James Packer will kick every goal he can for you, Lloyd Williams tells Daniel Andrews

UPDATE: CASINO mogul James Packer has denied he plans to influence the state election, declaring he wants to steer clear of playing politics. LISTEN NOW

CASINO mogul James Packer has denied he plans to influence the state election, declaring he wants to steer clear of playing politics.

Influential businessman Lloyd Williams yesterday was heard on camera telling Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews that Mr Packer would “kick every goal he can for you”.

But this morning, Mr Packer said this was news to him.

“I am overseas and only caught up late last night with news regarding the Victorian election,” he said.

“Lloyd is a very close friend of mine, but he did not speak to me before making his comments to Daniel Andrews and they don’t represent my views.

“I do not intend to get involved in this or any election.”

The billionaire, who personally intervened when the government surprised Crown last year with a plan to hike taxes without consultation, said there was no bad blood with the Coalition.

James Packer: “I do not intend to get involved in this or any election.”

“Any issues I had with the Victorian Government in relation to a proposed gaming levy were fully resolved through negotiation and goodwill,” he said.

“Crown will continue to work with whichever government the public elects in the best interests of our Melbourne resort and our thousands of employees.”

Mr Andrews was visiting Mr Williams’s Macedon property for a photo with Melbourne Cup runner Fawkner.

A Channel Ten camera caught Mr Williams, a hand on Mr Andrews’s shoulder, telling the Labor leader: “You should probably know I am on the executive of the Packer estate, and James is going to kick every goal he can for you.”

A senior minister questioned whether Mr Packer or Crown would publicly endorse Mr Andrews, saying it would not be “prudent” to get involved in the campaign.

Queried over the comments, Mr Andrews said questions should go to Mr Packer.

“I’m not going to run a commentary on that. I’ve been very clear with you I’ve known James Packer for years, and you’d need to speak to him about any further details on that,” Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews with Mr Williams' Melbourne Cup runner Fawkner. Picture: Hamish Blair

Asked about his relationship with Mr Packer, Mr Andrews would not say if they were friends.

He denied the casino boss had offered him advice over recent years and would not say what type of support Mr Packer could provide him.

Premier Denis Napthine said he wasn’t interested in Mr Andrews’s relationship with Mr Packer.

“I am not interested in picking up the phone and speaking to James Packer,” he told ABC radio. “What I want is the support of ordinary Victorians.”

The Greens said they were the only party who didn’t accept donations from developers. “We challenge the other parties to the do the same,” leader Greg Barber said.

JAMES CAMPBELL’S ANALYSIS: A NOT-SO-SECRET SECRET

IT’S been an open secret around town for months that James Packer is “off” the Napthine Government. The surprising thing is that it has taken so long to become public.

The obvious source of Packer’s displeasure was Treasurer Michael O’Brien’s plan, announced last December, to raise the taxes on Crown’s poker machines.

The tax hike was included in the mid-year Budget update book as a fait accompli. But at the press conference announcing the move a piece of paper was handed around explaining the change was subject to negotiation.

Just why it needed to be negotiated is unclear. Crown argued that it had an agreement with the previous Labor government not to alter its tax regime without agreement.

The Government argues there was no agreement, only a press release. It took until August to strike a deal. During that time Mr O’Brien refused to meet with Crown chiefs to discuss the impasse.

That approach went down very badly with Mr Packer. The first sign of his willingness to deal with Labor came in September when Daniel Andrews got an agreement from Crown to retrain 500 workers at its TAFE college in return for the ALP’s support for the Government’s casino bill.