Sydney Casino Proposal

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Speakers - Humpherson Mr Andrew; Cohen Ms Anne
Business - Questions Without Notice

SYDNEY CASINO PROPOSAL

Mr HUMPHERSON: Can the Chief Secretary, and Minister for Administrative Services inform the House of recent statements in a report by international investment analysts Salomon Brothers Inc. regarding proposals for the establishment of a casino in Sydney?

Mrs COHEN: The honourable member for Davidson has a continuing interest in this important issue. I remind honourable members that it is nearly nine weeks since I first challenged the Leader of the Opposition to explain his behaviour on the casino issue.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have given ample warning to members about the level of interjection.

Mrs COHEN: Exactly 62 days have passed yet the word "liar" still hangs, undefended, over his head. This is the man who sets the standards of honesty for his party!

Mr SPEAKER: Order! My warnings extend to members on the Government side of the House also.

Mrs COHEN: The irresponsible behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition on casino matters generally has been a matter of great concern to a number of parties. Even the Labor Council seems to be at odds with the Leader of the Opposition in his attempts to delay the casino process. I understand that members of his own party have reservations about his behaviour concerning this matter. But in case the Machiavelli of Maroubra thinks his ill-motivated actions have been anything other than transparent to everyone I will refer to a recent report by Salomon Brothers, one of Wall Street's leading financial firms. The report, dated 21 September, gives investors an up-to-date analysis of Showboat, part of the consortium named as the preferred applicant for the Sydney casino licence. In the context of Showboat's bid for the Sydney casino the report states:

Recently, the winning bid tendered by Sydney Harbour Casino has come under fire from various factions, including some opportunistic members of the New South Wales Opposition party.

Eager to make the Sydney Casino into a political issue and perhaps force a delay to their own advantage, some have called the site and bid into question . . .

This is a damning indictment of the Labor Party and, most particularly, of the Leader of the Opposition. But it succinctly sums up the events of the last few months. Even an impartial analysis of the Opposition's performance by an international firm has revealed the Opposition's dubious behaviour. Some of the phrases used were, "opportunistic members of
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the New South Wales Opposition party", and "eager . . . to force a delay to their own advantage". Even overseas investment analysts as far away as America realise what the Leader of the Opposition is up to. He wants to delay a billion dollar project for this State in order to better advantage the ALP. This is the man who courts the business community of this State!

We all know what the real plans of the Leader of the Opposition are. He wants to delay the project and undermine the Casino Control Authority in the hope that at some time in the future he can get rid of it altogether and do his own deal. That is why we have heard him lying about the origins of a secret Louisiana police report and that is why he has released snippets of information to the media in a way that is calculated to do the most damage. At the same time I note that he has taken great care not to give anybody an opportunity to cross-examine him in a public inquiry. He would rather seek refuge in this House.

The behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition reeks of the kind of economic vandalism that sees overseas investors looking for other shores. Letters aired in the press and signed by five such investors already point to this being the case. The list of investors concerned about Labor's politicking already includes John Govett and Company Limited of London, Soros Capital, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo, Kingdon Capital Management and Putnam Advisory Company. The lying behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition so far certainly does not inspire confidence or make us believe that he is acting in an honest manner. Obviously, the Leader of the Opposition subscribes to the Graham Richardson philosophy of "Whatever It Takes".

Last modified 05/12/2007 16:26:38 : Update this page