WA Premier calls for halt on Crown election donations in light of report
Election donations from Crown should not be accepted in light of a damning report into the casino operator by the New South Wales gambling regulator, West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says.
The Premier stopped short of calling for a suspension of Crown’s casino licence in Perth while WA’s independent gambling commission reviewed the NSW inquiry and said he wanted to make sure the 5500 employees at the Burswood venue kept their jobs.
WA Premier Mark McGowan says his party should not be taking any election donations from Crown.Credit:Peter de Kruijff
Mr McGowan said he was unaware of recent donations to Labor, as it was a matter for the party, but Crown donations clearly “should not happen”.
Political donation data released earlier in February revealed Crown gave $36,190 worth of donations to WA Labor in 2019-20.
An investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes in July 2019 raised concerns about money laundering in Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casinos.
Crown admitted last year to the inquiry – which was launched the month after the investigation – money laundering at the two casinos was likely to have occurred.
Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals in WA received a total of $88,416 in donations from Crown in 2019-20.
The WA Liberals and Nationals have collected $650,738 from Crown in the past 13 years, while WA Labor has received $384,010.
WA Greens leader and gambling spokeswoman Alison Xamon said the Labor and Liberal parties should immediately commit to no longer taking donations from gambling businesses such as Crown.
“We need our politicians to be representing the interests of our communities, not their billionaire corporate donors,” she said.
“The activities of Crown in WA is a major part of the reason why Crown has been found unsuitable to operate in NSW.”
WA Labor secretary Tim Picton said on Tuesday all donations to the party were disclosed in line with legislative requirements and available on public registers, while his Liberal counterpart, Sam Calabrese, said the party complied with all donation disclosure rules and legislation.
Both parties and Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup were contacted by WAtoday on Wednesday for comment, in light of Mr McGowan’s statement, on whether any new Crown donations would be rejected.
Mr McGowan said the best approach following the NSW inquiry would be for the three states with Crown interests to have a co-ordinated approach.
“We’ll examine the outcomes and make further decisions in the future about what should happen but I just make one point; there are 5500 people who work at the [Perth] casino,” he said.
“We obviously have to take into account their interests going forward in terms of what happens ... we don’t tolerate criminality or unlawful conduct, but we know that lots of people’s jobs depend upon it.
“This has been an inquiry that has been going on for a fair period of time, mainly into the activities in the eastern states with some evidence arising about what may have occurred in WA.
“We’ll get urgent legal advice which will then go to the Gaming and Wagering Commission which will then report to government and then we’ll be able to take whatever steps are necessary at that time.”
Mr Kirkup said at a press conference on Wednesday he had confidence in the WA gambling regulator.
“I think it’s important that they continue that job, I don’t think there should be political interference in an independent regulator,” he said.
Peter de Kruijff is a journalist with WAtoday.