Crown Melbourne’s future in hands of Stephen O’Bryan, and another scalp likely in Perth
There’s a new guy in town when it comes to control of Crown Resort’s flagship casino in Melbourne and his name’s not James Packer, Ziggy Switkowski or Steve McCann.
Step up to the hot seat Melbourne lawyer Stephen O’Bryan QC, who’s been hand picked by Premier Dan Andrews to be “special monitor” of the controversial gambling den for the next two years.
But there is no need for the barrister, who was the inaugural commissioner of Victoria’s public service anti-corruption body and whose brother is controversial barrister Norman O’Bryan, to pass any sort of probity test by gaming regulators despite the fact he’ll have the ultimate say on how Crown Melbourne runs for the next two years.
All he’ll be subject to is a check of the ASIC banned and disqualified persons register, a check of the National Personal Insolvency Index and a National Criminal Record check.
O’Bryan, 62, will outrank acting chair Jane Halton, incoming chair Switkowski and new chief executive McCann, who had to wait six months before regulators signed off on his appointment to the gambling den. Switkowski, meanwhile, is still waiting.
“No longer will Crown’s destiny be theirs to manage,” declared local Gaming Minister Melissa Horne on Tuesday.
O’Bryan, who resides in Melbourne’s leafy Camberwell with his wife Lisa and enjoys down-time at his equally leafy rural holding at Metcalfe not far from Victoria’s Castlemaine, will have the power to direct Switkowski’s board, attend its and management’s meetings and hold the power of veto over all decisions.
We can just see newly recruited former Telstra boss Switkowski and ex-Lendlease chief McCann playing second fiddle to O’Bryan’s concertmaster.
Crown will also have to foot the bill for O’Bryan’s services, unlike the $19.75m the Victorian taxpayer has paid for Ray Finkelstein’s royal commission, which ultimately found the company was unsuitable to hold the Melbourne casino licence.
The Andrews government has accepted all recommendations of Finkelstein’s weighty final report, with Crown now effectively on probation until O’Bryan reports on his two-year reign and a decision is made by the gaming regulator on whether Crown’s licence should be retained.
Margin Call tried talking to O’Bryan about his new gig, but we had a message relayed back that it was not appropriate to discuss his new Crown appointment.
The Premier’s office wasn’t keen either to engage on our questions about the process towards O’Bryan’s appointment, how much he’d be paid or where he’d be based.
So much for transparency.
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Scathing report
If Crown thought the findings of the earlier Bergin Report were scathing, Ray Finkelstein has gone further in his 652-page tome, setting out far more prescriptive changes that would allow the Melbourne casino to keep its doors open.
Finkelstein’s admission that the casino group is a key tax benefit to the state will ultimately keep the gaming operations rolling, but regardless the commission concluded that Crown’s conduct was “nothing short of appalling”.
The morally bereft equity market was expecting more dire consequences from The Fink.
His report and the government’s response sent Crown shares soaring almost 9 per cent to end the day at $10.50, their highest level since mid-July.
Never mind that Finkelstein predicted even more underpaid taxes were “likely due” in addition to the more than $61.5m already paid to the state government by Crown, or his finding that Crown was happy to breach local laws as well as allowing and assisting wealthy Chinese patrons to breach their own local laws.
In case offshore authorities are wondering, Jane Halton and Nigel Morrison are now the directors of Crown Resort (China) Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown Resorts, with past directors comprising a who’s who of Crown execs and directors, including Helen Coonan until late August.
Moving on, Crown, the report also found, had an “indifference to acceptable conduct”, frustrated the regulator, and that Crown’s local board was “asleep at the wheel”.
Finkelstein also confirmed Patricia Bergin’s findings from NSW concerning the undue influence of 37 per cent shareholder James Packer and his private company CPH.
Packer now has to sell down his stake to 5 per cent by September 2024.
Margin Call can’t help but reflect on the exquisite timing of the departure of former chair Coonan ahead of the tabling and subsequent public revelation of Finkelstein’s report, which made no findings on her conduct given her exit.
What a manoeuvre from the shrewd former Liberal pollie, who turns 74 on Friday.
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Trouble ahead
A second final report down, but with a third still in the works, it seems there are yet further heads to roll when it comes to Crown Resorts, this time on the west coast.
After taking receipt of Finkelstein’s tome in the morning, Crown chief Steve McCann faced Neville Owen’s commission after lunch, setting out the group’s remediation progress and adding that the company had “almost entirely new leadership” in the wake of the dual east coast probes.
Almost, that is, except for Crown’s Perth casino, currently led by veteran exec Lonnie Bossi after an extended period as the venue’s chief operating officer.
Bossi’s appearance at the same inquiry Friday, including distressing detail of his personal involvement in increasing transaction limits for several problem gamblers, didn’t go unchecked by Counsel Assisting Patricia Cahill, nor the newly probity-cleared chief.
McCann told Cahill of how he had been contacted by Burswood director Maryna Fewster at the weekend to get his take on Bossi’s appearance, including discussion of “his future in Perth” and the potential for Bossi to step back from the Burswood board.
McCann, Zooming in from Sydney ahead of his tipped relocation south to the group’s head office, was quizzed as to whether Bossi had the skills and character to lead the reformed group, and whether the new chief was concerned given Bossi’s very senior position at Crown Perth during the periods of “legacy issues” as examined via hearings to date.
“I don’t think that it is fair to hold Mr Bossi solely accountable for decisions which he might have had input into, but was not in control of,” McCann replied.
“I’m aware in my discussions with Mr Bossi that some of the decisions that were made in the management of Crown Perth, were not decisions he would have made if he were the CEO at the time.”
We can’t be sure whether that will be enough to convince Owen, though if past experience is any guide Crown best get that golden handshake ready.
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