Federal police have not found any evidence of criminal conduct in a land deal that involved the government paying nearly $33 million for a block of land next to Western Sydney Airport that was valued at $3 million a year later.
The federal government bought the 12.28-hectare parcel of land, dubbed the Leppington Triangle, in July 2018 after months of negotiation. Part of the deal was an agreement to rent it back to the previous owners – the Leppington Pastoral Company owned by billionaire brothers Tony and Ron Perich – which led to the second valuation being done.
The federal government bought 12 hectares of land dubbed the Leppington Triangle, near Badgerys Creek, for $32.8 million in 2018.Credit: Wolter Peeters
A scathing audit report in 2020 led the Infrastructure Department to launch two reviews of the land transaction and the culture within its Western Sydney unit and an investigation of whether one of the public servants involved had breached the code of conduct.
The audit raised issues of integrity and found officials left key information out of briefs to their superiors.
Auditor-General Grant Hehir also took the highly unusual step of referring the matter to police in mid-2020 after being concerned about potential misuse of taxpayer money.
The AFP looked at potential offences including bribery of a Commonwealth official, conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth, and abuse of public office.
“The investigation did not identify any evidence of criminal offending by Commonwealth officials, or other people involved in the purchase,” the AFP said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The financial analysis undertaken as part of the investigation found no evidence of Commonwealth officials obtaining a personal benefit from the acquisition, or other persons receiving or paying corrupt payments.
“The AFP investigation found that the purchase was in line with the requirements of the Lands Acquisition Act (1989), and was authorised by appropriate Commonwealth officials and authorities.”
The Sententia review of the land deal, commissioned by the department and released in May, found no evidence of poor integrity, criminal activity or personal benefit to the officers involved that swayed their decisions.
It said the department could have offered Leppington a lower price but there was no guarantee the company would have accepted it.
The culture review from KPMG found the unit had a “can do and get it done” mentality that may have led to poor record-keeping and there was “significant leadership churn” around the time of the land deal.
A series of briefings to Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher and senior department officials, released under Freedom of Information, show bureaucrats had concerns about the unwillingness of Leppington to sell the land and that the company was a “sophisticated and well-resourced entity” with a history of litigation.