Page 628 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 April 1994
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Mr Berry: We have the money in the bank.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Berry mentions that we already have money in the bank. That is true. Perhaps it could be used to pay the queen's counsel that is going to be used to fight the case - not that $50,000 would last very long at their rates. Mr Berry also raised the point, as have other people, of whether there is value in access to the superpool or whether we are perfectly happy to go it alone as an ACT pool. The truth of the matter is that you have to have a larger pool to attract a lot of punters. Mr Berry, as has been reported, talked about one local punter who received some $40,000 instead of about $3,000 because we were associated with the superpool. That makes sense. It is valuable to the ACT to be in the pool. I say that the very fact that we have an agreement with VITAB makes the situation unsafe. I think most people would agree with that. Sooner or later punters are going to realise that they can go offshore and get a better deal, if inducements are offered, and there is no suggestion that inducements cannot be offered. A document from VITAB dated 8 November 1993 says:
... VITAB will be providing the opportunity for the region -
this is Asian and Pacific nations -
to bet on Australian races utilising a variety of betting services ranging from traditional telephone betting accounts to sophisticated computer-to-computer technology.
If anyone could suggest to me that VITAB could make sure that Australian punters were not betting on their pool I would be most interested to hear it. Obviously it is impossible. No-one should suggest, in all seriousness, that it could not be circumvented in any of a hundred ways. In talking about the matter Mr Berry mentioned that punters can place a bet anywhere in Australia. They can do so not only anywhere in Australia but anywhere around the world. In this age of electronics it is very easy. It would be impossible in most cases for someone to check, even if you had a full-blown inquiry and tried to track them down. So the inducement situation cannot be prevented.
The letter from VITAB saying that they had no intention of doing any such thing was more like a policy statement. I think we can understand why they made it. That was a reasonable thing to say. As far as changing that policy is concerned, as the solicitor's letter said, they would have that right. I am sure that Mr Connolly would not suggest that that was a contractual arrangement binding on VITAB.
Mr Connolly: We never said that it was.
MR STEVENSON: I know. That is why I said that I am sure that you would not, and you have not.
Mr Berry: It is arguable, though.
Mr Connolly: We have said that it is an assurance, and it could give rise to an action.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
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