'No one touches Crown.' Does this include regulators?

Editor's note

The allegations levelled against Crown Casino in the investigative report by Channel Nine this week were “nothing short of breathtaking”, federal MP Andrew Wilkie told parliament on Tuesday.

He added his own revelations in calling for a parliamentary inquiry in the lower house – that a former driver-turned-whistleblower said he routinely transported foreign nationals from a Melbourne jet base to Crown without going through border checks, stopping on the way “to pick up a sex worker.”

“This new whistleblower said: ‘Crown is Crown. No one touches Crown. You know, there is no law at Crown,’” Wilkie said.

This is a failure of the regulatory system set up to prevent criminal activity in Australia’s gambling operators and ensure responsible gambling is taking place, writes Charles Livingstone.

Any government that wants to clean up gambling has the tools to do it, he says. But our political leaders need to find the will to regulate the industry in the genuine interests of ordinary Australians.

Justin Bergman

Deputy Editor: Politics + Society

Top story

Regulation is not just red tape. It protects the interests of those who put their faith, money, and in some cases, loved ones, into regulated institutions. James Ross/AAP

The Crown allegations show the repeated failures of our gambling regulators

Charles Livingstone, Monash University

The failure of regulators to uncover alleged criminal activity at Crown casino is an important story. But regulatory failure in gambling runs deep, and is a major political problem.

Anthony Albanese points to Labor’s limited capacity to alter legislation in the Senate, as he defends the decision to vote for passing the government’s full tax package. Lukas Coch/AAP

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Anthony Albanese on Labor’s hard times

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Anthony Albanese defends Labor's vote for the government's $158 billion tax package, supports an increase in Newstart, and strongly argues the need to take the superannuation guarantee to 12%.

Melissa Lucashenko, winner of the 2019 Miles Franklin Award. Courtesy of the Miles Franklin/ Belinda Rolland

With wit and tenderness, Miles Franklin winner Melissa Lucashenko writes back to the ‘whiteman’s world’

Jen Webb, University of Canberra

This prize confirms Melissa Lucashenko's status as one of Australia’s top writers of contemporary fiction.

The Southern Tablelands contain rare native grasslands. Tim J Keegan/Flickr

What are native grasslands, and why do they matter?

Mike Letnic, UNSW

The Monaro grasslands are a tiny surviving fraction of the native grasslands that once grew across the Southern Tablelands.

Education
‘I’m an international student in Australia. How do I tell my parents the pressure they put on me is too much?’ Hannah Soong, University of South Australia Coming to live in Australia on your own and studying in an unfamiliar education system is extremely hard. There are ways to make it a bit easier.

Cities

Private renters are doing it tough in outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne

Alan Morris, University of Technology Sydney; Hal Pawson, UNSW; Kath Hulse, Swinburne University of Technology; Violet Xia, University of Technology Sydney

While politicians ignore calls to raise Newstart, alarming levels of financial stress among private renters, particularly in low-rent outer suburbs, show why current welfare payments are too low.

Health + Medicine

People use sauna for well-being, but its medical benefits are not widely understood

Joy Hussain, RMIT University; Jack Tsonis, Western Sydney University

Results of a recent global sauna survey suggest people use sauna to relax. But they don't necessarily know about the health benefits it's been shown to have.
Potential cost to patient safety as NZ debates access to medicinal cannabis

Michelle Glass, University of Otago; John Ashton, University of Otago

There is no doubt a regulated market for access to medicinal cannabis is safer, but if cannabis-based products were allowed to bypass efficacy trials, there's a potential cost to patient safety.

Science + Technology
Algorithms are everywhere but what will it take for us to trust them? Kate Smith-Miles, University of Melbourne Algorithms are only human (well, designed by humans) but we need to trust they'll do what they're supposed to do. And that means we need a better way to test them.

Politics + Society

Athlete development must better support Indigenous and Pasifika players

Sierra Keung, Auckland University of Technology

The Oceania Cup allows rugby league players to represent the country of their heritage. Now we need to introduce training processes that better reflect and support cultural diversity.
Consumer watchdog: journalism is in crisis and only more public funding can help

Margaret Simons, Monash University

The ACCC Digital Platforms Report recommends several ways to revive journalism in the social media age, including A$50m in direct grants to local news services.

Business + Economy

Shocking yet not surprising: wage theft has become a culturally accepted part of business

Sarah Kaine, University of Technology Sydney; Emmanuel Josserand, University of Technology Sydney

Underpaying workers has become rampant in Australia.
Beyond meat? The market for meat substitutes is way overdone

Paul Wood AO, Monash University

Meat substitutes and alternatives might play a positive role but aren't going to save the planet.