Analysis: Labor's Lisa Chesters projected to hold electorate of Bendigo
Sky News Chief Election Analyst Tom Connell has called the Victorian electorate of Bendigo in favour of Labor's Lisa Chesters.
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Perth Now
24 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Casino giant slapped down in latest poker machine bid
Australia's largest casino group will not be permitted to run pokies as fallout continues from a damning report into a major poker machine regulator. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Friday ruled out moving legislation to allow Crown's Sydney casino to install poker machines. It followed reports the gaming giant was lobbying MPs to overcome the legal obstacle as their licence does not permit pokies. "This is a legislative imposition that's been put in place in the state for over a decade," the premier said. "It would require a bill, presumably, from the government, to knock over that restriction, and I'm not going to do it." The government did not indicate its position if a non-government MP tried to move legislation supporting Crown's position. But there is no suggestion any MP would make that move. Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said allowing pokies in Crown's waterfront casino at Barangaroo would betray the community's agreement to give away public land for a restricted gaming facility without poker machines. Gaming tables at the towering complex opened a year late in 2022 after an inquiry found Crown was not fit to operate a casino, forcing it into three years of remediation. "With gambling harm on the rise, we need less venues with large poker machine floors, not new ones right on the harbour," Mr Greenwich said. He referenced a NSW auditor-general report released on Thursday that found regulators were failing in harm-minimisation efforts. The report also found licence conditions were not being pro-actively reviewed and little was done to force pokie venues to take meaningful actions when problem gambling was noticed. Poker machine numbers have increased under the state Labor government, with NSW having half of all Australian pokies in 2022/23. Profits from the machines hit all-time highs of $8.4 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. That delivered $2.3 billion in tax revenue, a figure tipped to hit $2.9 billion by 2027/28. Gambling reform advocates found the report unsurprising and lamented government inaction in the reform space. An independent panel in 2024 recommended mandatory cashless gaming be introduced state-wide, but the government has not followed through. "This inaction privileges the special pleading of a harmful and predatory industry over and above the health and wellbeing of the people of NSW," Wesley Mission chief executive Reverend Stu Cameron said.
The Age
4 hours ago
- The Age
Lawyer X compensation bid fails, ending multimillion-dollar legal battle
The woman at the centre of the Lawyer X scandal – barrister turned secret police informer Nicola Gobbo – has lost her multimillion-dollar bid for compensation against the Victorian government. Justice Melinda Richards dismissed Gobbo's suit against Victoria Police and the state of Victoria, filed more than four years ago, seeking compensation for what Gobbo says was 'negligence' and 'malfeasance in public office' by a number of high-profile officers. Justice Richards found the officers named, including former police commissioner Simon Overland, did not breach a duty of care owed to the lawyer while she served as police spy because 'the risk of exposure was an inherent risk once she became an informer'. Gobbo's life as a high-profile gangland barrister came crashing down in late 2018 when it was publicly revealed she had also been secretly spying on her clients for police as 'Informer 3838' or 'Lawyer X' at the height of the underworld war. The scandal rocked Victoria Police and caused a string of gangland figures to appeal their convictions, including drug kingpin Tony Mokbel, who is now out on bail. Loading Justice Richards noted that Gobbo had already been awarded $2.88 million in a 2010 settlement with the state after her identity as a key witness in a case was inadvertently revealed in court proceedings. At the time, Gobbo's 15-year history as an informer – for which one chief commissioner called her a 'glittering prize' in the fight against organised crime – was still one of Victoria Police's most tightly guarded secrets. Justice Richards ordered Gobbo to pay the state's costs.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Lawyer X compensation bid fails, ending multimillion-dollar legal battle
The woman at the centre of the Lawyer X scandal – barrister turned secret police informer Nicola Gobbo – has lost her multimillion-dollar bid for compensation against the Victorian government. Justice Melinda Richards dismissed Gobbo's suit against Victoria Police and the state of Victoria, filed more than four years ago, seeking compensation for what Gobbo says was 'negligence' and 'malfeasance in public office' by a number of high-profile officers. Justice Richards found the officers named, including former police commissioner Simon Overland, did not breach a duty of care owed to the lawyer while she served as police spy because 'the risk of exposure was an inherent risk once she became an informer'. Gobbo's life as a high-profile gangland barrister came crashing down in late 2018 when it was publicly revealed she had also been secretly spying on her clients for police as 'Informer 3838' or 'Lawyer X' at the height of the underworld war. The scandal rocked Victoria Police and caused a string of gangland figures to appeal their convictions, including drug kingpin Tony Mokbel, who is now out on bail. Loading Justice Richards noted that Gobbo had already been awarded $2.88 million in a 2010 settlement with the state after her identity as a key witness in a case was inadvertently revealed in court proceedings. At the time, Gobbo's 15-year history as an informer – for which one chief commissioner called her a 'glittering prize' in the fight against organised crime – was still one of Victoria Police's most tightly guarded secrets. Justice Richards ordered Gobbo to pay the state's costs.
