Page 545 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 April 1994
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Here we have, on the one hand, a gaming contract for Casino Canberra where we get up front $19m from an internationally recognised and respected company, hundreds of jobs for the ACT, and confirmed millions of dollars of revenue for the ACT Government. It gets checked thoroughly, and rightly so, and takes over a year of checks and negotiations under incredible scrutiny. Well done, Chief Minister. On the other hand, Mr Berry instructs ACTTAB to enter into another gaming contract and says that everything is okay, and he does it within four months. When the Opposition raises concerns, out comes the usual excuse and attempts to mislead - "It is a stunt"; "All is okay". That is not true. All is not okay. Mr Berry should have known that Mr Cornelius McMahon was charged in 1988 for SP bookmaking - suffering betting and keeping control of premises for the use of betting. Mr Berry knows how serious such charges are, because on 21 May 1992 Mr Berry presented a statement to the Assembly claiming:
... following the Alice Springs meeting, officers of the Office of Sport and Recreation have held preliminary discussions with the ACT Law Office with a view to ensuring that the legislation in the ACT covering the offence of SP bookmaking is effective ... The issue of illegal SP bookmaking cannot be glibly dismissed.
Mr Berry should also have known that Mr Peter Bartholomew - who Mr Berry conceded was involved in discussions as early as July 1993, before VITAB was even a registered company and before it had obtained a licence in Vanuatu, when ACTTAB agreed to confidentiality provisions - had been named in the Costigan royal commission and had been arrested on numerous occasions, the latest, to our knowledge, being in Canberra in 1992. When we brought this up, Mr Berry was heard telling this Assembly on 22 February 1994:
Mr Bartholomew has not been charged.
That is what Mr Berry said. Mr Berry, not only has Mr Bartholomew been charged with SP bookmaking offences he was also twice convicted of SP bookmaking charges in 1981 and 1982. In 1981 Mr Bartholomew was convicted for conducting a place used for gaming and in 1982 Mr Bartholomew was convicted of use of premises for betting. But Mr Berry kept saying that everything was okay. "The checks were satisfactory", he said. "I made sure of that", he also said.
In an undated press release from Mr Berry - but we believe probably on 1 or 2 March - headed "VITAB Agreement a Big Winner", Mr Berry said:
I find it extraordinary that the Opposition continues to criticise an agreement so beneficial to the community. If the Opposition have any evidence which shows it to be detrimental to the Territory, I call on them to table it immediately.
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