Star Entertainment Group signs on-again, off-again takeover deal with Hong Kong partners
Star told investors this morning it had finally signed an on-again, off-again deal with its controversial Hong Kong partners, one of which was once linked to organised crime figures.
That deal is still subject to clearing hurdles including regulatory checks.
But, if successful, ASX-listed Star will take stakes in Gold Coast hotels near its casino there.
It will also get to pocket $53 million in the deal.
Star, in turn, would give up assets including its 50 per cent stake in the consortium behind Queen's Wharf, as well as the Treasury car park and hotel.
The move will alleviate a heavy cash flow and debt burden on Star; the consortium had required future equity payments of $212 million and a loan facility of $1.4 billion needed to be refinanced in December this year.
One concern during negotiations had been whether Star would get to retain rights and fees to manage the Queen's Wharf.
The deal announced on Tuesday specifies that a replacement operator — yet to be named — will come in at some stage.
In giving up the operator fee, Star receives compensation of $5 million a month until June next year, scaling up to $7 million monthly by June 2028.
Star could even receive a bonus payment of up to $225 million in 2030 based partly on the performance of the consortium.
The deal depends on regulatory approvals.
A change of ownership would require state approval, but the government has not yet indicated whether that will happen.
The Hong Kong consortium partners are Chow Tai Fook (CTF) Enterprises and Far East Consortium.
In 2022, the ABC established criminal associations involving CTF, which triggered a government inquiry.
Finally released earlier this year, the government report found CTF had falsely and repeatedly claimed to have cut business ties with a criminal syndicate boss.
The hidden ties were with junket boss Alvin Chau through a Vietnam casino venture — Chau is now serving 18 years in prison over a billion dollar fraud by his VIP gambling outfit, or 'junket', Suncity.
The-then Labor government found CTF was still suitable to hold a casino licence, arguing its lack of "candour and fulsomeness" with the regulator was due to "differences in cultural and organisational expectations".
Anti-gaming activists have previously said the state should rule out a takeover due to the crime links.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington's office was contacted for comment on Tuesday.
Star's financial performance had been crumbling after being smashed by regulatory inquiries and increasingly tough gaming regulations.
Its shares were trading higher than $4 each in 2019, but those are now wallowing around 12 cents.
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ABC News
10 minutes ago
- ABC News
'Support for racism': NT Police officer's Thin Blue Line symbol triggers ban
A Northern Territory police sergeant with a history of racism publicly displayed an image linked to white supremacists as his Facebook cover photo for three years, only removing it last week after the ABC made inquiries. WARNING: This story contains racist and offensive language and the name of an Indigenous person who has died. Sergeant Lee Bauwens was the direct supervisor of former police constable Zachary Rolfe, who fatally shot 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in the remote community of Yuendumu in 2019. The inquest that followed into Mr Walker's death revealed that Sergeant Bauwens shared attitudes with Mr Rolfe that were, in the words of the coroner, "plainly racist" and had "joined him in his use of racist language". Sergeant Bauwens denied in his evidence to the coroner that his team or its members were racist. Sergeant Bauwens uploaded the controversial Thin Blue Line flag as his Facebook cover image in February 2022, the day Mr Rolfe's murder trial began over the shooting death. Mr Rolfe was acquitted of all charges. The black-and-white image of the Australian flag with a blue line running horizontally through the middle has come to be associated with far-right extremism, according to academic Kaz Ross. "This is a very, very politicised, racially charged image," Dr Ross told the ABC's Indigenous Affairs Team. "In the context of inquiries into police racism in the Northern Territory, it's a very unacceptable thing to be displaying." A day after the ABC made inquiries to the NT Police, an email was sent out to staff telling them to take "immediate steps to ensure that the 'Thin Blue Line' patch is not used on any NTPF uniforms, equipment, stations, vehicles and property". "Initially the 'Thin Blue Line' concept included ideals of camaraderie, selfless service and making a difference with communities," the Commander of NT Police's Professional Standards Command said in the email leaked to the ABC. "In more recent times the symbols and concept have been negatively associated with a 'them and us' approach to policing, use of excessive force and support for racism." NT Police told the ABC the image had "never been approved" for use, but that members had last been advised against using the symbol in 2017 before it took on the present-day negative connotations. Dr Ross, an independent researcher into far-right extremism, said many police forces have banned the symbol, which she said they recognise "as a symbol of violence and of racism". "It's well known and well accepted that it is a sensitive symbol for police to display," said Dr Ross. "It's absolutely shocking that someone in such a senior position was indicating on their social media, publicly associated with their name, that they believe in the concept of the Thin Blue Line." The move to ban the symbol comes just weeks after NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage found the Alice Springs Police Station — where Mr Rolfe and Sergeant Bauwens were stationed — normalised and "tacitly endorsed" racism, and that the Northern Territory Police Force as an organisation bore "significant hallmarks of institutional racism". She found Zachary Rolfe — who described Sergeant Bauwens "as a mentor or someone he looked up to" — held "racist attitudes" and displayed a pattern of excessive force against Aboriginal men for which his superiors, including Sergeant Bauwens, failed to hold him to account. Mr Rolfe has rejected the coroner's findings and is considering an appeal. The inquest also revealed Sergeant Bauwens used overtly racist language, calling Aboriginal people "bush c*ons" in a text message to Mr Rolfe four months before Kumanjayi Walker's death. This conflicted with evidence Sergeant Bauwens gave the coroner in April 2024 in which he claimed the word "c*on" was not used by frontline members. "As a General duties Sgt for 8 years from 2014 to 2022 those terms or words were not used to my knowledge," he said in the statement. Sergeant Bauwens also acknowledged in his evidence he had taken part in the now infamous racist awards at the Territory Response Group's (TRG) Christmas parties. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage described the so-called Noogadah awards as "among the most grotesque examples of racism uncovered at the inquest". One of the awards, for "the most c*on-like behaviour", Sergeant Bauwens acknowledged was "inappropriate" and "unacceptable". The Thin Blue Line symbol historically symbolised the idea that police stand between order and chaos and has been used to honour officers who've died in the line of duty. But experts say the "manifestation" of that concept has been evolving over the past decade and the flag has surged in popularity by some opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement. The symbol was displayed alongside the Confederate flag during the violent 'Unite the Right' rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. "They were all white supremacist groups," Dr Ross said, of the 'Unite the Right' riots. "That was the core factor that united them." The symbol was also worn by some of the insurrectionists during the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Former assistant commissioner of NT Police Jeanette Kerr told the ABC she started noticing the Thin Blue Line patch on a handful of NT Police officers' navy blue uniforms about four years ago. "I've spoken to a couple of young police and it is well known to some of them as a symbol of police solidarity. They reject that it's racism," she said. "But it can't be denied that that's in fact how it's perceived by the community." Ms Kerr left the force in 2017 after serving for 29 years. She has a Masters of Applied Criminology and Police Executive Management from Cambridge University and regularly keeps in contact with former colleagues. She supports NT Police moving to ban the public use of the symbol. "It certainly is up to the executive … Not dealing with these issues seriously undermines the legitimacy of the police force," she said. "It (inaction) can cause lack of trust and reputation in the police … then people stop reporting crime." Police forces in some other parts of Australia prohibit the display of the Thin Blue Line flag. In a statement, Victoria Police told the ABC "the Thin Blue Line patches are currently not approved for wear by Victoria Police officers", while NSW Police said its policy "prohibits the use of non-authorised embellishments on uniforms". Queensland Police told the ABC the symbol is also not an approved part of the uniform, and that while the origins of the concept were meant to be supportive of police, "there are concerns that its message has been misused to advance unrelated agendas". Some police forces across the United States and Canada have reportedly also banned their officers from wearing Thin Blue Line patches, citing their association with white nationalist groups. Dr Kaz Ross said she has noticed the Australian version of the symbol posted in the private Facebook groups of serving and former police officers. "They felt that they [police] weren't valued … were under attack, that they needed more protection and that people didn't really understand the nature of their role," she said. "They used the Thin Blue Line to kind of say, 'Well, police lives matter, blue lives matter and people aren't listening to us'. "So whenever there was some kind of blow-up in the media about police aggression or police violence, you would see a flare-up in these groups." In 2022, Victorian Police Commander Mark Galliott conducted a confidential external review into NT Police's complaints and discipline system. This internal report, marked "sensitive", was made public at the Kumanjayi Walker inquest. As well as documenting instances of racism and bias amongst police, Commander Galliott recommended the NT Police Force consider prohibiting the wearing of the Thin Blue Line insignia patches on police uniforms due to its "negative impact". This recommendation was ignored until last week when the ABC emailed NT Police. Arrernte man Nick Espie — who is a former legal director and special counsel at the Human Rights Law Centre — told the ABC it is a shame the NTPF had not acted on this earlier. "Much more needs to be done to address the inherent risks of racism that occur within the police force," Mr Espie said. "The police need to shift towards being an anti-racist organisation and developing an anti-racism strategy that covers all aspects of policy, procedure and operation." Last month the Executive Director of the NT Police's Community Resilience and Engagement Command, Leanne Liddle, said the NT Police Force is working on a "dedicated anti-racism strategy which is now in its final stages". After the Walker inquest findings were handed down in July, Acting NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said "all forms of racism" have existed within the force at various times. "That is confronting. But it is a truth that we must face," he said. "What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable. We are committed to stamping out racism in all its forms, and making this a safer, fairer organisation for everybody." NT Police did not respond to the ABC's specific questions about racism within the force. "Regarding the use of symbols, patches, or other public displays, the NTPF maintains strict social media and conduct guidelines for all officers, aimed at preventing behaviour that could undermine public trust or contribute to divisiveness," it said in a statement. "We continually review these guidelines to ensure they align with our values of professionalism and respect."
ABC News
10 minutes ago
- ABC News
China has reasons beyond the climate to turn into the world's first electrostate
The superpower is dominating the global clean technology sector. It's not all about climate change. 中文版 In April this year, China installed more solar power than Australia has in all its history. In one month. This isn't a story about Australia's poor track record on solar either, Australia is a global leader. Rather, this shows the astonishing rate at which China is embracing renewable technologies across every aspect of its society. But don't be mistaken by thinking this transformation is driven by a moral obligation to act on climate change. China's reasons for this are less about arresting rising temperatures than its desire to stop relying on imported fossil fuels and to fix the pollution caused by them. The superpower has put its economic might and willpower behind renewable technologies, and by doing so, is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era and bringing about the age of the electro-state. "The whole modern industrial economy is built around fossil fuels. Now the whole world is moving away from that and that means that we are rebuilding our economy around emerging clean tech sectors," said Muyi Yang, the lead China analyst at energy thinktank, Ember. "Once the new direction is set, the momentum will become self-sustaining. It will make reversal impossible. I think China now has set its direction towards a clean energy future. "Can you imagine that the Chinese government will say that, oh, we will go back to fossil car, not the electric cars? That won't happen. That's not possible … this momentum is becoming so strong." Maintenance work on wind turbines at a wind farm on East Lvhua Island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province. ( Getty Images: VCG ) The beginning of the end of fossil fuels It's hard to communicate the scale of China's clean technology rollout but it helps to look back to recent history to appreciate the transformation. China became the world's factory at the end of the 20th century, manufacturing cheap, low-quality products. This industrialisation modernised the country but also caused widespread environmental damage and drastic air pollution. The factories were powered by fossil fuels, causing China's emissions to skyrocket and it to become the largest polluter in the world. China overtook the United States for top place in 2006, but the US is still responsible for the most emissions historically, at one-quarter of all emissions. Still, China's pivot to renewables wasn't just about addressing these rising emissions. With polluted waterways and acrid city smog long ago becoming their own crises, China had to act. Part of that response, starting a decade ago, was a plan called Made in China 2025, which outlined how it would reshape its manufacturing capability to focus on high-tech products, including the ones needed to address climate change. The authoritarian regime put the heft of the state behind clean technologies at a scale and pace difficult to imagine in most democracies. A worker inspects solar panels at a solar farm in Dunhuang, 950km north-west of Lanzhou, in China's Gansu Province. ( Reuters: Carlos Barria ) It began to invest in all components for renewables, especially wind, solar, electric cars, and batteries that are used for both transport and energy storage. To do this, it used significant government-funded subsidies, said Ember's Muyi Yang. "We all understand that young sectors and technologies need some protection for them to grow. It's like helping a baby to learn how to work, initially, you need to support them. "But I think the logic behind China's policy support is always clear — this support is not meant to be pumped up indefinitely." When China rose to industrial dominance in the 1990s, it realised that it could maximise output by developing hubs where all parts of a supply chain for a product are built in the same region. The same approach was applied to renewables, meaning battery factories were established near car plants, as an example. "It's not about subsidies. It's about sound planning, sustained commitment, and targeted support," Yang said. As the Made In China plan unfolded, more and more power was needed to fuel these energy-hungry factories and the lifestyles of the burgeoning middle class. To keep up, China built new coal-fired power stations, even as it was installing more wind and solar. This "dissonance" between China's booming renewables and coal has meant China is painted both as a climate hero and a villain. It's also meant that emissions kept rising. More than 60,000 solar photovoltaic panels cover a mountain in Jinhua, in China's Zhejiang province. ( AFP: Yuan Xinyu ) Renewables boom A decade after the Made in China plan began, the country's clean energy transformation is staggering. "It's a really interesting policy because it's a 10-year plan to become a world-leading clean tech manufacturer, which they've outright achieved," said Caroline Wang, the China engagement lead at the thinktank Climate Energy Finance. "They've made themselves indispensable in the new kind of global economy." China is home to half of the world's solar, half of the world's wind power, and half of the world's electric cars. "In the month of April alone, 45.2GW of solar was added, more than Australia's total cumulative solar power capacity," Caroline Wang said. "China's renewable capacity has exponentially increased and that has also contributed to the drop in coal, in coal use and emissions. There is now a structural kind of decline of coal." That's already having an impact on emissions. Recent analysis from Carbon Brief found the country's emissions dropped in the first quarter of 2025 by 1.6 per cent. China produces 30 per cent of the world's emissions, making this a critical milestone for climate action. With its unmatched economies of scale, this dramatic acceleration has also brought down the cost of electrification across the world and made China the world leader in clean technologies. Chinese-made electric cars are becoming more dominant on Australian roads — something that's already happened for the solar panels and batteries installed across Australian homes. "China has successfully helped the rest of the world lower the bar for them to embark on the transition. This makes it easier for many other countries to jump on board," Ember's Muyi Yang said. "The transition has to be affordable, otherwise it will be extremely difficult for many developing countries." China's clean energy exports in 2024 alone have already shaved 1 per cent off global emissions outside of China, according to Carbon Brief, and will continue to do so for next 30 years. Caroline Wang points out that this green era has also brought major economic benefits. "It drove 10 per cent of their GDP last year, just the one industry, clean energy. It's overtaken real estate, and that says a lot because real estate was the driving force of their economy until a few years ago. But now it's been overtaken by clean energy," she said. Photovoltaic modules for solar panels in a factory in Suqian, east China's Jiangsu province. ( AFP ) A wind power equipment manufacturing company in Binzhou, in China's Shandong Province. ( AFP/Costfoto/NurPhoto ) The Shichengzi photovoltaic power station in Hami City, north-west China's Xinjiang Uyghur region. ( AFP/Xinhua/Hu Huhu ) Energy security as an electrostate China's renewables expansion is also striking because it could not be more different to the direction of another world superpower, the United States, under the leadership of President Donald Trump. Casting aside the climate damage it will wreak, the US is in a position to return to its "drill, baby, drill" roots because the country produces more than enough fossil fuels to cover its own needs. That's not the case for China. One of the key reasons it has pivoted to electrification is to get away from its dependence on imported fossil fuels. A giant oil and gas field in Saudi Arabia's Rub' Al-Khali (Empty Quarter) desert, operated by Aramco. ( Reuters: Hamad I Mohammed ) "I think there's some deep strategic thinking … it's not only about the environmental obligation or international commitment, and it can also not be fully explained by economic benefit in terms of jobs and investment," Yang said. "Energy is a basic input for economic activities. Energy security is critical because it's critical for supporting a functioning economy." "China sees the old, the conventional fossil fuel growth model as not sustainable. And it is becoming increasingly unable to sustain long-term prosperity." When the world's economies became hooked on fossil fuels, they became dependent on the countries that could supply them, and the price of fossil fuels increasingly dictated global markets. "This dates back to issues in the 1970s with the [oil] crisis," said Jorrit Gosens, a fellow at the Center for Climate and Energy Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU. "That's really when people start to think about energy security, especially when we talk about China. "China typically is described as very rich in coal, but very poor in natural gas and oil." BYD electric cars for export are waiting to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, in eastern China's Shandong province. ( STR/AFP ) New electric vehicles disembark from a BYD vessel. ( Reuters: Anderson Cohelo ) Electrification is changing that, and China — the world's biggest oil importer — is already weaning itself off with electric cars. "If you go to Beijing today, you can honestly stand at intersections with four lanes going every way and it'll be quiet as a mouse. The noisiest thing coming past will be a creaky bicycle," Dr Gosens remarked. Last year, crude oil imports to China fell for the first time in two decades, with the exception of the recent pandemic. China is now expected to hit peak oil in 2027, according to the International Energy Agency. This is already having an impact on projections for global oil production, as China drove two-thirds of the growth in oil demand in the decade to 2023. A new energy base in China's Tengger Desert. ( AFP: NurPhoto ) The end of the petrostate? The 20th century has been dominated by countries rich in fossil fuels, and many of the world's conflicts fought over access, power and exploitation of them. Done right, electrification could change that too, as most countries will be producing their own electricity. "Even if you have pretty poor quality natural resources, you can still squeeze quite a bit of electricity out of a solar panel. It's really changing the geopolitics," ANU's Dr Gosens said. "Renewable energy is the most secure form of energy that there is because you just eliminate the need for import. "But also the cost of it, right? It's a stable cost. You lock it in as soon as you build it. You know what the price of your electricity is going to be. You get insulated from both those risks if you have more renewable energy." For Australia, one of the world's largest exporters of coal and gas, there is plenty to take from this, with China's furious electrification paving the way for the rest of the world to follow. "Even if we have these climate wars here still … we can bicker about how quickly we should transition away from fossil fuels domestically [but] the rest of the world is ultimately going to decide how much they'll be buying of our coal, gas and iron ore," Dr Gosens said. "I think that's the biggest risk that we fail to prepare for something and that these changes will be much quicker than we currently anticipate." For Climate Energy Finance's Caroline Wang, it's in Australia's interest to be clear-eyed about what's happening in China. "I think a gap in Australia and other Western countries is knowledge and understanding. China is a complex country … it's got good and bad. For the energy transition space, which is full of complexity, there's a real need, for our strategic national interests, for Australia to understand what is happening in China." Finding hope in national self-interest and security might seem strange, but for Wang, China's transformation makes her more optimistic about the climate crisis. "This is the world's largest emitter, the largest population. If they've managed to do it in quite a short time — a decade — it's a kind of achievement that we haven't seen any other country achieve. And so it's very inspiring. Seeing that on the ground gave me hope for other countries, including Australia … there are lessons there to be learned." Wind turbines at a wind farm in Suichuan County, in China's central Jiangxi province. ( STR/AFP ) Read the story in Chinese: 阅读中文版 Reporting: Jo Lauder Design and graphics: Alex Lim Header photo illustration (clockwise from left): Getty: Kevin Frayer; STR/AFP; Reuters: Florence Lo
News.com.au
10 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Sydney rolls out ‘dramatic' parking changes to combat CBD decline
Councils have been slashing parking rates in an attempt to combat further CBD decline after previously slugging commuters with costly parking fees across Sydney for many years. Recent data has revealed Sydney's parking operators are introducing day-specific early bird rates that acknowledge the permanent shift in commuting patterns, with parking fees in major jobs hubs outside the Sydney CBD beginning to moderate. It's come amid still elevated office vacancies and office property market that has yet to return to its pre-Covid heights. Ray White reported the emergence of cheaper Monday and Friday parking mirrors Auckland's approach, where operators recognised these as preferred work-from-home days and adjusted pricing accordingly. Ray White Commercial head of research Vanessa Rader said this granular pricing strategy represents a fundamental evolution from traditional volume-based early bird discounts to dynamic demand management tools. 'The variation across Sydney's office submarkets reveals telling disparities in competitive pressure,' she said. 'While Sydney CBD maintains its position with daily rates averaging $77.00 and early bird discounts of 43.5 per cent, the struggling fringe markets tell a different story. 'Parramatta's dramatic intervention through council-controlled facilities at Justice Precinct and Parramatta Station, where flat-rate fees have been significantly reduced to just $14.00, represents public sector acknowledgment of CBD recovery challenges. 'Even more creatively, operators are introducing flexible monthly parking arrangements that equate to as low as $9.25 per day, encouraging hybrid workers to come and go as they please.' Ms Rader said this compares starkly with North Sydney's $54.24 daily rates and Chatswood's $31.84, yet these markets offer substantially deeper early bird discounts at 50.9 per cent and 59.2 per cent respectively, with Chatswood also embracing flexible early bird options. 'Parramatta's office fundamentals support this parking intervention strategy,' she said. 'With an elevated 20 per cent vacancy rate and negative absorption over the past year, the precinct desperately needs footfall.' According to Ms Rader, the council's parking rate reduction functions as an economic development tool, attempting to stop further CBD decline. North Sydney's 23.7 per cent vacancy rate and Chatswood's 17.7 per cent rate reportedly also suggest these markets may soon adopt similar pricing strategies. Ms Rader said the Metro rail network additionally adds another layer of complexity to these parking dynamics. 'North Sydney and Chatswood benefit from high-frequency Metro services that provide seamless connectivity, potentially reducing parking demand as commuters opt for public transport,' she said. 'This transport advantage may explain why these markets can maintain relatively aggressive early bird discounting without complete pricing collapse. 'Parramatta's upcoming Metro connection could fundamentally alter its parking landscape, potentially reducing reliance on council-subsidised rates as improved transport connectivity stimulates natural demand recovery.' The report revealed the two-tier early bird pricing evolution, combined with targeted council intervention and transport infrastructure development, demonstrates how parking strategy has become central to CBD recovery efforts. 'As we observed across Australian and New Zealand markets, parking performance serves as both a leading indicator of office market health and a policy lever for urban economic management,' Ms Rader said. 'The sophistication of these pricing responses suggests operators and councils recognise that traditional commuting patterns have permanently shifted, requiring fundamental recalibration of revenue expectations and urban planning strategies.'
