Legislative Assembly Hansard - Thursday 18 November 2021
Legislative Assembly Hansard
Thursday 18 November 2021

Thursday, 18 November 2021

The SPEAKER (Hon. Colin Brooks) took the chair at 9.33 am and read the prayer.

Announcements

Acknowledgement of country

The SPEAKER (09:33): We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land on which we are meeting. We pay our respects to them, their culture, their elders past, present and future, and elders from other communities who may be here today.

Business of the house

Notices of motion

Notice given.

Notices of motion and orders of the day

The SPEAKER (09:34): I wish to advise the house that general business, notices of motion 34 to 36 and orders of the day 3 and 4, will be removed from the notice paper unless members wishing their matter to remain advise the Clerk in writing before 2.00 pm today.

Documents

Professional Standards Councils

Reports 2020–21

Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:35): I table, by leave, the Victorian Professional Standards Council report 2020–21.

Judicial Commission of Victoria

Report 2020–21

Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:35): I table, by leave, the Judicial Commission of Victoria report 2020–21.

Judicial College of Victoria

Report 2020–21

Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:36): I table, by leave, the Judicial College of Victoria report 2020–21.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

Sustainability Fund Activities: Report 2020–21

Ms D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park—Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Minister for Solar Homes) (09:36): I table, by leave, the Sustainability Fund activities report 2020–21.

Documents

Incorporated list as follows:

DOCUMENTS TABLED BY COMMAND OF THE GOVERNOR—The Clerk announced that the following document had been lodged for presentation by Command of the Governor:

Children’s Court of Victoria—Report 2020–21

County Court of Victoria—Report 2020–21

Magistrates’ Court of Victoria—Report 2020–21

Supreme Court of Victoria—Report 2020–21

Ordered to be tabled.

DOCUMENTS TABLED UNDER ACTS OF PARLIAMENT—The Clerk tabled the following documents under Acts of Parliament:

Albury Wodonga Health—Report 2020–21

Alexandra Health Service—Report 2020–21

Alpine Health—Report 2020–21

Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council—Report 2020–21

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission—Report 2020–21 under s 31 of the Crimes (Assumed Identities) Act 2004

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency—Report 2020–21

Ballarat Health Services—Report 2020–21

Barwon Health—Report 2020–21

Bass Coast Health—Report 2020–21

Beechworth Health Service—Report 2020–21

Benalla Health—Report 2020–21

Boort District Health—Report 2020–21

Casterton Memorial Hospital—Report 2020–21

Castlemaine Health—Report 2020–21

Central Gippsland Health Service—Report 2020–21

Central Highlands Rural Health—Report 2020–21

Cladding Safety Victoria—Report 2020–21

Cohuna District Hospital—Report 2020–21

Colac Area Health—Report 2020–21

Community Visitors—Report 2020–21—Ordered to be published

Corryong Health—Report 2020–21

Country Fire Authority (CFA)—Report 2020–21

Court Services Victoria—Report 2020–21

Djerriwarrh Health Services—Report 2020–21

East Grampians Health Service—Report 2020–21

East Wimmera Health Service—Report 2020–21

Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Department of—Report 2020–21 under s 30L of the Surveillance Devices Act 1999

Financial Management Act 1994:

Reports from the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change that she had received the:

Report 2018–19 of the Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner Land Management Board, together with an explanation for the delay

Report 2019–20 of the Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner Land Management Board, together with an explanation for the delay

Reports from the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change that she had received the reports 2020–21 of the:

Barwon South West Waste and Resource Recovery Group

Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability

Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group

Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group

North East Waste and Resource Recovery Group

Reports from the Minister for Health that he had received the reports 2020–21 of the:

Mildura Cemetery Trust

Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority, together with an explanation for the delay

Victorian Pharmacy Authority

Report from the Minister for Planning that he had received the Report 2020–21 of the Heritage Council of Victoria

Fire Rescue Victoria—Report 2020–21

Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958—Year Two to Five Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan

Fire Services Implementation Monitor—Report 2020–21

Game Management Authority—Report 2020–21 (replacement for copy tabled on Thursday 28 October 2021)

Goulburn Valley Health—Report 2020–21

Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority—Report 2020–21

Great Ocean Road Health—Report 2020–21

Heathcote Health—Report 2020–21

Hesse Rural Health Service—Report 2020–21

Heywood Rural Health Service—Report 2020–21

Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission—Report 2020–21 under s 30L of the Surveillance Devices Act 1999

Inglewood and Districts Health Service—Report 2020–21

Judicial Entitlements Panel—Own Motion Recommendations to the Attorney-General, September 2021

Kerang District Health—Report 2020–21

Kilmore District Health—Report 2020–21

Kyabram District Health Service—Report 2020–21

Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014:

Practitioner Remuneration Order 2021 (replacement for copy tabled on Tuesday 10 November 2020)

Practitioner Remuneration Order 2022

Local Jobs First—Report 2020–21

Maldon Hospital—Report 2020–21

Mansfield District Hospital—Report 2020–21

Mildura Base Public Hospital—Report 2020–21

Moyne Health Services—Report 2020–21

National Health Funding Pool, Administrator of—Report 2020–21

National Health Practitioner Ombudsman and Privacy Commissioner—Report 2020–21

NCN Health (Nathalia Cobram Numurkah)—Report 2020–21

Northeast Health Wangaratta—Report 2020–21

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004—Order approving the First aid in the workplace compliance code

Omeo District Health—Report 2020–21

Orbost Regional Health—Report 2020–21

Peninsula Health—Report 2020–21

Portland District Health—Report 2020–21

Public Advocate, Office of the—Report 2020–21—Ordered to be published

Radiation Advisory Committee—Report 2020–21

Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account—Report 2020–21

Road Safety Act 1986—Documents in relation to the Order in Council Declaring Certain Motor Vehicles Not to Be Motor Vehicles—Electric Scooter Trial

Royal Botanic Gardens Board Victoria—Report 2020–21

Rural Northwest Health—Report 2020–21

Seymour Health—Report 2020–21

South Gippsland Hospital—Report 2020–21

South West Healthcare—Report 2020–21

Stawell Regional Health—Report 2020–21

Subordinate Legislation Act 1994—Documents under s 15 in relation to Statutory Rules 135, 136, 138

Swan Hill District Health—Report 2020–21

Tallangatta Health Service—Report 2020–21

Terrang and Mortlake Health Service—Report 2020–21

Timboon and District Healthcare Service—Report 2020–21

Tweddle Child and Family Health Service—Report 2020–21

VicForests—Report 2020–21

Victoria Legal Aid—Report 2020–21

Victoria Police:

Report 2020–21 under s 31 of the Crimes (Assumed Identities) Act 2004

Report 2020–21 under s 37F of the Terrorism (Community Protection) Act 2003

Report 2020–21 under s 139A of the Confiscation Act 1997

Victorian Building Authority—Report 2020–21

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)—Report 2020–21

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission—Report 2020–21—Ordered to be published

Victorian Fisheries Authority—Report 2020–21 under s 30L of the Surveillance Devices Act 1999

Victorian Law Reform Commission—Report 2020–21—Ordered to be published

Victorian Planning Authority—Report 2020–21

West Gippsland Healthcare Group—Report 2020–21

West Wimmera Health Service—Report 2020–21

Western District Health Service—Report 2020–21

Wimmera Health Care Group—Report 2020–21

Yarram and District Health Service—Report 2020–21

Yarrawonga Health—Report 2020–21

Yea and District Memorial Hospital—Report 2020–21.

Committees

Environment and Planning Standing Committee

Reporting dates

Ms ALLAN (Bendigo East—Leader of the House, Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop) (09:38): I move, by leave, that the reporting date for the Environment and Planning Standing Committee inquiry into environmental infrastructure for growing populations be extended to no later than 10 February 2022.

Motion agreed to.

Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee

Membership

Ms ALLAN (Bendigo East—Leader of the House, Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop) (09:38): I move, by leave, that Mr Morris be a member of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee.

Motion agreed to.

Members statements

Werribee electorate sporting facilities

Mr PALLAS (Werribee—Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (09:38): I rise to update the house on my recent visit to see upgraded sporting facilities in my electorate of Werribee and officially open a new female-friendly sporting pavilion. The new pavilion is located at the grounds of Galvin Park, home of the Werribee City Football Club, the Bees. I have to say the results are nothing short of spectacular. Along with representatives of the club, including president Giovanni Inserra and the Wyndham council CEO, mayor and councillors, we celebrated the official opening of the pavilion.

It provides a great new space to support almost 300 players from junior and senior teams and complements the four soccer pitches at Galvin Park. We will see the competition opportunities for local events, community gatherings and functions. The world game of football is truly rooted in the fabric of our local community, and I am proud the new pavilion was made possible thanks to a $1 million investment from the Andrews government’s Community Sports Infrastructure Fund stimulus program. The Wyndham City Council are to be acknowledged for contributing $1.9 million to the project.

I also had the pleasure to visit the Wyndham All Abilities Football and Cricket Club ground at Warringah Reserve. The reserve was upgraded with new irrigation, thanks to an investment through the Victorian government’s community cricket program. The improved playing surface on the oval will enable extended use of the grounds for the local club. I am proud that our government is supporting the upgrading of sporting facilities that our local communities deserve.

Food supply

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (09:40): The east coast food supply chain is in chaos because of a shortage of pallets. The fruit season in my electorate has just started, and the fruitgrowers cannot get the pallets they need to put the fruit on to send to market. CHEP is the major supplier of pallets in Australia, and at the moment when fruit is taken to Brisbane or to Sydney they are not allowing the trucks to bring back pallets, so every fruitgrower is losing pallets with every load they send away and cannot get new pallets back.

One of the reasons there are not enough pallets is that there is a critical shortage of hardwood timber in Australia that actually makes pallets. What I would do is call on the Minister for Agriculture, who has responsibility for the timber industry, to make sure that there is actually timber available to make pallets so that the food can actually get to the consumers here in Australia, particularly on the east coast. If the minister cannot do that, I would actually ask the minister to get out of the way and let a new minister take over the role so that there is enough timber to make pallets so that the great food and produce that our farmers produce can actually get to market and be consumed. We will have absolute chaos if there are not enough pallets. You cannot ship food around the east coast of Australia without pallets, and I would ask the minister to make sure that timber is made available.

Mill Park electorate community achievement awards

Ms D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park—Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Minister for Solar Homes) (09:41): I rise to acknowledge an outstanding young student in my community. Ilham Akkad, a year 6 at Al Siraat College, has recently won the Fred Hollows Foundation’s humanity award and has been named the Victorian junior ambassador to the foundation. Ilham has been serving in her school as a leader for two years now. She has helped in humanitarian projects like fundraising for girls education internationally. Recently she ran an Eid gift box drive for orphans and local refugee kids living in Melbourne. Despite her young age, Ilham’s compassion, integrity and kindness are impressive and this award is well deserved. I wish her every success for her future.

I also acknowledge Daman Shrivastav, chef and hospitality lecturer, who recently won the City of Whittlesea Community Awards Citizen of the Year award. I want to extend my hearty congratulations to Daman Shrivastav and his nine-year-old daughter, Diya, who during the pandemic fed hundreds of homeless and international students in need. He prepared the meals in his home with the help of his daughter Diya and delivered them with his car. With Diya, Daman has also started an online cooking show called DDs Kitchen to help raise funds for this social enterprise. The food from their cooking show was being distributed three times a week to those in need. With some international students finding themselves in very dire circumstances amid the pandemic, DDs Kitchen has become a beacon of hope for a lot of people.

To Ilham, Daman and Diya, I wish to say: thank you for your altruism. Your work is greatly appreciated. You are role models. Our community is a better place thanks to conscientious and selfless leaders such as yourselves.

Energy supply

Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (09:43): I rise to talk about the extended power outages in Croydon and other parts of Victoria on multiple occasions this year. In June and more recently on 29 October a number of Croydon residents experienced power blackouts for lengthy periods of time. Some were without power for multiple weeks. While weather events are unavoidable, people living in an urbanised area like Croydon should be able to expect reliable power as a basic service. The expectation of consumers is that their government is taking action to reduce the likelihood of blackouts in the future. The government should be transparent and sharing the steps that it is taking to provide Victorians with confidence that this important issue is being dealt with.

When blackouts occur, consumers anticipate that power will be restored in a reasonable time frame, particularly when there are no issues in accessing properties or powerlines. People should not have been waiting four or five days or, for some, multiple weeks to get their power back, especially back in late June in the peak of winter. People were without heating or access to hot food. Many of them were not in a position to pay for takeout from the limited nearby restaurants that were not impacted by the outages. My office was contacted by families of vulnerable residents who were particularly impacted by the extended blackouts, such as elderly people living alone with no way to call for assistance. Many Victorians cannot afford to live without power for multiple days, nor should they have to. They are relying on the government to improve infrastructure to provide reliable power so that extended power outages become a thing of the past.

Crime prevention

Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:44): The Andrews government is committed to keeping Victorians safe by addressing the root causes of crime. I want to take the opportunity to thank my Parliamentary Secretary for Crime Prevention, the member for Broadmeadows, who recently visited northern Victoria whilst I was visiting and making announcements across metro Victoria.

He was there to see firsthand how the region is benefiting from our government’s investments in community safety, and our crime prevention partners are working closely with us in those regions. That included seeing the $300 000 investment we are making in building safer communities through Wangaratta’s Centre for Continuing Education’s Finding Strengths program, which will help young people on community correction orders find further education and work. Thank you to those staff who are involved in making these huge changes in young people’s lives. He also visited and was welcomed by Wodonga City Council, with a new lighting and safety Public Safety Infrastructure Fund grant of more than $140 000 to deter crime and improve public safety across the city. Thank you as well to the Violet Town Action Group, who showed the parliamentary secretary how they have spent their $106 000 on community safety infrastructure to help improve local safety by installing new facilities to make residents feel safer shopping, socialising and exercising in their community.

Cr Ranka Razic and Cr Kathy Majdlik

Ms HUTCHINS: Can I also congratulate the outgoing mayors of Brimbank and Melton on their dedication to our community, particularly mayor Ranka Razic, a first-time councillor who fought hard for her local community.

Middle Island maremma penguin project

Ms BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (09:46): The south-west farewelled two true trailblazers this year, with the deaths of the original penguin protector maremma dogs on Warrnambool’s Middle Island. Siblings Eudy and Tula were placed on Middle Island 10 years ago after foxes had decimated the penguin colony to such a degree that only four penguins remained. By 2016–17 the colony had grown to 200, such was the success of the two dogs protecting the penguins. Oddball shone the light on the maremma project with her few short weeks on the island, proving the dogs could successfully protect the colony. In 2015 Oddball took the story to the world stage, and while Oddball kickstarted the program, Tula and Eudy were the real stars of the show. Eudy sadly lost her battle with bone cancer in May, aged 12, while Tula, who was regarded as the lead guard dog during her eight years on the island, died of old age, at 13, earlier this month.

The penguin protection program has spawned another tourism avenue for the south-west, with visitors from around the world having travelled to Warrnambool—in pre-COVID times of course. Tourism will play an important role in the south-west’s recovery from the pandemic, and the perfect way to pay tribute to Eudy and Tula would be a mural, painted by our own acclaimed artist Jimmi Buscombe, to tell their story and provide visitors with another attraction on our foreshore. I urge the government to support the Warrnambool City Council to action this vision.

Bert Newton

Mr PEARSON (Essendon—Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Government Services, Minister for Creative Industries) (09:47): I rise to honour Albert Watson Newton, the extraordinary, wonderful Bert, who passed away on 30 October at the age of 83. Bert is remembered by millions of Australians for the warmth, fun and humour he brought to our stages and our screens. In my role as the Minister for Creative Industries I have the good fortune to meet many performers and others of enormous talent across Victoria. That is an amazing privilege, but honestly, I do not think we will ever see another Bert. I did not know Bert personally, but I wish I had. But in a way, that was the magic of Bert Newton: he beamed his way into our homes and onto our television screens, and we all felt that we knew him. We knew his wit, we knew his warmth, we knew his love of chaos and hilarity. We knew he brought fun and joy, and most of all we knew his great love for Patti and for his family.

In preparing these words, I watched an old YouTube clip of Bert hosting the Ford Superquiz, with Patti by his side assisting. It brought back golden memories of famous lines like ‘Ford Australia, we’re moving with you’ and ‘The money or the box’. I watched an interview Bert did on Good Morning Australia with the great Paul Keating. Even Keating could not resist the mirth of Bert.

It is a measure of Bert that only after his passing did we hear of his many acts of kindness and generosity for those he knew and for strangers. Typically Bert was known to make others promise not to retell a story of his kindness ‘until after I’ve carked it’. So much sunshine in one wonderful entertainer and human being. Vale, Bert Newton.

Age of criminal responsibility

Dr READ (Brunswick) (09:49): State attorneys-general are reportedly proposing to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years of age to 12. Many Victorians would be shocked to know that children that young can be arrested, taken to court and even imprisoned. A child who blows out 10 candles on their cake is old enough to go to jail. Putting two more candles on the cake does not make this okay. The medical evidence is clear: children’s brains are still developing at this age, especially their ability to control impulses, to understand consequences and to make judgements.

Reoffending is very common in children who do go to jail under the age of 14, and children who go to jail at this age have often been abused or they are affected by mental illness or disability. Nearly all of the kids on remand in this age group are ultimately not even convicted by a court. Aboriginal children are over-represented among those in prison, and across Australia they make up the majority of kids under 14 in jail.

Victoria has made steady progress reducing the number of children diverted from court and prison, and we have very few under-14s in detention, so Victoria is well placed to raise the age of the criminal responsibility to 14, not 12. Let us do it now.

Transgender Awareness Week

Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (09:50): It is Transgender Awareness Week, a chance to celebrate our trans and gender-diverse communities. In honour of this I want to take the opportunity to talk about the importance of appropriate, safe and accessible health care for our trans and gender-diverse community. Unfortunately for too many there are still barriers like long waitlists for specialist services, a lack of knowledge about gender-affirming practices or even straight-out discrimination. But there are also some incredible people and organisations out there that are actively working to change things for the better. I am proud to have one of these services in my electorate of Northcote—Your Community Health. Not only do Your Community Health have a great reputation for their work in LGBTIQ-affirming health care, they are also part of an innovative pilot program called the Trans and Gender Diverse in Community Health project. This is the first peer-led model of its kind in Australia and has supported literally thousands of Victorians over the past few years, many of whom were accessing health services for the very first time. Co-designed by trans and gender-diverse community members, the program is also building the capacity of our wider healthcare system to provide safe and inclusive health care to trans and gender-diverse people. I want to thank Your Community Health for all the work they do supporting our LGBTIQ communities. The pilot is due to finish in mid-2022, but I urge the Department of Health to expand and grow the program so we can continue to break down barriers impacting our trans and gender-diverse Victorians, because every Victorian deserves to feel safe, understood and cared for.

Darling–Koornang roads

Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern) (09:52): The intersection where Darling and Koornang roads meet Dandenong Road in Malvern East has been the site of many accidents, many injuries and tragically a number of fatalities in recent months. In particular, pedestrians crossing Dandenong Road are at great risk from drivers turning into that road. I have written to the Labor government a number of times over the years about the vital importance of fixing this intersection—making this safe will save lives; there is nothing surer—and in his most recent reply the Minister for Roads and Road Safety pleasingly wrote:

… funding has been secured to improve the safety at this intersection.

The minister does not say what will be done or when it will be done. This is not good enough. We need urgent action now or more lives will be lost.

By contrast the government is racing to lower the speed limit on Malvern Road down to 40 kilometres an hour between 8.00 am and 9.00 pm. Nobody has asked for this change to be made. There was no consultation with Stonnington council, none with me as the local member and no consultation with the local community. Having a 40-kilometre-an-hour speed limit running through until 9 o’clock at night on such a long stretch of road makes absolutely no sense. So while we have lives being lost on Dandenong Road and a government yet to act, Labor instead prioritises a speed limit on Malvern Road that nobody asked for. It is time for this government to get its priorities right. Fix the deadly Dandenong road–Darling Road intersection and save lives.

Australian Music Month

Mr FREGON (Mount Waverley) (09:53): It is Australian Music Month again, and all over this great southern land we are looking towards tomorrow. We have all been thunderstruck—another year with a heavy heart, a sniffle or a cough, and I do not want anyone to catch my disease. In an unguarded moment we would reach out to friends with feelings, but I know that before too long we will say goodbye to the white noise of division. Reality check, please. It is not the last day on earth. COVID will one day soon be out of mind and out of sight. I hear motion, and I have confidence that there are better days ahead. Soon it will be Christmas, and we will be more concerned with how to make gravy. We do not want to be the one who is on our own, because everyone wants to work for our COVID normal. We have come leaps and bounds, and all I want is that we continue to deliver what you need. We will be thinking, ‘Love is in the air’, summer love, and instead of a pub with no beer on a Saturday night, sitting in the clothes I slept in, with cheap wine and a three-day growth, I will throw on my purple sneakers and chase that feeling for the little things, talking straight with someone I used to know by my side, with black fingernails and red wine, yelling ‘Howzat!’ in the nosebleed section or right there on my TV. So don’t be reckless, but don’t be downhearted. Bring on the good times, and let’s live it up and maybe even get on the beers.

Kim O’Reilly

Ms CUPPER (Mildura) (09:54): The tone is about to change, I am sorry. In 2019 Kim O’Reilly’s life changed forever when she was assaulted by her then boyfriend. In a jealous, violent rage he very nearly killed her. As she lay in a hospital bed in Melbourne, literally broken and bruised beyond recognition, her perpetrator was being mollycoddled by his football club, which rallied around him and invited him onto the footy field to a hero’s welcome while he was on bail for the gruesome assault. The trauma from the assault was bad enough, but the behaviour of the club made the pain so much worse. Kim identified that male violence against women does not just happen, it is legitimised and normalised by a culture of denial and male entitlement.

She understood that to make women safer the culture of sporting clubs had to change, and so she channelled her pain into activism and has dedicated the last three years to educating sporting clubs, especially footy clubs, about how they can foster a culture of respect and accountability and be a force for positive change rather than an engine room for toxic masculinity. Her efforts were recognised with a nomination for Victorian Australian of the Year. The nomination has helped to highlight the value of Kim’s contribution to the fight against family violence and the promotion of respectful relationships. As her state MP I could not be more proud. Her efforts are being complemented by other initiatives, including Mildura Rural City Council’s virtual White Ribbon walk, which is being led by councillors Helen Healy and Mark Eckel, who lost his daughter Kate in a tragic act of family violence in 2012. Family violence can happen to anyone. It is a scourge in our society, but we will never give up.

Diwali

Mr DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh) (09:56): Diwali has just passed, and I was honoured and humbled to host a celebration for Indian community representatives in my electorate. While it was virtual, it was still very special, and we had a short ceremony by Pandit Rajesh and we also had some dances and some wonderful discussion about Indian cuisine. I want to focus on the dances for a moment. They were by Nanthini, Ajara and Sienna, and Ajara and Sienna are young. Ajara is eight and Sienna is 10. If you can imagine, these dances they were performing for the ceremony—virtually—are 2000 years old, so there has been cultural maintenance in that community for 2000 years, from one generation to the next. It is extraordinary. And these girls are Australian. It is a beautiful story. It gave me an opportunity to acknowledge the Hindu community more broadly but also the local Indian community for their extraordinary work for us on behalf of the government and the community during the pandemic—delivering food to people and providing social support and nourishment, spiritual and otherwise, to the community. They have made a wonderful contribution to getting through the pandemic. I just want to acknowledge, specifically, Sankat Mochan, Basava Samithi, Sri Krishna Brundavana, Bhakti Tarang, the Vedic Society of Victoria, Hindi Shiksha Sangh and Friends of the Children. They helped us celebrate a wonderful community and but also getting through two years of a pandemic.

Somers Primary School

Mr BURGESS (Hastings) (09:58): The Somers Residents Association is not your average town representative body. Unlike many other groups, the SRA has a very high and consistent number of residents, and its hard work strongly reflects the pride residents have in their community. The Victorian Electoral Commission moved Somers back into the Hastings electorate just weeks ago, and the SRA has really been hard at work to ensure I am aware of the urgent need the Somers Primary School has for a replacement administrative building. The existing office building is a 20-year-old portable. It no longer meets the needs of the school, which has doubled in size over recent years. The school is now larger than many other local schools in my electorate, yet it has never had a permanent office administration building or meeting room for staff in the school. Somers is now home to many young families, and more have moved into the township as permanent residents since the lockdown restrictions took effect. Somers Primary School has urgent capital work needs and is expected to face capacity issues in the future. I call on the minister to provide funding for the urgently needed new school administration building and ongoing funding to build badly needed and well-overdue permanent classrooms.

Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021

Mr BURGESS: The Melbourne protests have grown larger and larger against the government’s disgraceful Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021. It has become clear that Victorians have rejected the Andrews Labor government’s pandemic management bill and that it has zero social licence. This government has refused to answer questions about this bill or explain the need for such heavy-handed legislation.

Remembrance Day

Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (09:59): Remembrance Day last week marked the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Australian War Memorial. Remembrance Day ceremonies were held all across the Yan Yean electorate, including at Hurstbridge, where my dear friend John Parker laid a wreath on my behalf, Wattle Glen, Diamond Creek, Whittlesea, Wallan, Beveridge and Doreen. It was a privilege to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony ably led by Doreen RSL sub-branch president Wes Wridgway and school principal Jason McBean at the beautiful cenotaph at Laurimar Primary School, with wreaths laid by students from schools across Doreen and Mernda.

Community sport

Ms GREEN: On another matter, the return of community sport has been welcomed across our state, not just in my own electorate of Yan Yean. I was privileged last week to officially open upgraded sport and recreation facilities in both Indigo and Strathbogie shires. The upgrade of the Wooragee tennis courts, including lighting, has seen a doubling of players in their evening competition for this more-than-century-old club, a tangible example that good facilities matter and get results.

Netball courts at Nagambie and a new youth hub designed by and for young people add to the great sporting offer in this great little town. The youth hub has a climbing wall, a skate park and many other great facilities, and it was just wonderful to see it designed by the young people of that town. And the four grade 5 students that spoke at the opening were all girls. Great work, ladies.

Thanks to mayors Chris Raeburn and Jenny O’Connor and the communities of Strathbogie and Indigo shires for the warm welcome.

Country Road

Mr MAAS (Narre Warren South) (10:01): I rise today to condemn in the strongest possible terms Australian fashion icon and Australian company Country Road. Country Road is a terrible company. They currently have 80 striking low-paid United Workers Union members out on the streets of Truganina outside their warehouse. These workers are mostly women, and all they are seeking is wage justice and some dignity and respect. What is dignity and respect? Well, it is not bullying women to the point that they have to go on strike. It is not tipping manure on the grass where your workforce is forced to go on strike. It is not fronting up to Melbourne Fashion Week, going on an ethics panel and talking up how great your environmental, social and governance credentials are. It is not taking $25 million in JobKeeper supplements, making a $3 billion profit and not giving your workforce a pay rise. These workers are on strike. They work hard, and they ensured that Country Road was able to keep their click-and-deliver deliveries going throughout the pandemic. It is terrible behaviour. Country Road, Mimco, Trenery, Witchery, Politix—all those labels are to be condemned. Meet with your workforce and give them a pay rise.

Annakut

Ms HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (10:02): I was honoured to join in the celebrations of Annakut at the BAPS temple on 7 November at which devotees embraced traditions of reflection and strengthening of communal bonds. This is an event that has also involved the Parliament of Victoria: an exhibition normally takes place in Queen’s Hall, where a mountain of brightly coloured foods really brightens up the hall in this place. Unfortunately of course because of COVID they were unable to involve the Parliament this year, but we hope that they can do so next year. The BAPS organisation is a spiritual and volunteer-led group dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and society more broadly through the provision of health services, educational support, environmental awareness campaigns and community empowerment. Devotees have worked tirelessly to provide support and care packages for families during the current pandemic. At the celebration there was also an incredible exhibition of the extraordinary work of the spiritual leader just passed of the BAPS organisation, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, and of his life and legacy.

Remembrance Day

Ms HALFPENNY: I also attended the Epping RSL for Remembrance Day. It was a solemn but lovely occasion with MC Glenn Parker. Kevin Ind, President— (Time expired)

Thomas Parkinson

Ms BLANDTHORN (Pascoe Vale) (10:04): Today I take the opportunity to acknowledge the life, service and contribution of local veteran and Pascoe Vale RSL president, Thomas Conlon Parkinson, who passed away on 23 August 2021. Born on 7 March 1933, Tom was a private in the Australian Army, in the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, serving in Korea in 1952 and 1953. Tom was vice-president of the Pascoe Vale RSL sub-branch for six years prior to taking over as president back in 2010, leading in this position until his passing. Tom was regarded as a fine leader and mentor to many young people as well as old, and he was certainly a great friend to many at the Pascoe Vale RSL and our local community. Alongside this work, Tom served as president of the Korea Veterans Association of Australia from 2017, representing Australia in South Korea at many memorial services held there.

Tom was also instrumental in the construction of the Korean War Memorial at Quarry Park in Footscray, and he shared reflections at its unofficial unveiling in 2020. This memorial stands as Victoria’s first significant public memorial that specifically honours the more than 17 000 Australians who served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953—a place to recognise and remember. I am sure Tom’s legacy will live on through this memorial for many generations to come, and his legacy will also live on through his contribution to and the effort that he put into the Pascoe Vale RSL. Our local community is certainly indebted to him and his family for their sacrifice and for their contribution. Tom was late husband to Gwen and father to Craig, Sharon and Vicki. Tom will be sorely missed by his family, his friends and our local community. May he rest in peace.

Broadmeadows social and affordable housing

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (10:05): The biggest investment in social and affordable housing in Australia’s history will be delivered in Broadmeadows. This is great news. New housing is crucial to the revitalisation plans I have defined to reimagine this valuable and resilient state district. Securing the Victorian government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build is the first stage of this change to the quality of life. Initial investment is $29 million to deliver 90 new comfortable, modern and energy-efficient homes across the state district within a year. Homes Victoria is also examining the redevelopment of the Banksia Gardens estate that I put on the agenda for the Broadmeadows Revitalisation Board 4.0. Hume City Council and community stakeholders on the board have delivered full-throated endorsement, and I thank the minister for his enlightened support.

Next I am campaigning for the redevelopment of Broadmeadows to provide homes for community heroes. First responders, nurses and teachers crucial in fighting the worst pandemic in more than a century deserve affordable homes in the community manufacturing more than 50 million doses of life-saving vaccines. This initiative also offers intergenerational fairness so more young people and first home buyers can attain the great Australian dream. It will add to the billions of dollars in shovel-ready and pipeline projects for new industries, delivering 5000 jobs in the next five years at no cost to taxpayers, and we are seeking further investments from industry super funds to add value.

Bunyip and District Community House

Ms CRUGNALE (Bass) (10:07): Pakenham Secondary College has been amazing in supporting students, families and community in so many ways, and I was thrilled to bits to hear from year 12 students Piper Appleby and Disal Wenn. As part of their personal development skills class they learned about homelessness and were asked to partner with an external local organisation that supports people doing it tough. It has been such a difficult and distressing time for so many, and the number of people reaching out for emergency relief and support has increased. After noting a spike in homelessness in the main areas around Pakenham during the COVID pandemic, Piper and Disal decided to partner with the incredible Bunyip and District Community House, a not-for-profit community organisation overseen by a skills-based committee of volunteers. The community house was established to promote wellbeing through a range of health, lifestyle and learning activities designed to promote social inclusion in the Bunyip and surrounding areas.

Piper and Disal reached out to me directly, and I was more than honoured to offer my support. Together we were able to donate hundreds of ‘community at heart’ tote bags filled with personal care products such as toothbrushes and other essential items. As part of this program they both ran a special Webex session for the year 5 and 6 students at Pakenham Consolidated, where the students learned about homelessness and were shown ways to be active and involved to help fellow community members. Thank you, Piper and Disal. I am incredibly proud of you both and your classmates for showing such care and compassion and having so much kindness in your hearts.

Bayswater electorate cafes

Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (10:08): Montania Cafe in Ferntree Gully, King Bean Cafe in Wantirna and Schokolade Cafe in Wantirna South—three great businesses doing great work. (Time expired)

Bills

Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Ms HORNE:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Ms RYAN (Euroa) (10:09): I quote:

They’ve got the powers that they need. And anyone who’s got any concerns around Crown or any other operator within our gaming industry should with confidence go forward either to Victoria Police if they think it’s a criminal matter or go to the VCGLR …

That was a comment made by the Premier on 30 July 2019, and it came in response to media reports that Crown paid a brothel owner and an alleged money launderer to bring high rollers to the casino here in Melbourne. As for fines, the Premier said that while fines issued to gambling operators often seemed insufficient, the real punishment is about your record and your good name. Really, what extraordinary comments. Faced by allegations of horrific wrongdoing here in Melbourne at Southbank in our own state, that was the Premier’s response—‘Nothing to see here’.

There is one thing we know for certain: if the Andrews government had had its way, we would never have known about the extent of the problems with Crown. We would not have this legislation now before the house, which makes some very significant changes. Those changes arise from a royal commission that this government and Labor did not want to have—a royal commission that they avoided at every possible opportunity. The reality is they only called it when their hand was forced. In the other place we proposed a select committee which would have seen a committee with a non-government majority established to inquire not just into Crown but also into the regulator and the government’s interactions with Crown. It was on the eve of that committee being established, when the vote looked like it was likely to pass the upper house for the creation of that committee, that the government finally capitulated, acknowledged that there were some problems and called the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence. They did not want it. The terms of reference for that royal commission, however, as we now know, were very strictly limited. They pointed only to Crown and excluded any examination of the government, its interactions with Crown, or the regulator and the fact that the regulator has so monumentally failed to police Crown over a number of years. There was no request of the royal commissioner to examine the regulator or its deficiencies, as a select committee in the upper house would have done.

The Premier from the start very carefully tried to steer this debate away from the failings of his government and his wilful ignorance of any wrongdoing at Crown. So the question here is: was the government asleep at the wheel or was it complicit? If you look at the time line to us actually arriving here today with this legislation before the house, I do not think there is any way you could come to the conclusion that the Andrews government did not know what was happening at Crown. All of the warnings were there, but the government chose to ignore them. They were there as early as 2016, when there were 19 Crown employees arrested in China for promoting gambling illegally. That occurred in October 2016. In response to that issue New South Wales, which was considering an application for a licence for Crown—Crown did not have an active casino in New South Wales but they had a consideration of an application for a licence—decided it was serious enough to call the Bergin inquiry, while Victoria, the home of the biggest casino, did absolutely nothing. In response to those arrests in China, Crown executive Karl Bitar, an individual no doubt well known to those on the other side from his time as a former national secretary of the Labor Party, was dispatched to Shanghai to use his influence to clean up Crown’s mess. As the Age reported the following year:

It is understood that Crown executive Karl Bitar, a former national secretary of Labor, is in Shanghai and had been working around the clock with a large team on the case.

Mr Bitar had established an understanding of the Chinese Communist Party while leading delegations of Labor figures to Beijing, where his role of general secretary of Labor had been highly regarded.

But it was not just the arrests of Crown staff in China which raised red flags. In 2017 the Auditor-General found that money laundering by high rollers at Crown was not being properly scrutinised by the regulator. It said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation inspectors were not paying sufficient attention to key areas of risk in the casino’s operations. The VCGLR’s compliance division:

… had not applied a level of focus on the casino that reflected its status and risk as the largest gaming venue in the state …

We had a series of media reports in 2018 which also raised deep concern about what was happening in Crown.

In the middle of all of that, in June 2018 the VCGLR itself completed its sixth casino review, and this is from page 134 of that review:

The VCGLR, other regulators and law enforcement agencies are aware of the significant potential risks of money laundering through casinos, particularly through junket operations.

The report said:

Junket operations in Australian casinos are vulnerable to exploitation by organised crime to launder money to facilitate the concealment of criminal wealth. Junket operations are also vulnerable to persons seeking to circumvent other countries’ capital flight restrictions. Junket operations are vulnerable due to a range of factors, including the arrangements in place between junket operators, junket players and the casinos, and the relatively limited information available regarding the financial transactions involving the junket players and the source and distribution of the junket players’ funds.

That led to the VCGLR actually making a recommendation for additional money-laundering controls, but as we heard through evidence given at the royal commission, Crown, advised by the Premier’s former right-hand man, Chris Riley, threatened to call the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation when it felt the regulator was pushing too hard. Now, what on earth would give Crown the impression that it was okay, that it was acceptable or that it would even work if they picked up the phone to the state gaming minister and, presumably, told her to back off? There is no evidence that that occurred, but they levelled that threat at the regulator. They tried to intimidate the regulator into backing off with the threat that they would just pick up the phone to state’s gaming minister. In what world is that acceptable? Again, was the government asleep or was it complicit in Crown’s wrongdoing?

In 2019 Fairfax and 60 Minutes ran an exposé on the casino in which they alleged Crown was working with junket operators backed by organised crime. Then we had the ABC, which obtained leaked footage of a man literally carrying a blue cooler bag, a blue shopping bag, into the casino. He just opens the bag and hands over hundreds of thousands of dollars in bricks of cash—$50 and $100 notes. Nobody bats an eyelid; it is just another day on the casino floor. A whistleblower told the ABC, when they obtained that footage:

I think this is just the tip of the iceberg about what is going on at Crown. I think Crown are a law unto themselves …

Money is coming in illegally.

You don’t know where [the cash] has come from, you don’t know if it’s the result of drug trafficking, of prostitution or child exploitation. You just don’t know.

Drug trafficking, child exploitation, prostitution—surely you would think that at that point, with those kinds of warnings, with whistleblowers saying those things, the government would step in, wouldn’t you? What did the Labor Party, who profess to be the champions of fairness and equality for all, actually do in response to allegations that money was obtained through the means of child exploitation, sex slavery and drug trafficking? What did they do? Nothing. They actually denied that there was any problem. In fact the member for Kororoit, who was the gaming minister at the time, said this:

It is unclear as to what’s occurring in the footage but it’s not uncommon for high roller rooms to have large amounts of cash in those rooms …

And the Premier, when he was asked by the media, dismissed any concerns, saying that the regulator had the powers that it needed.

I think it is absolutely extraordinary that it took New South Wales to establish an inquiry with any kind of teeth to investigate not what was occurring in New South Wales but what was occurring just down the road from this place, in our casino in Southbank. That will stand as Victoria’s record of shame for a very long time.

The Bergin inquiry found that Crown facilitated millions of dollars to be laundered through a bank account of its subsidiary and that Crown Melbourne allowed operators with links to organised crime to arrange for junket players to gamble at the casino. In December, when the weight of evidence in front of the Bergin inquiry about money laundering at Crown became irrefutable, the Andrews government decided in response that they would take the enormous action of simply bringing forward the seventh review of the casino’s licence. That was their only response. That is it. That is all they did. A few days later the minister again denied that there was any problem with regulator. At the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee she said this:

… the independent regulator has undertaken an enormous amount of work. Without a doubt they have been incredibly thorough in their investigations and also, too, been working through a pretty robust process.

How extraordinary. Asleep at the wheel or complicit? Tony Robinson, who is well known to members of this house, a former Labor gaming minister, had a slightly different view. He said he hoped Victoria was:

… never again in a position where untoward things are happening under our very noses and it takes an interstate regulator to blow the whistle.

That’s highly embarrassing to the state of Victoria.

He went on to say:

I think they’ve had a huge wake-up call … They have to instil a culture in the regulator … [where] you have to constantly look for those thing you’re not being told.

Tony Robinson could see the problem—hell, the whole state could see the problem—but not the Premier and not his minister.

On the day that the report was handed down its findings did not come as a shock to anybody. We had 18 months of extraordinary evidence, much of it given in public hearings, that had preceded the private report from Patricia Bergin. But this is what the Premier said:

Allegations have been made, they’re very serious and they’re being investigated by the VCGLR and other relevant bodies … and they’ll have findings and a report to produce.

In other words, business as usual. ‘Nothing to see here. Let’s all just move on’. Asleep? You would have to be absolutely comatose not to see the warnings. Complicit? Well, the Premier’s party room certainly thinks so.

In July this year Four Corners aired a report, which I am sure members of this house watched, airing the concerns of five former gaming inspectors at the VCGLR. It was titled ‘Watchdog or lapdog? How the casino regulator failed to stop crime at Crown’. And aside from the terrible weaknesses the report identified in the regulator, three former Labor gaming ministers told that media organisation that they believed the Premier was too close to Crown and that:

… the Premier had a history of shutting down conversations relating to gambling policy or Crown casino.

And there was this:

Another senior Labor figure said it was well known in the party room that you don’t upset the Packers or Crown, that you always have to keep them sweet.

If the Premier and the Labor Party believed that they had nothing to hide here, why didn’t they include the regulator, and why didn’t they include the government in the royal commission’s terms of reference? I commend commissioner Ray Finkelstein for his work. I think he has done a very good job with the limited remit that he was given, and I think there is also an argument to be made that by identifying Crown’s tax evasion he is probably the only royal commissioner who was ever made the state of Victoria money. But the fact remains that we still only have half of the picture, and that is Crown’s wrongdoing.

What we do not know, what we do not have, is the examination of the regulator’s failings and the government’s interactions with Crown. I note that there have been some high-profile departures from the VCGLR in the last week, fairly quietly. That person never appeared before the royal commission, and I do not allege that she departed because of this; I genuinely do not know. But the fact is we cannot know, because no appearance was ever made at the royal commission. The regulator’s directors for compliance and for licensing never appeared either. None of the gaming ministers who have oversighted this period appeared before the royal commission. No-one in the Department of Treasury and Finance appeared, which also has significant interaction in terms of Crown and the tax they pay.

The process by which the royal commission was announced tells you everything you need to know about how uncomfortable the Premier is. This is the only royal commission in the last 20 years that has been called in this state where the minister has been sent out alone to announce it. I went back and checked: for every other royal commission in this state over the last 20 years the Premier has been the one fronting the press pack to announce it. The Premier for this one was nowhere in sight, and at 4.00 pm on a Friday, no less, which everybody in politics knows is when you take out the trash—the stories that you do not want the media to cover extensively. The Premier did not want this royal commission. He did not want to know about the problems this legislation now attempts to address. How can Victorians have any confidence at all that those opposite can be trusted to clean up Crown when they are so desperate to avoid any independent scrutiny?

In total Commissioner Finkelstein made 33 recommendations with regard to a number of areas. They cover the regulator; establishment of a special manager; inspectors, both their powers and functions; the casino operator and its structure; money laundering; responsible service of gambling; and a number of miscellaneous amendments. This legislation addresses nine of those 33 recommendations made by the royal commission. Specifically it goes to recommendations 21, 22 and 23, which pertain to the appointment of the special manager; it addresses recommendations 20 and 27, regarding the powers of the regulator; it addresses recommendations 8 and 19, which increase the obligation of the casino operator to cooperate with the regulator; and recommendations 15 and 31, which protect the government from legal challenge arising from the implementation of the royal commission’s recommendations. Also it prevents the regulator from suspending or cancelling Crown’s licence during this period on the basis of the royal commission’s findings, unless it is implementing a recommendation by the special manager who has been appointed.

I understand that there will be a second tranche of legislation in the new year. I must say it struck me as being somewhat odd that the government said the first time it had any knowledge of the royal commission’s recommendations was when the final report was handed to them, on 15 October. The government released the report, I think it was, a week, possibly two weeks, later. But the government’s official response to the royal commission was the sum total of 2½ pages, and at least one and a half of those were simply a rehash of his commentary and his recommendations. On the same day it brought this legislation in. So it seems somewhat extraordinary to me, I have to say, that the government was clearly pressed for time when drafting a formal response, but in just a week and a half it managed to turn around this bill, making some fairly significant changes.

That aside, on the specifics of the bill, it sets up the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission. This of course is not a recommendation from Commissioner Finkelstein because, as I said, the commissioner was not actually asked to look at the regulator. The government also pre-empted the royal commission, which in itself I find very odd, and announced that it was going to reform the regulator. But recall that when the Bergin inquiry was afoot and even when it had handed down its response the government insisted that it was not necessary to take any action. So there is an extreme contradiction there.

At this stage, from what I can see, this new commission is little more than a name change. The structure and operations of the standalone casino regulator still remain a mystery. I understand that the government is still considering what that will in fact look like. Commissioner Finkelstein has recommended some additional powers for the regulator, which this bill addresses—namely, it increases the maximum fine that can be applied by the regulator from $1 million to $100 million, and I do note that the government has far exceeded the penalty that Commissioner Finkelstein recommended. He recommended $10 million. I also note that this fine can be applied retrospectively, which could have particularly dire consequences for Crown, given that the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is still conducting an investigation that I believe dates from about six years prior to October 2020 into its compliance with anti-money-laundering legislation. So the fact that the government is increasing fines by a hundredfold when there is an active investigation underway and these fines can be applied to retrospectively I do not doubt is of great worry to Crown.

It also addresses the ability of the regulator to make recommendations arising from its investigations and new directions powers to require the operator to answer any questions and produce documents. I have asked the government for a summary of the regulator’s powers as they exist now, and I appreciate the information that the minister’s office has provided me with to date. I do not currently have a summary of the regulator’s powers as they exist, but the government has been helpful in the information that it has provided.

I do not dispute that additional powers for the regulator are required, but my concern stems from the fact that I do not believe the regulator has exercised the existing powers that it already holds, and I think that is evidenced by the fact that Commissioner Finkelstein in his final report found that the casino breached both the Casino Control Act but also the casino management agreement that it has with the state. So the question remains: if the act and the agreement were both breached, why didn’t the regulator do something about it? How can Parliament be assured that the government will actually address the Auditor-General’s concerns? He flagged in 2017 that the regulator did not adequately monitor compliance with gambling legislation; that it had an inflexible allocation of resources to compliance activities based on factors other than risk; that it had a management approach and a culture focused on meeting quotas, which encouraged superficial inspection activities rather than activities to address harm; and that it had inadequate guidance and training for inspectors and unreliable data about gambling inspections.

The fact that the VCGLR, in response to the review undertaken by Ian Freckelton, put out a press release ignoring any of his criticisms and basically saying that they were completely exonerated by his report just goes to show that there are cultural problems, there are deep cultural problems, which need to be addressed. It is worth noting I think also that a number of the former gaming inspectors who I referenced earlier, who spoke out on Four Corners, continue to express their concerns and have disputed the findings of the report of the review undertaken by Ian Freckelton, QC. I know the government will point to that and say it has done this so-called independent investigation. I do not say that as any reflection on Ian Freckelton, but the reality is that he was employed by the regulator to undertake a review of the regulator, and we have five former gaming inspectors who believe that there were deep flaws with that process and that their evidence was not properly considered.

While Commissioner Finkelstein did not investigate the regulator, he did recommend a structure via the introduction of a special manager. I think that again in itself is a reflection of the regulator’s incapacity to do the job. This legislation establishes that role, and that will oversee Crown’s operations for the next two years. Stephen O’Bryan has already been appointed to the role. The bill gives him the rights and privileges of a director of Crown. Though he will not have the power to vote, he does have the power to give the casino a written direction to take or refrain from taking a particular action.

Now, that role is required to report every six months to the minister and the regulator on Crown’s remediation efforts, and critically the report that he delivers at the end of his two-year term will form much of the basis for the regulator’s decision as to whether or not they will consider Crown to be suitable to continue to hold the casino licence. I am concerned that there is no requirement in this bill to actually make those reports public, so to that end under standing orders I wish to advise the house of amendments to this bill and request that they be circulated.

Opposition amendments circulated by Ms RYAN under standing orders.

Ms RYAN: The amendments that I propose actually ensure that there is an obligation on the minister to table these reports in Parliament within seven days of their receipt or on the next available sitting day—that is, both the reports produced on the six-monthly basis and also the final two-year report that is proposed under this legislation. I think that is a sensible measure to ensure that there is transparency around this process. For the reasons that I have outlined, the actions of the regulator going forward call for a higher degree of scrutiny, and I think that Victorians want to know—they need to be able to see—that Crown is meeting those benchmarks. It is not enough for the special manager to deliver those reports to the minister and the regulator and for the Parliament never to see those reports.

I expect that over the course of this debate government MPs are going to be rolling out their talking points, which will attempt to deflect the blame for the circumstances that we now see at Crown. That is because they know how vulnerable they are to criticism here and they know how poorly the government’s lack of action reflects on them; attack is always the best form of defence. I want to remind the house of a few key points. Labor have now been in government for 20 of the last 24 years. They have had ample time to fix the problems at Crown. We have had material warnings about money laundering and about people with links to drug trafficking, child exploitation and prostitution infiltrating the casino dating as far back as 2016. They chose not to respond. So when people are wondering while looking at this, ‘Was the government just asleep at the wheel?’, I do not think you can make that argument.

I think on the basis of the evidence before us—the media reporting dating from the arrests of staff in China back in 2016; the Auditor-General’s 2017 report and subsequent reports which flagged real concerns about the regulator; media exposés in 2018, 2019, almost every year in fact; the Bergin inquiry headed by Patricia Bergin, who carries with her so much respect and weight—all of those factors amount to the government knowing that there were serious problems at Crown, but it chose not to act on them. We know that the Premier has close links to Crown. We know that there are former Labor staffers and executives sitting down at Crown. We know that the Premier’s own party room, at least according to media reports, believe that he is too close to Crown. So when Victorians are considering the weight of evidence, they need to remember that this government has not just had the last seven years; Labor has had 20 of the last 24 years to do something about this. So I am supportive of many of the measures that this bill brings. I commend commissioner Ray Finkelstein for the work that he has done, despite the fact that he had very narrow terms of reference, and I urge members to support our amendments.

Ms EDWARDS (Bendigo West) (10:39): I am pleased to rise to make a contribution on this very important bill, the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, which was introduced to this house on 26 October. The member for Euroa has given a fair account of why this royal commission that we are talking about today was required. However, I note that she referred to attack as being the best form of defence, and I also note that she spent 20 minutes attacking the Premier and the government and 5 minutes on the bill and seemed, as the Liberal and National parties often do these days, to go down the conspiracy path on every corner and down every alleyway—and that is not a talking point, that is my own observation.

What the member for Euroa has failed to remember—maybe she is too young; I am certainly old enough to remember—is that it was Jeff Kennett, the Liberal Party, who spruiked Crown at every turn. I recall him writing to 10 000 employees thanking them for the magnificent job that they were doing for Melbourne. He did not write to the teachers, he did not write to the nurses, who were also doing a magnificent job. And as Tim Costello says:

Gambling once belonged to the cultural margins and was put in the category of gaming and vice by our police departments. That all changed with Crown as it moved to the cultural centre. It became a key part of our vision for a city, hosting the Logies, the Walkleys, the Brownlow and endless gangland meetings and celebrations.

Crown became, under Kennett:

… state sponsored and culturally applauded as our economic saviour. This was Jeff Kennett’s gaming-led recovery. He immediately booted the Melbourne Museum that was to be built on the Southbank site, pushing it to Carlton … Kennett hadn’t found an Eiffel Tower for the prime location in Melbourne; he’d found a casino that would span two city blocks. With it came cultural and even spiritual degradation.

We think we know who had the closest links to Crown back in those days.

This bill before the house has come off the back of course of the Royal Commission into the Casino Operation and Licence, which the government announced the establishment of back in February of this year. As the member for Euroa referred to, it was following the findings of the Bergin inquiry that Crown had facilitated millions of dollars to be laundered through a bank account of its subsidiary et cetera, et cetera. I will not go into the detail of the royal commission, because it is complex and I think it is publicly well known what the royal commission found in relation to Crown and its dishonest, illegal, unethical and exploitative behaviour. I think the importance of today’s discussion and debate around the bill is in response to the recommendations of that royal commission, which is why we are here in this place—to debate bills, not to accuse. The government has accepted all of the royal commission’s findings. We are implementing the most important and the priority recommendations, but we are also going further in a number of ways. I think we recognised as a government the need for immediate action to ensure the integrity of the casino licence, and by introducing tough new measures and stringent oversight of the casino operator this ensures that the failures exposed by the royal commission can never happen again.

This bill before the house today starts those critical reforms in relation to Crown, and these reforms are required to ensure the casino is operated in accordance with the highest standards of integrity. It implements the nine priority recommendations, as I mentioned. It establishes the special manager, who will have unprecedented powers to oversee Crown, veto decisions of the board and have unfettered access to all areas of the casino and its books and records. This is an unprecedented step in Australian corporate oversight; it has not happened before. As noted in Commissioner Finkelstein’s report, the special manager will be:

… the ultimate decision maker at Crown Melbourne …

and:

… will oversee all aspects of the casino’s operations.

The cost of establishing and implementing the special manager of course will be recovered from Crown. Subject to the passage of this legislation through the Parliament, there is a proposal that Mr Stephen O’Bryan, QC, will be appointed as the special manager.

There is a lot in this bill in relation to oversight in relation to regulation, and I wanted to put on the record that the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, which I have been a board member of for seven years, put forward a submission to the Crown royal commission.

I just wanted to refer again to an article from Tim Costello, which I think highlights some of the future legislation that this house and this government will hopefully bring before the Parliament:

The most damning part of Finkelstein’s report was Crown’s callous treatment of vulnerable people and the cost to the community. The commissioner found that the whole community had been hurt by Crown’s approach to problem gambling, saying the harm has been enormous. He made some powerful recommendations to protect gamblers in the future while blasting Crown for claiming it has a world’s best approach to problem gambling. He added “nothing was further from the truth”.

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) plays a very significant role in supporting Victorians affected by problem gambling and fostering greater understanding and awareness of responsible gambling in the wider community. It works within a public health framework, which is important. It builds resilience of Victorians to problem gambling. It achieves this through undertaking community education and awareness raising activities to foster responsible gambling and promote problem gambling help services and undertaking research to inform best practice in problem gambling treatment and prevention and responsible gambling communication.

This bill before the house, as I said, introduces new regulations, very strong regulations, and more oversight. When the foundation made its submission to the royal commission it provided an example of the impact on individuals from gambling at the casino operated by Crown, under cover of separate letters to the commission. It also noted that several public submissions, including a submission by a member of the foundation’s lived experience advisory committee, specifically raising gambling harm as an issue. While this is not necessarily part of today’s bill, I think it is important to highlight this, because for many, many years Crown has been a big player in increased gambling harm. Products offered by the casino included continuous forms of gambling, complex products, frequency of betting and illusions of control, and, further, the research has shown that the broad range of products available at the casino was a particular risk for people at high risk from gambling harm.

The foundation will be very keen to work within the new regulations and with the new Victorian Gambling Casino Control Commission to work towards improving outcomes for people in relation to gambling harm, informed by research rather than the narrow concepts of responsible gambling and problem gambling.

In strengthening the regulatory powers, which this bill does, and improving the obligations of the casino operator to reduce the risk of the wrongdoings identified by the royal commission re-occurring, I believe, as I mentioned, that this gives the VRGF an opportunity to work with the new regulations and special manager to deliver better and improved gambling harm prevention and support within the public health framework and to work towards future reforms, importantly, that reduce gambling harm.

I just wanted to put on the record my thanks to the executive at the VRGF—Shane Lucas, our CEO, Tass Mousaferiadis, our chair, and Rosa Billi, who is head of research and evaluation. Rosa and Shane both presented to the royal commission and did an outstanding job, particularly in relation to highlighting the harms that have been caused to thousands of people—not just individuals but their families and their communities—as a consequence of Crown and the way they have failed to support people with gambling harm. On that note I will commend the bill to the house. This is a very important bill but the start of something much bigger.

Dr READ (Brunswick) (10:49): It is a pleasure to speak on the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, a bill that the Greens will be supporting in this house. It is astonishing really that Crown has been given another chance. I recall standing here and asking the Premier, shortly after the 60 Minutes expose about junkets and money laundering and many other things besides, ‘What would it take for Crown to lose its licence?’ after all this.

And the Premier said that he rejected all of my accusations. Then it took a New South Wales inquiry for Crown to lose its licence in New South Wales and to stimulate not Crown to lose its licence here but a royal commission—another astonishment. So it really seems as though Crown is just too big to fail. So it is disappointing that the government has been expressing its concern and surprise over the findings of the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence; we have all known for years. It is disappointing too that the government has dodged inquiries for years or kept saying that the now apparently hopelessly inadequate regulator would do it.

So after some action interstate we finally got our royal commission, and aren’t these findings extraordinary? The royal commission reported conduct that was ‘variously illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative’, to quote the findings. They found examples of tax evasion, criminal activity, money laundering, blatantly ignoring the law, bullying the regulator and avoiding scrutiny, and causing severe gambling harm—and this is Crown, the managers of the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere, who have had special treatment from this government for years. They pay less tax on poker machines than other operators. They have a thousand unrestricted poker machines that spin faster and accept larger bets than the poker machines across Melbourne, and there are no harm minimisation measures.

So it is very pleasing—indeed it is a relief—to see some of the good changes in this bill. Now, this is my favourite: the removal of the requirement for the state to pay Crown compensation if the state takes certain actions without the consent of Crown, such as making changes that hurt Crown’s profits. This was a ridiculous change when it was introduced in this place, and it is splendid to see it finally go. We also support the creation of a separate regulator for the gambling and casino industry. The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has been failing to properly oversee this casino for years. The Greens called in 2017 for an inquiry into the regulator. It is great to see that there is automatic cancellation of Crown’s licence after two years unless the new regulator is clearly satisfied that Crown has improved. It is also good that the fines have been increased—these are fines that could be imposed on Crown for breaches—so that the maximum fine is no longer just loose change. It has gone up from $1 million to $100 million.

But perhaps the most damning discovery by the commission is the manner in which Crown Melbourne deals with the many vulnerable people who have a gambling problem. The cost to the community of problem gambling is enormous, and I am talking here about the human cost. I had a patient who lived in Geelong, who came to see me in Melbourne periodically, who suddenly became profoundly depressed, and we did not know why. He was an older man, and in elderly people sometimes profound depression is very difficult to shift. He made repeated suicide attempts, he stopped eating and so on. It took a long time before we got out of him that he had lost all his considerable wealth at Crown Casino. He got better after treatment eventually, but it was years of suffering. And I do not know much about his family or how they suffered, but the impact does not just stop at the individual. It spreads into family, society, work and other places. There is a loss of trust with problem gamblers when they start stealing and so on. So Crown has been a major cause of social harm in this state for decades.

As I say, it is really important that we introduce these changes, but we need to go further. We need to go beyond even the recommendations of this royal commission. We desperately need new harm minimisation provisions. The royal commission also found lots of stories of gambling harm from the casino. They heard reports that people who gambled at Crown were three times more likely to experience gambling harm than those who gambled elsewhere. And members of Crown’s loyalty program, which gives them rewards and other benefits the more they gamble, are more likely to experience gambling harm than other Crown patrons. There were even stories of people gambling for up to 34 hours straight. That is why we need to shrink this casino.

Crown Melbourne is the biggest casino in the Southern Hemisphere, so let us halve the number of gaming machines and tables for a start. We need strong harm minimisation protections. Poker machine bets should be limited to $1. There should be restrictions on the spin rate, the same restrictions that apply on poker machines elsewhere in Melbourne. There should be withdrawal limits—the amount of money that you withdraw from the ATM should be limited—and the recommendation from the royal commission of mandatory precommitment must definitely be implemented. This is where gamblers commit to spending no more than a certain amount when they arrive at the casino. That is very important. I strongly endorse that recommendation.

We should also ban loyalty programs because of the findings that participants are more likely to experience gambling harm. We should make the casino pay its fair share by doubling the tax paid on gaming machines and gaming tables, and we want a high roller tax on any VIP program. And it goes without saying we should ban political donations from the gambling industry. The gambling industry has made substantial donations to both the Labor and Liberal parties, and it is time that this was stopped. We also need to close the revolving door between politics and the gambling industry by banning parliamentarians and their senior advisers from working in the gambling industry for five years.

So all of these measures, if implemented, would make the casino a lot less harmful—although I cannot help but think about John Cain’s stubborn and steadfast resistance to the introduction of a casino and how, shortly after he departed as Premier, moves to introduce the casino began. I cannot help but think about his warnings about money laundering and organised crime and how it has all played out and how it has all come true. The least we can do, if we are not going to get rid of it, and I appreciate that would be very difficult, is introduce the Greens plan for a smaller casino, which I have just outlined.

I met with some of Crown’s workers recently, and it easy to forget the experiences of these thousands of workers amidst all the news about Crown’s wrongdoing. But these thousands of workers have been swept up in it, and most of them are not to blame. It is important that they are looked after over the next two years, that their conditions remain the same and that they are given some certainty. But I feel as though it is time to do more than just clean up Crown; it is time to do more than just clean up the regulator that was supposed to have been looking after Crown. We need also to clean up the politics that has fostered the creation of this monster. We need to rein it all in, because if we do not, then the improvements in this bill will not go far enough and will not last long enough.

I will just conclude with another quote from the royal commission’s findings:

It is difficult to grade the seriousness of the misconduct. Some was so callous that it is hard to imagine it could be engaged in by such a well-known corporation whose Melbourne Casino Complex is visited by millions annually.

On that note, I commend the bill to the house.

Mr CARBINES (Ivanhoe) (10:59): I am pleased to contribute to the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, and I will start with a couple of comments first on the release of the report of the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence and its sweeping reforms needed for Crown on 26 October 2021.

The Royal Commission has found Crown Melbourne unsuitable to hold the Melbourne Casino Licence as it engaged in conduct that is ‘illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative’.

… it also found that immediate cancellation of Crown’s licence would cause considerable harm to the Victorian economy and innocent third parties, and that Crown Melbourne has, at great financial cost, begun a significant reform program led by people of ‘good will and skill’—a move that could save up to 12,000 jobs.

… the Royal Commission has recommended Crown be permitted to continue operating while it undertakes a significant reform agenda under the stringent oversight of a Special Manager. Crown must do this over two years in order to retain its licence.

Which of course brings us to today and this bill. We are immediately implementing nine of the 33 recommendations, with the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill debated today. The government of course will go beyond those recommendations of the royal commission with laws that will automatically cancel Crown’s licence unless the regulator is clearly satisfied Crown is suitable to continue operating Melbourne’s casino. And that special manager to oversee Crown will have powers to direct the board to take particular action or to refrain from taking action, unfettered access to the casino, its books and records, and of course Stephen O’Bryan, who was the first Commissioner of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, will bring that integrity and accountability to carry on its operations. It is all part of this bill.

I also note: if we go back a bit, the history is important, I think, as is the context, because other matters have been well canvassed. I will start with a former constituent of mine, the Honourable John Cain, and I will quote from an article that was headed ‘The troubled birth of Crown Casino: we were warned’ of 10 August 2019. John Cain was quoted as saying:

When I left in August 1990, we’d had them battering the door down for all those years … Within three weeks of me going, they had not only battered the doors down, but they were in the lounge room pissing on the furniture.

He made it pretty clear. He set up, via Xavier Connor, a former Supreme Court justice, an inquiry into the potential establishment of a casino in Melbourne, and as was pointed out:

Were a casino established, the 1983 report said, it was all but certain organised crime would follow.

And of course where we go from there is the introduction of poker machines in 1991—introduced in Victoria by the Kirner Labor government, an aspect conveniently overlooked by her boosters. It is not particularly what I would call an achievement, and it is not something, with 10 000 machines introduced in this state, that should be glossed over. It was a slippery slope on which we began here in Victoria.

I remember growing up that I would camp on the border with my folks up at Corowa. You could duck across the border and put your 10 bucks through. It was a bit of a rite of passage, if you like, with your folks. But really for me, with gambling and gaming, I can take it or leave it. It is not an interest of mine.

But it is a legal activity in Victoria. There are operators in my electorate who run venues, and I am a member of the West Heidelberg RSL. I meet with many organisations in industry who run gambling and gaming venues, and my declaration of interest is more than clear and goes more than it needs to in outlining those matters. I think very much, though, whether it is alcohol, whether it is gaming or whether it is prostitution, ultimately those key elements that are historical in our society, in our community and in our history are elements that ultimately rely on the regulation of the state to be successful and to be better managed in the way in which they reflect the community’s expectations and not necessarily the excesses of the community at large or those who do it badly.

I remember joining Geelong footy club. As a kid when you turned 18 and you joined the social club, they sent you a voucher for Tabaret—if people remember them—a 10-buck voucher. That was a great way to start, wasn’t it? To my football club’s credit, they got out of poker machines, as did many other clubs. It is a shame on Carlton, Hawthorn, Essendon and others that they have not chosen to do that to reflect a greater understanding of community values, and they seek to put those industries in vulnerable communities to generate income from those who can least afford it.

Again, though, we have these broader issues around regulation and legality in genuine businesses, but also I think community leadership needs to be shown. I remember 1994 well. Those were difficult times for those of us on this side of the house. I certainly remember people like the actor Rachel Griffiths, who wore a crown of thorns and not much else in a protest in relation to her opposition to Crown Casino, at a time when these things had all the razzle-dazzle—it was live on the TV with the then Premier Jeff Kennett, Lloyd Williams and others.

I remember also people like my former employer, the former member for Melbourne, the Honourable Bronwyn Pike, who was referred to as anti-Victorian because of her views and social policy leadership in relation to problem gambling and its effects. A lot has developed over time in relation to these matters, over very many decades. We have had a revolving door over many years in relation to ministers responsible for gambling and liquor regulation. Perhaps that has also not been assisting the way in which we have led a watchdog, leadership, reform and oversight of these areas and potentially demonstrates that those are matters that have not served us well.

I would also say I have noticed there has been a lot of commentary too from the former member for Mitcham. I am very thankful to him for setting us on the road to victory with his by-election win against the Kennett government, but I also think he needs to reflect a little on his commentary and about his role in the auction of poker machines in 2010. As a candidate for that election, I remember it well—the loss of up to $3 billion that potentially could have flowed to Victorians and the way in which that auction was badly, badly managed. Former Auditor-General Des Pearson touched on those matters in 2011.

We have also noted that importantly the bill, and I go back to the release on 26 October 2021:

… seeks to completely remove—rather than just amend—the restrictive provisions introduced by the previous Liberal Government that stop the State from making changes to the regulatory arrangements without having to pay compensation to Crown …

an organisation that has very much had the opportunity to run a lot of its own race on the regulatory frameworks over far too long, and we have all paid a price for that. Industry players that do the right thing, whether you are a hotelier or whether you are a large organisation in this industry, all pay a price when Crown and others behave badly and do wrong. It is no different to politicians; as a Parliament we all suffer when there are individuals who do not meet community expectations. And so I feel for those who suffer because of the actions of Crown—the staff and the workers. My father worked at Crown not long after it first opened, having left teaching—you know, not the greatest place to be, in the public school sector under former Premier Jeff Kennett. He ended up working at Crown, and I have an understanding of the people who work there, the mess halls and the opportunities they have to eat together, the dry-cleaning, the other things that happen—it is an industry of its own, a town of its own—and the angst of those workers when they are let down by regulators, when they are let down by the board of Crown, a lot of Melbourne’s elite, who saw it as a badge to be on that board but did not reflect the community that they serve. It was more about what that meant in the cloistered halls of society than what it actually meant to drive community values and have some guts and a bit of strength about what you were meant to be providing in leadership to the community.

So I am really thankful to the honourable minister, the member for Williamstown, and the Premier along with the royal commission, the work and the findings. I think it is a chance to reset in relation to Victoria’s relationship with the casino, with Crown, and we owe it to the 12 000 workers who rely on that income for their families. We also rely on it around problem gambling more broadly in the way in which we support our vulnerable people in the community. Illegal activity needs to be monitored and it needs to be regulated. These things need to be dealt with far better than we have seen across the 26 or 27-odd years that the casino has operated and that have led us to this point. Hopefully in a positive way it is an opportunity to reset. The Premier and our government have provided that opportunity through the work of Ray Finkelstein, QC, and his findings, which I wholeheartedly commend.

This legislation is in part the first step on that journey to better outcomes, better oversight and better regulation, whether that is alcohol, whether that is prostitution or whether that is gambling. These are things we really get monitored on, I think, as standards, as a Parliament. We have got to do better, and we are on the way in relation to this bill. That is why commend it to the house. I commend it to all members of this place.

Mr ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (11:09): I also rise to speak on the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, following my good friend and colleague the member for Euroa in her contribution. I note that the member for Euroa has also moved a house amendment during the course of her contribution as well, and I intend to address that briefly. I think it is an important house amendment that the member for Euroa has moved. I understand that the government’s stated intent in bringing this bill to the Parliament is to increase transparency and accountability on the part of Crown, and the house amendment that the member for Euroa moved would further increase that stated intent of the government if in fact the government agreed to it. So that is why we on this side of the house believe that that house amendment is an important amendment—to increase accountability and transparency when it comes to Crown.

Now, there is no doubt that Crown Casino and the businesses that operate within the precinct on Southbank in the capital of our state, in Melbourne, is a powerhouse of employment, and Crown’s ongoing operation in this state will be critical to our own state’s recovery, especially as we come out of this pandemic. But that should not exempt Crown from its obligation to the Victorian people and should not exempt Crown from its obligation indeed to the Parliament and the social licence that operations such as casinos have with the broader community as well.

This bill of course seeks to amend various casino- and gambling-related acts to implement recommendations of the royal commission to strengthen the oversight and regulation of casino operators and, further, to establish the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission. As I am advised, this is the first of two bills to deal with recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence. The commission itself was established to inquire into and report on the suitability of Crown Melbourne to hold its casino licence. This was preceded by the New South Wales Bergin inquiry, which found that Crown Melbourne facilitated millions of dollars to be laundered through a bank account of its subsidiary and that Crown Melbourne allowed operators with links to organised crime to arrange for junket players to gamble at the casino.

As I am aware, the government was, well, more or less dragged kicking and screaming to announce this royal commission in the first place. It was announced with little to no fanfare at all. I am pretty sure it was announced on a Thursday afternoon—something like that—by the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, not the Premier. It was certainly lowballed. It was under great pressure not only from those on this side of the chamber but also following the New South Wales Bergin inquiry, which found some very questionable things in relation to the operation of Crown Casino in Melbourne.

Commissioner Ray Finkelstein, AO, QC, handed down his final report, the royal commission report, on 15 October 2021. He made 33 recommendations, and he stated that:

… for many years Crown Melbourne had engaged in conduct that is, in a word, disgraceful. This is a convenient shorthand for describing conduct that was variously illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative.

Pretty damaging words—damaging words indeed. Despite finding that Crown was unsuitable to hold the casino licence, the commissioner stopped short of recommending that the licence be torn up, and in coming to his final recommendation he pointed to the risk that the cancellation of Crown Melbourne’s licence would cause considerable harm to the Victorian economy and innocent third parties.

The amendment that the member for Euroa has raised in this place refers to the position of the special manager—which is part of the government’s bill—a regulator to oversee the affairs of Crown’s operations.

[The Legislative Assembly transcript is being published progressively.]