Paddington Bowlo: Jon Adgemis hands directorship to Jan Cameron
UPDATE: Crown Lands has held its hands up to a mistake over the ongoing saga of Paddington Bowling Club
Wentworth Courier
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UPDATE
Crown Lands has admitted that it “incorrectly advised” there was no obligation for the leaseholder of the Paddington Bowling Club site to seek consent before changing its majority shareholder.
Cr Harriet Price asked for in-depth questions on notice be put before Crown Lands at a Woollahra Council meeting in April.
The questions were posed after it was revealed the company which held the lease had changed hands with the new director and majority shareholder now Jan Cameron – a Tasmanian businesswoman currently facing charges by ASIC.
Crown Lands finally answered Cr Price this week.
“On 4 February 2020, in reply to the letter of 24 January 2020, Crown Lands incorrectly advised that consent was not required for the change of shareholding.
“Crown Lands has written to the lessee reminding it of its obligation to seek prior Ministerial consent for a change in shareholder.
“Crown Lands has reviewed the change in ownership and has no reason to believe that the change in ownership will affect the land being used for its reserved purpose.
“Crown Lands is monitoring the site to ensure the land is used for its reserved purpose.”
Crown Lands also stated they had no plans to consider Woollahra council’s repeated requests for the largely idle pocket of valuable green space to be turned over to them so they could ensure it was used for its intended purpose of public recreation as per the lease.
“Crown lands position remains unchanged that while a valid lease is in place, there will be no change to the management model,” the statement read.
Cr Price said she was gobsmacked by the response.
“It is astonishing that the failure to seek Ministerial consent to the change in shareholding seems only to have to come light as a result of my questions to Council and Mr Greenwich’s questions to Parliament,” Cr Price said.
“The continued mis-management of this unique piece of Crown Land is appalling. The Minister must explain how the land can continue to be leased to private corporations whose control can be changed with apparently no public scrutiny, accountability or oversight.
“It is a travesty that for almost six years this prime, green open space in the centre of Paddington continues to remain dormant and locked away. As the COVID crisis continues, the urgent need for community access to such space is even more apparent.”
“I will continue to fight to have the space reactivated for its intended purpose - community and recreational use.”
Ms Cameron’s charges will next be before Hobart Magistrates’ Court for mention on July 14.
EARLIER
BY EMILY MACDONALD ON APRIL 27 2021
The former director of the company granted a 50 year Crown Lands lease to the old Paddington Bowling Club site quietly transferred his directorship to a woman who is now facing charges from ASIC.
While the tennis courts at Trumper Park are in use, the prized bowling club site has sat idle since 2015.
The terms of the lease state it must be used for public recreation or services.
Woollahra Council confirmed to the Wentworth Courier it remains interested in taking over the Crown Lands lease.
Property developer Jon Adgemis transferred both the directorship and all shareholdings of Quarry Street, the company granted the lease to the Trumper Park site, to Tasmanian businesswoman and former friend Jan Cameron in February last year.
The explosive revelations were made before Monday night’s Woollahra Council meeting when councillor Harriet Price asked questions on notice about the fate of the prized green space.
Ms Cameron, 68, a former director of baby formula company Bellamy’s Australia, will next appear in Hobart Magistrate’s Court on July 14 on charges she “failed to properly disclose her true and complete relationship” with an entity called the Black Prince Foundation – Bellamy’s key shareholder.
The Hobart millionaire has pleaded not guilty to two charges related to lodging a misleading holder statement with Bellamy’s and another of not disclosing her shares in Bellamy’s.
Meanwhile, Mr Adgemis went to a Caribbean court in the same month he transferred the directorship of Quarry Street to Ms Cameron in an unsuccessful bid to freeze the assets of Black Prince to which he claimed to have a founding interest.
In response to questions raised by Woollahra councillor Harriet Price about the site at Monday night’s council meeting, the Director of Technical Services said council met with representatives of the DVT Group, who act for Quarry Street Pty Ltd, on April 13.
The Director of Technical Services said: “the Mayor and staff present reiterated council’s position that we would be interested in having the site returned to a community use and flagged the possible transfer of the lease.”
In response the DVT group it “considered the lease to be of very considerable monetary value”, according to a Woollahra Council meeting document.
The group also told the council representatives there were no fixed intentions for the site as of yet but that they were exploring opportunities which would be consistent with the lease and relevant planning controls.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Cr Price also raised concerns around the new lessee, asking whether “the transfer of ownership and control has been made to persons who are ‘fit and proper’ to control the tenant of this significant parcel of Crown land”.
Cr Price elaborated on this, telling the Wentworth Courier “this is particularly concerning in circumstances where that person was and remains the subject of serious charges of corporate misconduct (which she denies).”
Cr Price also said: “The Quarry Street experience is good reason to seriously question whether Crown land should be leased to private corporations whose control can be changed with apparently no public scrutiny or accountability”.
When contacted, Ms Cameron did not wish to comment on Cr Price’s comments or what she was planning for the site.
Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich has also been a long time advocate for the bowling club site to be returned to public use.
“I’ve been asking questions in Parliament about the secrecy surrounding management of the site since I was elected, following action by my predecessor Clover Moore.
“It’s a shame nothing has changed and I have again asked the government to rescind the lease and restore the site to public control and access.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said: “The charges brought against Ms Cameron by ASIC are still being heard by Hobart Magistrates’ Court.
“The Department will consider the court’s ruling once available”.
The spokeswoman also said the lease permits the land be used for community and sporting club facilities, tourist facilities and services and that “the tenant is currently investigating options to reactivate the site in line with the lease purpose and relevant planning controls”.
Mr Adgemis did not respond to request for comment.
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