The Star Entertainment Group should not be deemed suitable to hold a NSW casino licence under any circumstances, the lead lawyer assisting the state inquiry into the company has said.
Counsel assisting Caspar Conde told inquiry head Adam Bell, SC, on Wednesday that there is no indication that the casino giant is fit to be given a casino licence, even if it was forced to stay under the watchful eye of a special manager or comply with some other caveat.
Conde’s strident closing submission means it is all but certain the company will not be given a licence, and may not even be given a timeline of when it may be deemed fit.
Star Sydney is unlikely to regain its casino licence in NSW. Credit: Brent Lewin
“In terms of present suitability, our submission remains that you would conclude that The Star and Star Entertainment are not presently suitable regardless of any proposal in relation to licence conditions or the manager [continuing to supervise the company],” Conde said.
His comments followed a submission from The Star’s lawyers which said the company should be deemed suitable to operate under a special manager appointed by the regulator. Conde cited the testimonies of each board member of the struggling business, who all agreed the company was not fit to take control.
He also rejected a suggestion from The Star’s barristers that Bell should not assess the company’s suitability.
“The Star entities invite you to consider suitability by reference to hypothetical licence conditions that are a matter for the NICC [NSW Independent Casino Commission], but at the same time, they say that if you were to bring a test of clear and convincing evidence, then you would be committing error,” Conde said.
He also reiterated that Bell should not feel obliged to implement a timeline of when The Star may be deemed ready if suitability was not given on July 31, regardless of pressure from the company and its investors to do so.
Bell has been engaged by the regulator, the NICC, to ascertain whether The Star has adequately reformed its culture, is financially viable, and is compliant with the state’s casino regulations.
A series of former and current executives at the embattled company, remediation experts and its special manager, Nicholas Weeks, were summoned to give evidence over the past month.
The decision may also affect The Star’s viability to operate in Queensland after the state Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said earlier this week it would postpone its own suitability decision until after Bell’s final report at the end of July.
A series of embarrassing revelations were exposed, including secret plots against the regulator by now-ousted chair David Foster and ex-chief Robbie Cooke, extensive falsification of welfare checks on gambling patrons, and insufficient source-of-wealth checks on high-risk customers. An allegation was also aired by former chief financial officer Christina Katsibouba, who said she was asked to alter the company’s financials to hide a $3.2 million error.
The second inquiry has claimed the scalps of a suite of executives including its former chair, David Foster, who was revealed to have conspired to get rid of the special manager and accused of concocting a class action against Weeks and the regulator.
The Star’s share price has been battered recently, but briefly soared earlier this week following a report from the Australian Financial Review that US hospitality giant Hard Rock International was considering a takeover. This was denied by Hard Rock on Tuesday, and a Queensland property developer, Patrick Farrugia – who used to have links to Hard Rock’s now-defunct premises in Surfers Paradise – was outed as the source of the proposal.
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