NSW MP Victor Dominello stays mum on conflict claims

A Liberal MP was contacted by his cousin over a dispute she had with an e-conveyancing company.

Victor Dominello. Picture: Jane Dempster

The cousin of NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello wrote to the company running e-conveyancing in NSW, PEXA, by email last year, telling them that she was going to contact the minister about her complaint and keep the minister informed of all communications concerning it.

Around, or shortly after the Oct­ober 2018 email from Beth Dominello, a conveyancer who was working for the family law firm Bond and Bond at the time, Mr Dominello announced his intention to pursue reforms to introduce competition to PEXA in NSW, outside the national e-­conveyancing system.

PEXA confirmed with The Australian yesterday it had received the email from Ms Dominello, which threatened she would take her matter up with the minister and his staff. The Australian revealed yesterday Ms Dominello lobbied the minister about her concerns with PEXA.

Mr Dominello yesterday refused to tell parliament whether he informed cabinet of his conflict of interest on the issue when he took reforms to cabinet.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s office also refused to say whether Mr Dominello had declared to cabinet or her his family’s interest in conveyancing when introducing his conveyancing reforms.

According to the ICAC-­sanctioned ministerial code of conduct: “A minister who is aware that a particular decision to be made or other action to be taken by that minister could reasonably be expected to confer a private benefit on … any of their family members must give notice to the premier of the matter before making the decision or taking action.”

Mr Dominello told parliament: “I received an email from my cousin who is one of about 34,000 lawyers in NSW.

“She sent an email in relation to a complaint, a frustration she had with PEXA and a bank.”

He said he had sent the matter to his agency for a response.

He maintained to parliament and The Australian yesterday he had met all his “obligations” when it came to declarations but refused to answer on whether he had declared his interest around the family law firm and its involvement with PEXA.

His reforms to conveyancing, which would include PEXA sharing information with rivals, has attracted criticism. The chair of the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council, Jean Villani, recently wrote to Mr Dominello saying his organisation refused to take part in his review into introducing competitors into the industry, saying it should be tackled on a national basis.

The finance department has been told by consultants Dench McLean Carlson of concerns a rival to PEXA was being allowed to set rules around the process.

“Our concern was based on a probity issue regarding a conflict of interest,” an email from consultant Anne Larkins, obtained by The Australian, says.

“When governments are specifying requirements for contractors to follow, it is not in accord with probity to ask one contractor to specify requirements another must follow. The reputational risk to governments if they licence systems that allow the settlement monies of vulnerable homeowners to be lost is very high.”