A murky review of ‘your super’; Entain looking down in the mouth

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

What is it with Stephen Jones and hiding information? The ­Assistant Treasurer is already hard at work trying to undo a set of laws, introduced last year, that compel superannuation funds to disclose more information about how they spend their members’ money.

But now it seems that Treasury’s own review of these ­reforms is taking a similarly opaque detour, with the government said to have quietly assembled an unannounced shadow committee – of undisclosed membership and elevated say-so powers – to discreetly advise on the process.

Need we remind our readers of the ructions this shake-up of the sector – known soothingly as Your Future, Your Super – had caused within the industry itself? Is it so much to ask that we be told which voices are going to be selectively amplified in this unnecessarily bizarre and murky process?

For clarity, most of the industry hoi polloi are being corralled into the usual roundtable sessions, renowned for their black markers, weak tea and ugly, oversized butcher’s paper. Those selected for Treasury’s VIP “technical working group” appear to have a seat at the adults table where the real negotiations will be hammered out.

Strangely, the mere existence of this panel has been kept a ­secret. Those invited to participate are said to include representatives from Vanguard, which does not have a super product in the market, as well as IFM Investors and Australian Super. The invitations were distributed last week.

“The technical working group will complement broader consultation processes for the Your Future, Your Super review, which include a public ­submissions process and policy roundtables,” a Treasury document, obtained by Margin Call, said.

Unsurprisingly, the views expressed by those party to the working group “will not be made public”.

So, we will not know what they say, who said it, or what impact, if any, it has on the review’s conclusions. How’s that for transparency, eh?

The meetings, to be chaired by Treasury, will run for up to three hours and are scheduled to take place on September 22, 29 and October 6. We can assure you it’s far more time being allotted to the industry players who have not been invited to these sessions.

It’s only fair, we feel, to query how the panel will be populated, especially given the rather fractious nature of the sector and its competing agendas. But perhaps we shouldn’t be all that concerned. It seems that what’s most important to the boffins is that very modern consideration of “background and experience, particularly with respect to gender”. Priorities, as always.

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Entain’s unlucky run

Online gambler Entain is looking a bit down in the mouth at the moment while it sizes up betting licences in Western Australia and Victoria.

Barely a month ago the wagering giant, listed out of London, was fined a historic $29m by the UK Gambling Commission for flouting a raft of anti-money-laundering regulations, among other matters.

Australia’s own financial intelligence agency, Austrac, launched a similar probe into Entain last week, although that shouldn’t necessarily instil great fear into its operators; Austrac’s compliance investigation of The Star, in 2017, overlooked all the flagrant wrongdoing at the casino and praised officials for their thorough procedures.

It would be funnier if it wasn’t true.

Entain, run in Australia by local CEO Dean Shannon, is having a bad run of luck with regulators.

But despite a recent show of promising gains to its revenue and customer base, Entain’s unlucky streak with regulators doesn’t appear to be letting up, with the Northern Territory government now also apparently applying scrutiny in light of the UK disciplinary action.

Margin Call has confirmed the NT’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade has been in dialogue with Entain’s Australian representatives over that unsavoury matter abroad, with the territory’s Racing Commission also being kept abreast of developments.

Entain is understood to have self-reported to the agency once the UK decision was handed down. However, the involvement of the NT Racing Commission, which wasn’t party to those discussions, adds a dimension of uncertainty to the saga.

Aside from a heightened interest in Entain’s operations, Margin Call understands further news on this matter is expected at the Racing Commission’s next meeting. It could all just be procedural, who’s to say?

Regardless, Entain needs this like a hole in the head as it weighs further expansion opportunities. After all, it was only 18 months ago that it held out a $3.5bn takeover offer for its bitter rival Tabcorp.

Had that been successful, it probably would have fortified the company for the tumult and caution it seems to be absorbing, with the bid for WA looking especially uncertain. Entain declined to provide any comment.

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Setting down roots

Looks like Robbie Vanderzeil is setting down more roots. The Jarden Australia boss has laid out a touch over $14m to buy a freshly restored terrace in Sydney’s Millers Point with no mortgage required.

Has it got anything to do with what we’re hearing about some adjustments in Vanderzeil’s relationship status? Is there a marriage on the cards, as the suggestion goes, or does he just want to be closer to the office?

In any case, the new pad isn’t all that far from his old Mosman lean-to, which he sold for $9m earlier this year to Mark Lingafelter, president of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance.