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Some people will do anything to own property in Port Douglas

CAMPBELL Newman says he is unlikely to declare his interests in two luxury north Queensland holiday units because he claims they do not provide him with any income.

The Courier-Mail has learned the LNP leader's family company owns two units in a Port Douglas beachfront complex that rents apartments for up to $500 a night.

The units are not directly disclosed in the register of interests Mr Newman lodged as lord mayor of Brisbane but are owned by a company listed in that register.

"You're not required to go down and list every last thing unless you have an interest in it," Mr Newman said.

"I don't have an interest in it. I don't get any income from it. I don't have a conflict of interest."

Mr Newman last night said he would update his and his wife's registers, most likely removing business interests that involved Lisa Newman as a board member.

He said Mrs Newman planned to step down from company boards amid ongoing "Labor muckraking" over the pecuniary interests controversies, which have begun to dog his quest to become the state's next premier.

Mr Newman said he did not believe he needed to declare the units as he had "never received one dollar from them" despite being a shareholder of the company, Frome Holdings.

Mrs Newman is listed as a Frome Holdings corporate office holder in her register but does not detail the units.

She is a director, along with Mr Newman's mother, former senator Jocelyn Newman, and sister Kate Roff. Mr Newman said Frome Holdings was a family company set up in the 1970s and profits were channelled to his mother.

"I don't receive any income. I don't have any say over it. I haven't been there," he said.

A Courier-Mail investigation found Frome Holdings bought the two units overlooking the water in 1994 and 1999 for a combined $500,000. Apartments in the complex rent for $240-$500 a night, internet listings show.

Property records also showed Frome Holdings owned at least one other property a three-bedroom home in Wallaga Lake in New South Wales bought in 2008 for $635,000. Its owner is listed as "Newman and Frome Holdings Pty Ltd".

Mr Newman has been caught in crossfire over his personal interests since it was revealed a company linked with his wife was trying to win a $30 million emergency management contract from the State Government just days after the January flood.

Mr Newman publicly released an updated interest register on September 22 but did not declare two new companies registered a week earlier.

Mr Newman last night insisted he had disclosed all he needed to by law.

"My wife's family are so concerned about the slurs on their reputation they are probably taking steps to remove Lisa from any involvement in any of those things," he said.

 Koren Helbig and Michelle Hele

  • From: The Courier-Mail
  • October 05, 2011 4:00AM
  • Comments: Maybe Andrew Fraser should buy a property in Port Douglas and relax..... People have a life outside of Politics, including their families.