Latest news with #CrownPerth
West Australian
09-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
John Van Der Wielen: ‘Culture of accountability' is key in Crown Perth's new era
Crown Perth is preparing to celebrate its 40th birthday on 30 December. Fittingly, it hits this milestone during the most transformative chapter in its history. Many will vividly remember the fanfare that accompanied the opening of Burswood Island Casino in 1985. It was Australia's largest casino and the third largest casino in the world, making it a notable new addition to Perth's skyline. It epitomised sophistication and Perth's aspiration. Built on a former landfill site, its transformation into a world class resort captured the imagination of the public and reflected Perth's ambition to be seen on the global stage. WA was riding a wave of economic optimism; the casino's arrival was a bold statement of the State's progress and prosperity. Over the past four decades, the complex has been expanded, renovated and renamed. In recent years though, a critical but less obvious shift has taken place. The findings of the Perth Casino royal commission in 2022 laid bare failures which demanded sweeping reform. The report marked a clear turning point. Crown has since navigated one of WA and Australia's largest corporate transformations. In response to the royal commission, Crown Perth embarked on comprehensive reform, leaving no area of the business untouched. The scope of the remediation was significant, and it was clear timely action was important. Delays or inaction would have impacted the business, but more importantly, the thousands of team members, contractors, suppliers, charities and community partners who depend on Crown Perth. Blackstone's acquisition of Crown Resorts in June 2022 sent a clear signal — the company was backed by an owner fully committed to the scale and seriousness of the transformation required. Over the next three years, a refreshed local board and a new, WA-based senior executive team brought local insight and a renewed culture of accountability. Between October 2022 and April 2025, Crown Perth's remediation was supervised by a government-appointed independent monitor, who had full oversight. I am a great believer that your focus becomes your reality — and our total focus has been on remediating the past to set the right culture and tone for the how an integrated resort should operate today. The numbers alone speak to the scale of the collaboration and Crown's transparency. Over the course of the monitorship, Crown Perth produced more than 8300 documents and 106,000 pages of information for the independent monitor. Crown Perth's governance frameworks have been rebuilt, financial crime controls overhauled, and risk and compliance systems strengthened. Creating and embedding cultural improvements wasn't just about satisfying regulators. It was about setting a new standard that would endure. Later this year, world-leading responsible gaming measures will be implemented to help guests play within their means. From December 2025, every player using an electronic gaming machine will set time and loss limits, ensuring they do not gamble more than they intend. At Crown, our work continues. It's often said turning 40 is a coming-of-age moment and that is certainly true for Crown Perth. As we reflect on this milestone, we do so with humility and gratitude — and we face the future stronger, wiser and safer — knowing the best is yet to come. For 40 years, Crown has proudly helped shape WA's landscape, literally and figuratively. And we are just getting started. John Van Der Wielen is the chairman of Crown Perth
The Age
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Age
WA news LIVE: Car crash causes power blackout in Perth's south
Latest posts Latest posts 9.30am Car crash causes power blackout in Perth's south One wrong move behind the wheel saw thousands of homes in Perth's south plunged into darkness last night after a car smashed into a power transformer. The incident occurred around 8pm after a Honda Accord travelling along Leach Highway in Rossmoyne veered off the road, hitting a fixed power transmission box. The crash cut power to more than 11,000 homes. It also forced a local IGA to shut up shop and for traffic light signals in the surrounding suburbs of Booragoon, Willetton and Mount Pleasant to also be cut. Despite the transmission box being extensively damaged, Western Power were able to reconnect homes to power within two hours. The driver of the car, a man in his 20s was uninjured. 9.30am Across the nation and around the world Here's what's making news across the nation and around the world: Australia's healthcare watchdog will crack down on the country's booming medicinal cannabis industry, amid what it described as poor prescribing practice and surging patient demand. The Reserve Bank of Australia has shocked economists (and many home owners) after voting to keep rates on hold, despite widely expected cuts. It marks the first time the RBA board has been openly split over the direction of interest rates. We can exclusively reveal that during the final deliberations of the Erin Patterson murder trial, a hotel booking blunder meant jurors, police, prosecutors, and media were housed together, leading to havoc. 9.30am Today's weather A foggy start to the day before the sun comes out later on (not that it will warm up much more, mind you). 9.30am Good morning readers, and welcome to our live news blog for Wednesday, July 9. Making headlines today is news from the Burswood peninsula, where controversial plans for a $217 million racetrack and amphitheatre have received the blessing of neighbour Crown Perth. During a press conference on Tuesday, Crown Perth chairman John Van Der Wielen described the project as 'really exciting'. However, it is still unclear whether the state government will need to purchase any land off Crown to fulfil its election promise – now dubbed the Perth Entertainment and Sporting Precinct. Hamish Hastie has the full story. You can read it here. Meanwhile Charli Grant has saved the Matildas from further embarrassment, the defender bundling in a stoppage-time goal to lift Australia to a 3-2 victory over Panama at HBF Park in Perth last night.
Sydney Morning Herald
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA news LIVE: Car crash causes power blackout in Perth's south
Latest posts Latest posts 9.30am Car crash causes power blackout in Perth's south One wrong move behind the wheel saw thousands of homes in Perth's south plunged into darkness last night after a car smashed into a power transformer. The incident occurred around 8pm after a Honda Accord travelling along Leach Highway in Rossmoyne veered off the road, hitting a fixed power transmission box. The crash cut power to more than 11,000 homes. It also forced a local IGA to shut up shop and for traffic light signals in the surrounding suburbs of Booragoon, Willetton and Mount Pleasant to also be cut. Despite the transmission box being extensively damaged, Western Power were able to reconnect homes to power within two hours. The driver of the car, a man in his 20s was uninjured. 9.30am Across the nation and around the world Here's what's making news across the nation and around the world: Australia's healthcare watchdog will crack down on the country's booming medicinal cannabis industry, amid what it described as poor prescribing practice and surging patient demand. The Reserve Bank of Australia has shocked economists (and many home owners) after voting to keep rates on hold, despite widely expected cuts. It marks the first time the RBA board has been openly split over the direction of interest rates. We can exclusively reveal that during the final deliberations of the Erin Patterson murder trial, a hotel booking blunder meant jurors, police, prosecutors, and media were housed together, leading to havoc. 9.30am Today's weather A foggy start to the day before the sun comes out later on (not that it will warm up much more, mind you). 9.30am Good morning readers, and welcome to our live news blog for Wednesday, July 9. Making headlines today is news from the Burswood peninsula, where controversial plans for a $217 million racetrack and amphitheatre have received the blessing of neighbour Crown Perth. During a press conference on Tuesday, Crown Perth chairman John Van Der Wielen described the project as 'really exciting'. However, it is still unclear whether the state government will need to purchase any land off Crown to fulfil its election promise – now dubbed the Perth Entertainment and Sporting Precinct. Hamish Hastie has the full story. You can read it here. Meanwhile Charli Grant has saved the Matildas from further embarrassment, the defender bundling in a stoppage-time goal to lift Australia to a 3-2 victory over Panama at HBF Park in Perth last night.
ABC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
WA government says Crown Perth a 'suitable entity' to operate casino, three years on from royal commission
Crown Perth has been handed a lifeline by the state government and will keep its gaming licence without penalty or conditions, three years after a Royal Commission found it unfit to hold a licence in WA. The future of the state's only casino has been in the hands of the government since the final report of the Perth Casino Royal Commission was tabled in state parliament in 2022. "I have found on advice from the Gaming and Wagering Commission, that Crown Perth is a suitable entity for operating a casino without any conditions or penalties," Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia said. The royal commission identified a series of failures by Crown Resorts in Perth, including facilitating money laundering, permitting criminal junkets to operate at the casino and failing to minimise casino gambling-related harm. But the commission stopped short of calling for Crown to be stripped of its licence. Instead, an independent monitor oversaw remediation activity at Crown for more than two years and handed its final report to the government in January. It was one of 59 recommendations for the government to consider in the 1,000-page report. So far, 32 have been completed, with 18 remaining to be implemented and a further nine waiting on legislative change to be enacted. Mr Papalia had the power to remove Crown's license, apply a penalty of up to $100 million or enact strict conditions, but decided against any action. When questioned whether Crown got off "scot-free", Mr Papalia said the remediation work has been enough. "To say that there's not been any impost on them is not correct," he said. "They have comprehensively changed their practices, they've had to implement new procedures, buy new equipment, apply new methods to ensure that they are complying with the recommendations. "There are practices and procedures in place to address anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist funding measures that are required and also further measures to reduce the harm from gambling." The royal commission also identified "numerous deficiencies" in WA's gaming regulator, the Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC). The list of recommendations made to the GWC included increasing penalties for regulatory offences and improving staffing and resourcing. GWC Chair Gary Dreibergs said they now have more senior investigators and compliance officers. "We now have a greater structure than we had previously," he said. The GWC also issued directions to Crown to establish an electronic gaming machine scheme aimed at minimising gambling harm. "True and embedded cultural change for any organisation like Crown Perth takes longer than two-and-a-half years," Mr Dreibergs said. "We believe Crown can sustainably operate and embed those changes in the long term." Crown Resorts agreed to an $8.9 billion takeover by private equity firm Blackstone in 2022. Chair of Crown Resorts Perth John Van Der Wielen said the new ownership has been pivotal to improving oversight on criminal activity occurring under Crown's roof. "They took on Crown knowing the issue and we knew how much it would take to fix and I think we're there," he said. "I'm very confident now with the new independent board, completely new management team and being owned by the world's largest investor … we have the right moral compass in place."
The Age
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Final regulatory leash removed from Crown's neck in Perth
The final regulatory leash has been removed from Crown's neck in Australia after the WA government handed back the casino and resorts giant autonomy over its operations. Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia also decided against further punitive action against Crown, saying he was comfortable the business had taken appropriate action to deal with the money laundering, counter-terrorism and problem-gambling issues that plunged it into crisis nationwide following investigations by Nine Newspapers. 'I have found that Crown is a suitable entity for operating a casino without conditions or penalties. And that finding was taken to the cabinet yesterday and endorsed by the cabinet,' he said. Papalia's decision means Crown Perth is free to operate without the intensive government oversight that had been in place since the royal commission report was finalised in 2022. Papalia defended not using a financial penalty to punish Crown, which is now owned by private investment firm Blackstone, and downplayed the activities unearthed by the royal commission, saying 'there was never any evidence of direct money laundering activity of the nature that you witnessed in Melbourne.' 'What there was, was potential for money laundering to have been enabled, and potential for counter-terrorism or terrorism finances to have been transacted,' he said. Following Nine Newspapers' reports the Victorian, New South Wales and WA governments conducted separate inquiries, finding the casino had allowed money laundering to take place. The WA report found Crown Perth had facilitated money laundering, failed to investigate suspicions of money laundering, permitted junkets with links to criminals to operate at the casino and failed to minimise gambling-related harm caused by electronic gaming machines. It also lashed the former Crown Perth board for failing in its oversight of the business.
