Mr Minns has also referred his “substantial private land holdings” to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Mr Crakanthorp will remain a member of Labor’s backbench but faces expulsion from the parliamentary party if ICAC decides to open an investigation into him.
He has become the first minister in the Minns government to be sacked, less than six months after the election.
Mr Minns said he first became aware of Mr Crakanthorp’s “significant private family holdings” earlier this week.
REZONING PLAN
The Broadmeadow property would seem set to potentially benefit from a proposal to up-zone the area for greater density.
The Hunter Regional Plan 2041, launched by the former government last year, identified Broadmeadow as an area which could be “revitalised with higher residential densities in areas near public transport and open space” and a “regionally significant growth area”.
“Broadmeadow’s central location will support diverse and affordable housing options, continuing to service the strong growth of Newcastle and the Hunter,” the Hunter Regional Plan said.
“Broadmeadow will also become a nationally significant sport and entertainment precinct for Greater Newcastle and the Hunter. Development will respect the local character of its area and celebrate its diverse past.
“Planning for Broadmeadow will promote new 15-minute neighbourhoods with housing and job options for the precinct.”
Late last year, the Perrottet government also committed $6.7 million to transform 63 hectares surrounding McDonald Jones Stadium, the Newcastle Entertainment Centre and Newcastle Showground into “a sporting, entertainment, and lifestyle precinct”.
The Department of Planning and Environment last year said it was considering including the Hunter Park project in a program which bypasses the local council for planning approvals, the Newcastle Herald reported.
The Broadmeadow property is not within VenuesNSW’s proposed concept plans for the Hunter Park Precinct, but is nearby.
A former government source said that while significant amounts of work were done on the Hunter Park project, rezoning was never completed.
Mr Crakanthorp’s wife, and her family, are not accused of wrongdoing.
Mr Crakanthorp was contacted for comment.
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