‘Doubt cast’ on Minister’s impartiality after Star casino fundraiser
Queensland’s opposition is calling for newly reappointed Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath be removed from any decision about the future of casino giant Star Entertainment because it once hosted and paid a personal political fundraiser for her re-election.
Queensland’s opposition is calling for newly reappointed Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath be removed from any decision about the future of casino giant Star Entertainment because it once hosted and paid a personal political fundraiser for her re-election.
Star was issued with a $100 million fine last December and given a warning by then-Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman that it had 12 months to “get their house in order” or face a lengthy ban.
The fine followed a damning inquiry, led by a retired judge, which found major failings Star’s casinos at Brisbane and the Gold Coast including that it allowed money laundering to flourish with a “one-eyed focus on profit”.
Inquiry head Robert Gotterson also criticised Star for luring wealthy gamblers to Queensland even after they had been banned interstate over suspected links to money-laundering, finding it was evidence of a “poor corporate culture”.
Ms D’Ath, who was last week dumped as health minister and reappointed to her previous role as Attorney-General, will be in charge of overseeing the clean-up of Star’s Queensland casinos.
In 2019, The Australian revealed that Star hosted a $125-a-head fundraiser for Ms D’Ath in a private dining room at the Treasury Hotel in Brisbane’s CBD in the lead-up to the 2017 state election, with food and alcohol also paid for by the listed gaming company.
At the time, Star was lobbying the Palaszczuk government not to proceed with plans to allow a rival second casino on the Gold Coast and had submitted its $2bn masterplan for its existing operations in the tourism city to Ms D’Ath, which she later approved.
In 2019, Ms D’Ath went against her own department’s recommendation to lift the caps on gaming tables for all four casinos in Queensland. She chose to lift the cap just for Star on the Gold Coast.
Liberal National Party Integrity spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said Ms D’Ath must be removed from deciding the future of the Star’s casino licence in Queensland.
“Past dealings with the Star Entertainment Group cast doubt on her impartiality and whether she should make this multimillion dollar decision,” Ms Simpson told parliament on Thursday.
“(She) has politically benefited from fundraising events from Star while she was in charge of regulating casinos. There can be absolutely no risk or appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest if appropriate action is taken.
“These issues should be beyond doubt and that‘s why the premier must ensure she plays no role in determining Star’s suitability to hold a casino licence.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk office referred questions to Ms D’Ath, whose spokesman said “all integrity measures and cabinet processes will be followed”.
“No event, including one held in 2017, will have any bearing on any decision to do with Star Casino,” he said.
“We will not be lectured to by the LNP, which has a long history of accepting donations from property developers and voted against the Palaszczuk Government’s nation-leading caps on political donations.”
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