A senior Liberal minister has spoken for the first time about how a powerful Australian gambling lobby group forced him out of the portfolio and has called for an investigation into its influence over government.
Victor Dominello proposed a mandatory cashless gambling card before losing the New South Wales gaming portfolio in a ministerial reshuffle
"There's just no mistake about that. Our blind spot is poker machines and they're extraordinarily powerful," he said. Mr Dominello spoke to Four Corners as part of an investigation into the power and influence of ClubsNSW, the not-for-profit lobby group for more than 1,000 registered clubs across the state, which collectively own and operate more than 64,000 poker machines.The industry, which has defeated previous attempts at gambling reform, is facing its greatest test yet at the NSW election.
It was strongly opposed by ClubsNSW, which has claimed the reform would cost 9,000 jobs and devastate clubs by slashing their revenue by up to 30 per cent."The view taken by ClubsNSW was just so strident against it, and there was no give," Mr Dominello said.After he proposed the idea, Mr Dominello said he and his colleagues in government and across the parliament were immediately targeted by ClubsNSW representatives.
When Mr Dominello declined to attend an awards dinner hosted by ClubsNSW, a furious Nationals leader John Barilaro texted him."What about just looking after your stakeholders. Like ClubsNSW …Tonight, insiders tell Four Corners of the fears they have of speaking out against the powerful gambling lobby group.
"I realised as soon as I essentially said that we are going to go down this public-interest path, that my days were going to be numbered, because the relationship between myself and [ClubsNSW] was irretrievable from that point. It seriously soured. The documents – formally known as Memoranda of Understanding — bind incoming Coalition governments to detailed pledges about the regulatory environment that clubs will operate in over the ensuing four years, including no new increases to poker machine tax rates.
"The fact that they can almost dictate policy and regulation is very concerning from a democracy perspective, but also wider integrity perspective," he said. "It is the same approach to government engagement that is taken by hundreds of peak bodies and businesses on a daily basis." Mr Dominello would not confirm the contents of cabinet discussions but said: "They've got a pattern of behaviour," citing the campaign against another state MP, Helen Dalton.But he said in a statement that the mandatory cashless gambling policy had the unanimous backing of cabinet.
"The brief campaign in the Murray region late last year was sparked by the frustration felt by the 49 local clubs in the Murray electorate about Ms Dalton's refusal to meaningfully engage with them."Helen Dalton says she will not be cowed by the clubs' campaign against her.Last October, the New South Wales Crime Commission found that billions of dollars in the proceeds of crime were put through poker machines in NSW.
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