Western Australia adds another royal commission to Crown’s pain

WA’s inquiry into Crown Resorts’ Perth casino licence follows a damning NSW probe, and Victoria’s royal commission.

Crown’s Burswood casino in Perth.

Western Australia’s royal commission into gaming giant Crown will be led by the same commissioner whose work on the collapse of HIH Insurance saw several of the insurer’s executives sentenced to jail.

The WA government on Friday announced a royal commission into Crown and its suitability to continue holding a gaming licence in the state, on the heels of NSW’s Bergin inquiry.

WA Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia had previously announced an inquiry into Crown, but on Friday revealed it would instead be subject of a full royal commission.

The royal commission will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Neville Owen, who also headed the HIH Insurance royal commission in the early 2000s. That royal commission identified 56 breaches of the Corporations Act and other legislation, and set in motion the events that saw a number of HIH executives jailed and millions of dollars in fine and compensation paid.

WA Attorney-General John Quigley said the decision to upgrade the inquiry had followed a suggestion from Mr Owen that a full royal commission was needed to provide the necessary protections and immunities to the commissioners and witnesses.

He will be joined by another former Supreme Court judge, Lindy Jenkins, and former WA auditor-general Colin Murphy.

The royal commission is the first to be called in WA in 20 years.

It will also examine the state’s regulatory framework and conduct of the WA gaming regulator.

“It is a very important matter,” Mr Quigley said. “It’s a very powerful body, a very independent body, and it will make recommendations to government.”

While the WA government is in caretaker mode ahead of the March 13 state election, Mr Quigley said opposition leader Zak Kirkup had been briefed on the matter and agreed to the need for a full royal commission.

The commission will draw heavily on the findings unearthed by the Bergin inquiry, which found that Crown was unfit to hold the licence over its new $2.2bn Barangaroo casino.

The NSW inquiry identified several instances of alleged money laundering within the Perth casino, and so-called “junket operators” – groups, often with ties to organised crime, that arranged and financed visits from international gamblers – have already been banned.

“It’s focusing on the findings of the Bergin inquiry, matters associated with that inquiry and … identified in the Bergin inquiry regarding Perth casino, noting firstly that we couldn’t act on their findings and secondly much of the material that led to their findings being made wasn’t publicly available to us,” Mr Papalia said.

“We are focusing on those concerns, and also as we’ve indicated the suitability and effectiveness of our regulatory framework and the operations of our regulator. That’s in excess of what the Bergin inquiry looked at.”

An interim report, focusing on the regulator, is due by June 30 and final findings and recommendations due by November 14.

Mr Quigley said he had “no idea” if Crown major shareholder and former director James Packer would be called.

Victoria, where Crown operates the huge casino at Southbank, has also called a royal commission into Crown.

Crown executive chairman Helen Coonan said the company would fully co-operate with the WA royal commission. “The WA royal commission will provide an opportunity for Crown to detail the reforms and changes to our business to deliver the highest standards of governance and compliance, and an organisational culture that meets community expectations.”