A second inquiry into Star Entertainment Group’s suitability to hold a casino license for The Star Sydney will be held primarily in public, the regulator has determined.
Star announced the update by way of an Australian Securities Exchange filing on Monday in which it confirmed it had been informed by the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) that the inquiry would be mostly public and that Adam Bell SC had been appointed to preside over the inquiry. Bell is the same man who oversaw the original inquiry that ultimately deemed Star unsuitable.
According to the NICC, it is “in the public interest for the inquiry hearings to be held primarily in public.”
The regulator has also extended the date upon which Bell must deliver his final report following the second inquiry until 31 July 2024, Star said, and will in turn look to extend until 30 September 2024 the tenure of Special Manager Nick Weeks, who is currently in charge of The Star Sydney’s casino operations.
“The Star continues to appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate it has the ability to regain suitability and will do all in its power to work cooperatively with all its regulators including the NICC and its appointed manager as well as continuing to participate in the Inquiry in an open, transparent and facilitative manner,” Star said.
As reported by IAG, NICC chairman Philip Crawford said when the second inquiry was announced last month that the regulator “has had concerns about the extent that remediation is attributable to the manager’s oversight and direction versus what is being driven by The Star’s reform agenda.
“Bell Two will bring us back to the Bell Report and The Star’s efforts to regain its casino licence in the shadow of that report.
“There is much at stake for The Star, so the NICC is giving the casino every chance it can to demonstrate whether it has the capacity and competence to achieve suitability.
“This includes meeting its financial obligations under the casino licence and funding its remediation program sufficiently.
“The inquiry will provide the NICC with the information needed to make an important decision for The Star, its employees, its stakeholders and the wider community.”
Star has already taken further remediation steps in the wake of that announcement with another four executives including CEO Robbie Cooke – who only replaced predecessor Matt Bekier 18 months ago – stepping down late last week.
