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Sydney mayor Ned Mannoun's older brother has not disclosed his developer links in a bid to win a seat on Liverpool City Council in the upcoming September elections.
Wael Khalil Manoun, known as William, declared he was not a property developer or a close associate of a developer in a statutory declaration lodged with the Australian Election Company earlier this month.
That's despite the 50-year-old working for a developer, owning three sites approved for multi-unit developments and co-directing a company with a developer.
Endorsed Liberal candidate William Manoun says he is an investor, not a developer. (Supplied)
William Manoun, told the ABC he did not reach the legislative threshold required to disclose.
Remarkably, he appears to be right.
While developers are not banned from running for local government, candidates are required by law to declare if they are a property developer or a close associate.
But the definition is very narrow.
To reach the threshold of a property developer under the electoral funding act, a person must carry on a business mainly concerned with development of land with the "ultimate purpose of the sale or lease of the land for profit".
'Not a development site'
William Manoun worked as the financial controller of boutique developer Winsman Group, which is run by he and Ned Mannoun's younger brother Samer Khalil Manoun, or Sam.
Both William and Sam spell their surnames differently to brother Ned Mannoun.
William told the ABC that profit was not the main purpose of his three development sites.
That's despite selling his first project, a row of terraces in Moorebank built by Winsman Group, for around $3 million between 2022 and 2024.
William Manoun recently sold his Kalimna Street townhouses at Moorebank for around $3 million. (Supplied)
William also said he will not develop his second site in Moorebank and is selling it "as-is".
The Lucas Avenue property is not currently listed for sale.
William Manoun told the ABC he did not currently intend to sell his final development site after the four terraces were built in Chipping Norton.
Four terraces were approved for William Manoun’s Chipping Norton site in May. (ABC News)
"Should I be able to afford this I intend to build a dwelling for myself and each one of my children and not sell any," he said in a statement.
"So by definition this is not [the] sale or lease of the land for profit and therefore is not a development site," said Winsman founder Sam Manoun.
William also said he no longer works for Winsman Group.
Chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, Anthony Whealy said if Mr Manoun was indeed not required under the act to disclose his developer links the "definition needs to be changed and broadened so that any perception of a conflict of interest can be avoided".
The former assistant commissioner to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said a perception of corruption could be just as bad as actual corruption.
Legislative gap
Another requirement to reach the threshold of a developer under the act, is that a person must have either one "relevant planning application" before council, or three "relevant planning applications" approved in the past seven years.
An “architectural visualisation” of William Manoun’s Lucas Avenue Moorebank site provided to council in April. (Supplied)
William Manoun had three planning applications in four years lodged for his development sites.
However, one was a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) which is signed off by a certifier.
Under a different act, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, a CDC is not included under the definition of a "relevant" planning application.
Winsman Group founder Sam Manoun said "a Complying Development Certificate is not a development application. Please note section 10.4 of the act specifically section 2) f.)"
Not a close associate
William Manoun also contends he was not a close associate of a developer, despite working for Winsman Group and co-directing another company, 11 Bangalla Pty Ltd, with his brother.
I am not in the business of property development," he said.
"My main source of income is my plastic recycling business in Zambia."
Sam Manoun also argued that he was not a property developer.
"Winsman Group is a construction company NOT a development company. It has made zero income from developments," he said.
According to the company website, Winsman Group specialises in "low-rise multi-dwelling housing, as well as commercial ventures".
Its latest project is six luxury properties in Chipping Norton for client 'Litani'.
The sole director of Litani Pty Ltd is Sam Manoun, who purchased the land under his name.
Five newly-constructed homes were sold in the past year for over $6 million, according to property data.
Artist impression of Sam Manoun’s Bangalla Avenue Chipping Norton development. (Supplied)
'Zero chance'
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun said he was not aware his older brother William owned land that was being developed and if he had known he "would have been sure not to put his name there" [on the Liberal ticket].
However, he argued that William had "zero chance" of winning a spot on council.
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun with Premier Chris Minns. (Facebook)
"He's just the ticket-filler. He put his name on before nominations closed, right at the bottom.
"He's not wanting to get elected to council. You'll find family member on most people's tickets."
William said he only nominated because the Liberal party was in a last-minute scramble to get enough candidates to run as a group, but the position was "unwinnable".
Anthony Whealy QC said he hadn't heard of family members being used as 'ticket-fillers'.
"None of my family have ever done it," he quipped.
Earlier this month the Liberal Party failed to nominate dozens of candidates for local elections in what was described as a "monumental stuff up" by the NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman.
Liberal candidates running for Liverpool City Council were unaffected.
Property a family affair
Ned Mannoun has also dabbled in development between his two stints on council.
One site, a row of townhouses built by Sam Manoun on Dredge Avenue in Moorebank, sold for around $3 million between March 2021 and June 2022, according to public records.
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun’s Dredge Avenue Moorebank development which sold for around $3 million in 2022. (Supplied)
During this time Ned Mannoun was re-elected the mayor of Liverpool City council.
It's unlikely the project would have seen Mr Mannoun reach the threshold required to disclose.
"When I was not an elected official, I invested in Dredge ave with the intention of building them and giving one each to my children," Mr Mannoun said.
"Unfortunately, due to COVID and all the interest rate rises I was financially unable to do this and was forced to sell them as I could not afford the repayments.
"I am not a developer, and my declaration was correct," he said.
Facing suspension
It is still not clear if the Liverpool City Council election will go ahead next month.
In July, a scathing interim report by the Office of Local Government alleged councillors and Ned Mannoun had "inappropriately lobbied staff on development and compliance matters," and hired staff to highly paid roles without a competitive process.
Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig advised Liverpool Council it would be suspended if it could not justify the findings of the interim report. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
Ned Mannoun has described the report as "pure political play" and "flawed".
Liverpool City Council is battling the Minns government in court and the outcome will likely determine whether the council is suspended, and election delayed, pending a public inquiry.
The council has opted for private company Australian Election Company to run the election, which is governed by the same legislation as the NSW Electoral Commission.