Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, has accused the Victorian Government of running a protection racket for Crown Casino and called for a Royal Commission to avoid another whitewash.
The Victorian Government has fast-tracked its next major review of Crown Resorts’ Melbourne casino licence in the wake of damning public hearings into the gambling giant’s suitability to hold a licence in New South Wales.
The Government has brought forward by two years the seventh Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation review to determine if Crown is fit to hold the state’s sole casino licence.
Mr Wilkie expressed doubts the VCGLR was up to the task of reviewing Crown’s operations.
“What is required in Victoria is a state-based Royal Commission to look at just not Crown but the behaviour of the regulator, the Victorian Government and indeed some politicians,” he said.
“Crown could not have done what is has done if the regulator was doing its job. The VCGLR is part of the problem and it’s concerning the review will be conducted under its umbrella. We need to be careful this is not another whitewash.
“The Victorian Government has been running a protection racket and it beggars belief that it’s taken an inquiry in another state, a Tasmanian MP, and the media to finally bust Crown open.
“The Victorian Government was clearly pushed to the point where it could obfuscate no more.
“In my opinion, Crown is not fit and proper to hold a licence to operate any casino in Australia.”