Robert Rankin’s Crown casino inquiry no-show gets more and more obvious

Robert Rankin. Picture: Britta Campion / The Australian

Mystery continues to surround the stunning non-appearance of former Crown chairman Robert Rankin before Patricia Bergin’s Crown Resorts inquisition, given he was at the head of the board table during the most controversial period in Crown’s recent history.

Intriguingly, two Crown directors appearing in the past week — Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland — were asked when they last spoke to Rankin. It’s almost like the former investment banker is the elephant in the room. We still wonder why.

Another to be asked this week was former Crown executive chairman John Alexander, who on Thursday said he last spoke to Rankin in November 2016, two months before Rankin was removed as Crown chairman by James Packer.

Packer has previously said he felt let down by Rankin.

And Alexander didn’t miss when he was asked about the reasons for Rankin’s departure: the arrest of Crown’s staff in China in October 2016.

“I think that was perhaps one of the reasons why he (Packer) wanted to make a change,’’ the man known as JA said coldly.

“He thought Mr Rankin was an expert in China and China affairs. And he was disappointed in what happened with the China arrests.”

It’s Josh, the quiet Australian

There’s only so many talking heads we can take in ahead of the federal budget, but it seems one in particular is failing to cut through the COVID-19 noise.

With border restrictions and quarantine bungles top of mind, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s run-up to Tuesday’s budget has been rather subdued on the media front.

It would seem that Frydenberg is diligently putting the final touches on his “revised fiscal strategy”. Those tax cuts won’t make themselves.

The latest data from media monitoring company Streem crunched for Margin Call shows Frydenberg had a quiet August and an even quieter September, with mentions down firmly from earlier in the year.

His name was referenced more than 7600 times across online and print media, TV and radio in September, an increase on his 5537 mentions in August but down from the 8819 in July.

That is even after his announcement of the easing of responsible lending laws last week, and his push for small business reform.

October will no doubt provide a boost, with Frydenberg already doing the rounds in Canberra to get his numbers up, including this masthead this weekend.

PM Scott Morrison on the other hand has held relatively stable over the past three months, including 20,880 last month.

It will be no surprise that Dan Andrews takes the cake when it comes to the most prominence, the Victorian Premier clocking a whopping 30,073 mentions over September — almost 2000 more than August or almost four times that of the Treasurer.

With 5 days to go until #Budget2020, it was good to sit down and chat with PM @ScottMorrisonMP about the importance of this year’s Budget.

This Budget is all about our economic recovery plan to create jobs, rebuild our economy and secure Australia’s future. pic.twitter.com/uP0YUctU5B

— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) October 1, 2020

Setback for iSignthis

Illustration: Rod Clement

Embattled fintech iSignthis is this weekend licking its wounds as it wages war with the market operator over the suspension of its shares for more than 12 months.

After the latest knock-back — this time from securities regulator ASIC — the John Karantzis-led firm said on Friday it was considering its next steps, including in the context of its recent shareholder resolutions.

Based on their track record to date, perhaps they’re levelling a new target to sue.

So far they have gone after the ASX for damages of more than $464m, then defamation against several of our fellow members of the press, not to mention the legal help required to address the lengthy compliance queries.

Lawyers Clayton Utz seem to be having quite a picnic.

ASIC wiped their hands of the case, refusing to step in to administer the listing rules in the place of the ASX, finding no merit in the claim from iSignthis that conflicts of interest were behind the protracted suspension of its shares.

ISignthis claimed its business interests were potentially in competition with the ASX — that its subsidiary Austraclear, along with its customer due diligence services and joint venture with ClearPay, were all direct rivals to the ASX, as was its partnership with the NSX.

But potential, it seems, isn’t enough in the eyes of ASIC.

“The regulation, in using the words ‘that operates’ and ‘is in competition’, concerns actual competitors, not potential competitors. Accordingly, regard cannot be had to what ISX or an associate expects to do, has negotiated but has not concluded, or has applied for but has not been issued,” the regulator said in its response.

Tech wreck

Tech developer Technology One has defended its right to fire employees, after a Federal Court found in favour of former Victorian manager Behnam Roohizadegan for unfair dismissal claims.

The case, first brought in 2018, centred on claims that Roohizadegan had been bullied by two senior executives, including then-CEO Adrian Di Marco — now chairman — and sales and marketing boss Stuart MacDonald — now COO.

Justice Duncan Kerr ordered the tech group to pay out $5.2m in forgone share options, general damages and future economic loss — over and above the $1.6m previously set aside by the group as a liability.

“There is a salient lesson here for all businesses, which is to not terminate an employee if there is any hint of a complaint from that employee,” chairman Di Marco told the market on Friday.

“There is a reverse onus of proof for a company to prove that a complaint was not a factor in the decision to terminate.”