The Baird government is close to selling off NSW's world-class land titles registry, outraging experts who warn privatising the Land and Property Information (LPI) unit will lead to higher costs, need for title insurance, a "degraded" service, and fraud risks.
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Wollongong and District Law Society is the latest to weigh in, calling for the government to halt the privatisation.
They say the “mum and dad homeowners and investors” of the Wollongong and Keira electorates will suffer if the “precious asset” is sold off.
“A private company operator can never be as sound, long lasting and secure as government which has rule of law and separation of powers as checks and balances to protect vital infrastructure such as LPI, which goes to the route of our entire social and political structure,” society president Martin Culleton said.
Local and overseas banks, insurance companies and superannuation funds are understood to be among the potential buyers for the registry.
The sale is expected to yield more than $700 million, which the NSW government aims to splash on new sports stadiums, but Mr Culleton urged people not to let this distract them from the importance of the KIP’s independence and integrity.
The society has approached Member for Keira, Ryan Park, and Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, for their help in convincing the NSW Government to shelve their privatisation plans.
Mr Culleton said the LPI currently has $1.2 trillion worth of real estate registered across the state and underpins $130 billion worth of economic activity for the NSW economy each year.
“NSW currently leads Australia in terms of economic performance and it’s largely off the back of the State’s property sector – the LPI is the foundation upon which that success rests,” Mr Culleton said.
“We are appealing to local MPs to put pressure the Premier and Cabinet to reconsider its planned privatisation, particularly after the UK Government recently decided not to privatise its own land titles system due to concerns such as data security.”
Mr Culleton is also urging Illawarra residents to also help by writing a letter to their local member.
Example letter HERE