Trouble avoided for Star Entertainment’s Ben Heap; Dominic Perrottet’s honourable mention
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has shown great streaks of encouragement for his old ally in politics, John Barilaro. It was the Premier who told Barra to “go for it” last year in relation to a trade commissioner role based in New York, the result of which left the government riven with scandal for a large chunk of 2022.
Perrottet would later claim to have regretted making that supportive remark, calling it a “passing comment” that he would throw out to any man in the street. But that hasn’t stopped him stepping in again to prop up the former deputy premier.
It seems Perrottet has recommended that Barilaro, and others, be permitted to affix the title of “The Honourable” to their names for life, as former MPs often seek to do once they leave politics.
This column reported in May that former ministers Andrew Constance and Adam Marshall had requested, and received, permission from NSW Governor Margaret Beazley to do the same.
And it’s not just the former deputy premier seeking the hallowed three-letter prefix. NSW Labor MLC Walt Secord, who announced his retirement from politics in August, has also sought permission to keep the title. Both applications were approved on October 4, we hear. Former ministers Don Harwin and Shelley Hancock have also been approved.
The rules are plain: ministers must serve three years before they can make the request. MPs in the lower house are honourable if elected speaker or deputy speaker, while in the upper house the title is given to everyone while they serve.
The only spanner in the works, at least for Barilaro, remains a set of assault and malicious damage charges that arose out of an alleged altercation in July with a freelance TV cameraman outside a Sydney bar.
Barilaro has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have indicated to Manly Local Court that he will defend the matter, which unfolded during a period of heightened scrutiny over his appointment to that trade role.
A possibility is that Perrottet may have to revoke the title if Barilaro is found guilty by the court. No issues, of course, if Barilaro successfully defends the charges.
We would have thought an easier solution might have been to park the matter until the court process is finalised. But presumably that’s why Perrottet employs an army of advisers – after all, it’s not him who cleans up the mess.
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Rookie to the rescue
Ben Heap, interim chairman of Star Entertainment, ought to thank his lucky … well, his lucky stars for the advent of Robbie Cooke during the negotiations with the NSW Independent Casino Commission.
Per Monday’s announcement, Star has been permitted to continue trading in the state, albeit with a suspended licence. It’s been made possible via the imposition of a $100m fine and the appointment of an external manager, Nicholas Weeks, to act as a kind of helicopter parent for its Sydney casino for at least 90 days.
If these conditions sound severe, consider there had been a real threat of a total shutdown being weighed as the talks between Heap and the regulator reached a deadlock.
Apparently the negotiations very nearly fell apart on account of Heap’s demands, especially over the fine detail of the external manager, and the straining of his relationship with NICC chairman Philip Crawford.
Suffice it to say there isn’t much love left between them.
It was Crawford who publicly criticised the casino in September following the release of the Bell inquiry’s report into its practices. He similarly raised concerns about the casino’s ability to earn back the trust of the regulator, singling out a “cultural arrogance” among officials at The Star (Heap was not named, but we are also not stupid).
From what we can gather, the chairman’s quibbling and condition-making over the Weeks appointment had become so trying that Cooke, Star’s rookie chief executive, was brought in to soothe Crawford during ongoing negotiations and return the talks back to good faith.
Without Cooke, we understand the entire deal probably would have fallen through and many hundreds of jobs might have been lost in the fallout. How about that for a first week in the job?
But all these histrionics from Heap also fly in the face of that professed contrition he exhibited in September, when the findings of the Bell inquiry were released. That was when he acknowledged the growing public criticism of Star’s “governance, behaviours and culture”, pledging in almost grovelling terms to reform the organisation.
Given what was at stake, we imagined this would be done by almost any means necessary.
“We have fallen short of expectations,” Heap said at the time.
“The people of NSW placed their trust in us as the holder of a casino licence, and we have not lived up to that trust. For that we offer a sincere and unreserved apology.”
Very much a different tune, it seems, behind closed doors.
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EY memorial service
A memorial event will be held on Friday at EY’s Sydney headquarters where an auditor died nearly two months ago in circumstances that remain under investigation.
Aishwarya Venkatachalam, 27, was found at the firm in the early hours of August 27 after attending a work function at The Ivy precinct, not far from the office. The death prompted significant discussion about the culture of professional services workplaces, even though it remains unclear precisely what motivated the incident.
An EY spokeswoman confirmed that an internal event would be held with friends and colleagues.
More wrongs than rights at the AHRC?
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Freehills partner given notice over synagogue tweet
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