Landgate, a private corporation has been handed all of Western Australia’s land titles to manage and in spite of being warned about a flood of upcoming fraud on title claims CEO Trish Scully wrote that land owners should not have rights that override those with an interest in the property.
Former WA Senator Rod Culleton has been spearheading a national campaign for land owners to have their properties returned after it was found the titles office could not lawfully transfer a title to a mortgagee such as a bank.
Culleton was critical of the standover attitude of Ms Scully which he said was typical of the tactics of government and corporate alliances which run roughshod over people every day.
“Governments are in place to protect their citizens from the corrupt banks and corporations and the recent unprecedented fine for ANZ for dodgy businesss practices should be a wake up call for all of them,” Mr Culleton said.
“Customers who borrow from banks do have rights in spite of what Trish Scully thinks”
A Queensland legal expert Carolyn Thompson has prepared a draft bill for WA and the states to adopt for protection against what Culleton warns will be hundreds of claims for compensation by disaffected land owners.
Ms Thompson sent a draft bill to Landgate but its CEO responded by claiming borrowers’ rights are overridden by lenders’. Below is a part of Scully’s letter to Carolyn Thompson.
“I understand your interest in the issues you have raised in your proposed bill.
However, this is not the proper process for the drafting and introduction of legislation
into Parliament; Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is responsible for preparing drafts of
Bills for Ministers to be introduced into Parliament in accordance with the government’s
legislative program.
In addition, the purpose of your bill is not supported by Landgate. People who fail to
meet their obligations under mortgage agreements they chose to enter into, resulting in
exercise of a power of sale, do not, and should not have rights that override other
interests in the land.
As such, your request and draft Bill and Explanatory Memorandum will not be
progressed or recommended by Landgate to the Minister for Planning and Lands.”
Already this year three land owners whose properties were sold by banks as mortgagee in possession have been returned to their properties due to fraudulent practices by banks, court and land title Registrars.
Rather than seeking redress through the courts, Rod Culleton is exercising legal rights directly through the statutory processes available under the Torrens System, specifically engaging the Commissioner of Titles, who holds the statutory powers of the Supreme Court in matters involving the correction of land titles and protection of the Register.
Culleton maintains that judgment creditors — purporting to act as mortgagees — have bypassed the mandatory enforcement provisions under Western Australian law, obtaining default monetary judgments and using them to take possession and sell land without proper legal authority.
Culleton says there are potentially thousands of similar cases across the nation which would expose governments to billions of dollars in damages.
Landgate ABN and an extract from its website
https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=86574793858
Secure
We maintain the state’s land titles registry, ensuring the security and integrity of its information as WA’s guardian of property ownership.
Our registration services include:
- Creating and managing WA’s certificate of titles.
- Registering interests in land, including ownership, mortgages, caveats, leases, memorials, and powers of attorney.
- Providing cadastral survey plans to define property and land boundaries.
- Administering strata titles dealings and related enquiries
- As Western Australia’s land information authority, we are accountable to the Minister for Lands, the Hon John Carey BA MLA, for our strategic direction, performance, and effective financial management. The Minister’s Lands portfolio includes the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, Development WA, and Landgate.
- Established under the Land Information Authority Act 2006, Landgate is managed by a board, which is accountable to the Minister for Lands for the performance and the efficient and effective financial management of the agency.
- Board members are appointed by the Minister for Lands and have the relevant knowledge and experience to enable Landgate’s functions under the Act to be performed.
- The role and functions of the Board are set out in the Act, and the Board is subject to the provisions within the Statutory Corporations (Liability of Directors) Act 1996.
- Under the Act, the Board delegates Landgate’s day-to-day operations to the Chief Executive.
