Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has declared he is prepared to tear up Crown Resorts’ licence for its Melbourne casino after announcing a royal commission into the gambling giant.
Crown’s future as the operator of its Melbourne casino was thrown into doubt after the state government announced the unprecedented inquiry late on Monday into whether the company had broken the law and whether it was suitable to hold a gaming licence in Victoria.
“This is a royal commission to determine whether they’re fit to hold that licence,” Mr Andrews said, in answer to a question about whether the casino could lose its licence.
“If you’re having that process you have to be clear that you’ll implement the findings. It’s going to be a rigorous process.”
As he defended the time taken for Victoria to proceed to a significant inquiry, Mr Andrews said the royal commission would mean legal issues that could arise are dealt with by Commissioner Ray Finkelstein QC.
“You’re not going to have me standing here apologising for having the highest and most formal legal process in place to determine whether that business should have that licence,” Mr Andrews said.
Who is Raymond Finkelstein?
Raymond Finkelstein QC will serve as Commissioner and Chairperson of the royal commission into Crown Resorts and will hand down his recommendations by 1 August 2021.
Mr Finkelstein QC has served more than 40 years at the Victorian Bar and has been a Queen’s Counsel since 1986.
He was appointed a judge of the Federal Court in 1997 and held other notable appointments as Deputy President of the Copyright Tribunal of Australia and President of the Australian Competition Tribunal.
He retired as a judge of the Federal Court and President of the Competition Tribunal in 2011 and has returned to private practice at the Victorian Bar.
Source: Victorian government
“It’s more than just the gaming floor. It’s an entire precinct. That is the biggest single solid employer in the state, but it has to be run to the highest of standards, and not just through what’s been found, but what’s been admitted,” he said.
“Let’s have this process, let’s get to the bottom of all of those issues.”
Mr Andrews stressed he was not foreshadowing that the casino would keep or lose its licence, saying that was the purpose of the inquiry.
The move followed months of damning evidence to a NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry, which ruled this month that Crown was unfit to hold a casino licence at its newly built Barangaroo complex in Sydney.
It also came after the Western Australian government announced its own probe into the allegations.
Mr Andrews said Victoria needed to hold its own inquiry outside the NSW probe - which largely concerned conduct at the Melbourne casino - or risk creating a “lawyer’s picnic”.
Mr Andrews said he did not regret that the government had taken until now to call the inquiry since a 2019 investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes revealed serious allegations of wrongdoing at Crown.
“I’m not someone who looks backwards. I’ve just made an important decision and we’re going to get the right outcome here,” he said.
Mr Andrews would not speculate what the precinct would look like if Crown was found ineligible to hold a gaming licence but reiterated that the casino plays an important cultural and commercial role in the city.
“It’s a very important part of our city,” Mr Andrews said.
“[While] playing blackjack [is] not everybody’s cup of tea, but as an employer, and as a precinct, it makes possible ... lots of economic activity. This needs to be done properly and we are determined to do that.”
Mr Andrews did not attend Monday afternoon’s press conference to announce the inquiry, leaving Gaming Minister Melissa Horne to answer questions.
On Tuesday, Mr Andrews said that was appropriate.
“She’s the gaming minister and it’s a matter of gaming and she’s perfectly capable of making the announcement. I’m standing here now. You know, are we really going to get into this?” he said.
Shortly after the government announced the royal commission, Crown informed the sharemarket that long-serving director Harold Mitchell would step down from the company’s board – the fifth director including the CEO to be forced out in the past fortnight.
New regulator flagged
The Victorian regulator has faced criticism for inaction in the face of media reports and the NSW inquiry and Mr Andrews suggested change was already underway.
He said the state cabinet had resolved to set up a standalone regulator to manage the licence of Crown alone.
“I think there is a very strong case and we will move to have ... a standalone regulator of that single casino licence. I think that that is the right thing to do,” Mr Andrews said.
“We’ve already made it clear - cabinet yesterday determined that we should do the work to build that system, that’s exactly what we will do.
Mr Andrews said the royal commission would not examine the role or effectiveness of the gaming regulator to prevent breaches of licence conditions, and would have a “very narrow” remit to look exclusively at whether Crown should continue to hold a licence.
“The royal commission is not, you know, to have a look at everything. It’s looking very specifically, very specifically … on the question of, are they seek to hold that licence or not,” he said.
“It is a review into the fitness of the current casino licence holders to continue to hold that licence.”
David Estcourt is a court and general news reporter at The Age.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiggFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3ZpY3Rvcmlhbi1wcmVtaWVyLXdhcm5zLWNyb3duLWNvdWxkLWxvc2UtbWVsYm91cm5lLWNhc2luby1saWNlbmNlLTIwMjEwMjIzLXA1NzR4OS5odG1s0gGCAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWFnZS5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvdmljdG9yaWEvdmljdG9yaWFuLXByZW1pZXItd2FybnMtY3Jvd24tY291bGQtbG9zZS1tZWxib3VybmUtY2FzaW5vLWxpY2VuY2UtMjAyMTAyMjMtcDU3NHg5Lmh0bWw?oc=5
2021-02-22 22:49:48Z
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