ClubsNSW CEO Josh Landis has been sacked for making after a series of controversial comments about Premier Dominic Perrottet's faith.
The representative body confirmed in a statement on Tuesday afternoon the Board decided after "careful consideration" to end Mr Landis’ employment with ClubsNSW with "immediate effect.”
A board meeting was held earlier in the day to discuss the comments Mr Landis made about the New South Wales Premier.
The boss of the powerful clubs lobby group and the Premier have been locked in a dispute ahead of the March 25 election, where gambling reform will be a cornerstone of the Liberal Party’s policy platform.
In a sharp escalation of the ongoing quarrel, Mr Landis told the Sydney Morning Herald the Premier had “very little understanding” of the issue and was merely acting on his “conservative Catholic gut”.
“What he’s done is create hyper-anxiety among the industry and among people who go to clubs, and hyper-excitement among those who want reform,” Mr Landis told the paper, in comments published Tuesday.
Mr Perrottet hit back in response, calling the comments “incredibly inappropriate and offensive” to people of faith in New South Wales in an interview with Nine Radio this morning.
He defended his approach to gaming policy, saying he was pursuing a harder line because he thought it was “the right thing to do” rather than because he was Catholic.
"If you replaced the word 'Catholic' with 'Islamic, Jewish or Hindu', you would be resigning before you got to work this morning,” he said.
In the face of mounting backlash following the Premier’s criticism, Mr Landis issued a grovelling apology for the comments made to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I want to make it clear that in answering the question I misspoke and should not have referred to the premier’s faith. This was not a premeditated comment or an intentional attack on the premier personally,” Mr Landis said on Tuesday afternoon.
“Rather it was a poor attempt to explain there is a lack of evidence for the policy and the premier is a moral person who intrinsically wants to help those who are causing themselves harm.”
Independent MPs, senior cabinet ministers and religious groups all called on Mr Landis to resign in the wake of the comments.
Prominent independent MP Alex Greenwich – who represents the seat of Sydney – was one of those voices.
After Mr Landis’ resignation was announced, Mr Greenwich told Sky News Australia the ClubsNSW board had made the “right decision”.
“It wasn’t just the statement Josh Landis made yesterday, attacking the Premier for his faith … there’s been a real pattern of behaviour from him,” Mr Greenwich told Sky News Australia's Chief Anchor Kieran Gilbert.
Mr Greenwich is also a supporter of gaming reform and has previously compared ClubsNSW to the National Rifle Association in the United States.
Mr Landis is of Jewish heritage and previously served on the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which is the peak organisation for representing Jews in Australia.
The Premier has pledged to reform the gaming industry in the state much to the chagrin of many industry groups.
He has committed to looking at cashless poker machines and a ban on political donations from pubs and clubs.
The RSL and Services Clubs Association and Clubs NSW have mounted a campaign against the proposed changes in response.
The head of RSL Australia – the charity arm of the RSL group – said he personally supports the NSW Government’s push for mandatory cashless poker machines.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMizQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5za3luZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9hdXN0cmFsaWEtbmV3cy9wb2xpdGljcy9jbHVic25zdy10ZXJtaW5hdGVzLWpvc2gtbGFuZGlzLWFzLWNlby13aXRoLWltbWVkaWF0ZS1lZmZlY3QtZm9sbG93aW5nLWNvbW1lbnRzLWFib3V0LWRvbWluaWMtcGVycm90dGV0cy1mYWl0aC9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzYyOTIxMmQxZDEyYjA0ZjRlY2VlNDc0OGQ4OTVjNmVh0gEA?oc=5
2023-01-31 05:15:44Z
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