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Crown Royal Commission set up to fail

Chance to fix gambling laws will be missed by the Royal Commission.

By news@gippsland - 26th May 2021 - Back to News

With 78,000 documents to go through and just 76 days until the Crown Casino Royal Commission is due to report its findings, it’s clear the Labor Government has set the inquiry up to fail. Unless an extension is granted to the August deadline, the Commission will be forced to shovel through more than 1000 documents a day to examine the material currently before it.

Crown Melbourne is a casino and resort located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia, and is a unit of Crown Limited, and the first casino of the now-international Crown brand

Protecting rather than holding accountable for

Crown Casino dumped 13,000 documents on Friday – just two days out from the first day of public hearings today – after multiple requests for extensions. Shadow Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation Steph Ryan said the Commission was being used as cover by the Andrews Labor Government. "This is the Royal Commission Daniel Andrews never wanted to have."

"The Labor Government’s decision to ‘fast-track’ this investigation and refuse to allow it the time and scope to do its job just shows this is more about protecting Daniel Andrews’ mates at Crown than holding them to account." Ms Ryan said.

Serious allegations

Ms Ryan said, "There are serious allegations of criminal activity and money laundering at Melbourne’s Casino, yet the Victorian Regulator has been excluded from the Royal Commission’s view. NSW’s Inquiry into Crown Casino’s commentary about the Victorian regulator was damning, labelling its approach to the regulation of Crown as "naïve".

Putting the state regulators under microscope

Ms Ryan also said, "Western Australia has given its Royal Commission the power to put the state’s regulator under the microscope – why is Daniel Andrews refusing to do the same in Victoria? It’s clear the Labor Government wants this to be a whitewash that finds nothing new."

"For Labor, this Royal Commission is just another layer of process it can hide behind and use as an excuse to refuse to comment. The only way forward is to extend the timeframe and expand the Terms of Reference to put the Victorian regulator under the microscope."

Pictures from Crown Melbourne Facebook page.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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