House That! Former MP Nigel Hallett lists Jandakot home

Former MP Nigel Hallett is likely to more than double his money on a Jandakot home he has listed on the market — but will taxpayers see any of the proceeds after he misused public funds?

Hallett, who spent 12 years in parliament until 2017, is selling his 3.29ha home on Glendale Crescent that he bought for $1.2 million in 2006.

The luxurious estate, which includes a pool, tennis court, four bedrooms, four living rooms, a study, a self-contained studio and parking for 16 cars, is likely to sell for more than $3 million.

It should be remembered that Hallett owned this home when he hired his lover Bonnie Cornwall as a sham worker in his then-electorate office, using the public purse to pay her for a day’s work every fortnight.

In 2020 a Corruption and Crime Commission investigation made a finding of serious misconduct against him, given she never went to the office, sent an email or did any meaningful work — if any — during the seven years that she not only got paid, but also got perks and pay rises.

Hallett, who defected from the Liberal Party to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party in 2016, also made headlines over a taxpayer-funded trip to Adelaide with disgraced MP Phil Edman and others, for what they dubbed “Nigel’s Penfolds Wine Trip”.

It would be up to police, the Director of Public Prosecutions or the State Solicitors Office to prosecute over the matter.

But to date, a year-and-a-half after the CCC finding, there is no penalty. House That! sent a question to Hallett through his real estate agent asking if he would use the proceeds to repay taxpayers, but did not hear back.

Hallett also seems busy with another property issue.

A house he bought from former daughter-in-law Nicole Caratti , daughter of property mogul Allen Caratti, in mid 2015 is now subject to a caveat.

Hallett had purchased the mansion on Tuart Street, Applecross, for $2.6 million, when Caratti was married to his son Michael. She had paid $3.3 million for the home in 2012.

But just before Christmas, Caratti claimed Rich Knight Pty Ltd was the beneficial owner of Tuart Road under a trust deed created on June 1, 2015 — a fortnight before public records show a transfer to Hallett.

House That! The column about WA’s most interesting homes, and their owners