JobKeeper Dealing Winning Hand to Casinos

Under the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme, the Crown Casino group is recorded as receiving A$111.3 million dollars, and the Star Casino group $64.8 million so far with two months to go. The Tasmanian casino and tourism operator Federal Hotels stood down about 1500 employees from the Wrest Point Casino, The Country Club, the Vantage Group, Odyssey Gaming and Network Gaming from midnight on Sunday 29 March.

The ears of the Liberal Party are easily bent by the big donors, particularly those in the socially destructive gambling industry, who think nothing of buying power and influence when they see a river of gold under threat.

The Australian Hotels Association was the second largest political donor in the country for the year ending June 2018, making declared political gifts that leapt from $153,000 in 2016-17 to $1.1 million

The AHA’s new-found generosity was focused on the Tasmanian division of the Liberal Party, which received a declared $289,000 as it fought an election campaign against Labor which had promised to ban poker machines from the state’s pubs.

The weak and irresolute White, the Labor leader in Opposition here in Tasmania, has since canned the policy over poker machines that she took to the election rather than risk a second defeat next time round.

At the last state election, the Tasmanian Liberals received $4.1 million in total donations compared with just $1 million to the state’s Labor Party.

The Liberal Party only declared the source of some $950,000 of this total, as a result of not being compelled to declare the names of donors who give less than statutory declaration limit of $13,500.

No large donor of funds to a political party hands over money without expecting a return on their donation which many treat as an investment in their future.

How The Mercury saw the WP Casino at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.

This is now showing a return in spades from the coal carrier Morrison and his Liberal government to Australian gambling moguls.

These Federal Group employees look set to receive $1500 a fortnight under the Australian government’s massive $130 billion JobKeeper package payable to the casino company.

Managing director Greg Farrell said at the time the package was welcome news, then moved as fast as he could to get his hands on the money.

“We are moving quickly to understand the details of this new policy to ensure this payment is available for eligible employees as soon as possible.” (The Examiner, 31 March 2020)

With JobKeeper set at $3000 a month per worker, times 4 months, that would approximate to some A$18 million to the Federal Group if they are operating under the same rules as Crown and Star; the actual figure appears to be unrecorded.*

This should be compared to the plight of those who are hated by the right wing of the Liberal Party and who are not large political donors such as our universities who receive virtually nothing.

These questions over JobKeeper and the gambling industry with some A$200 million so far in JobKeeper need answers from our devious and tricky Liberal Party leaders.

*Tasmanian Times put the following to Federal Group: 
One of our columnists is writing an article about JobKeeper.
We would like to ask you:
– How much FG have received in JobKeeper subsidies, and for how many employees?
– If you would like to make any comments about the administration and operation of the scheme?

Federal Group:
Would you please be able to provide some details about the article? The columnist’s name, a summary of the article’s focus, other organisations and individuals providing comment for the article, and why Federal Group’s experience is of relevance.
Thank you, Hannah Gray, Communications and Corporate Affairs

Tasmanian Times: 
John Hawkins; JobKeeper and casinos; Crown Casino, Star Casino. FG is the operator of the major casinos in Tasmania as you know.

Federal Group: 

And while we’re having a look at the ethics of the gambling ‘industries’ in Australia, we’ll just leave this here: