Landis’ removal as CEO was swift in the end. Many club bosses felt that Landis’ tough talk on gambling reform was not representative of the industry as a whole.
Many clubs bosses do oppose Perrottet’s plans and fear for the future of the industry. But some,such as the boss of the south-western Sydney behemoth Mounties,hold the view that the industry needs to work with the government on reform,not wage war. But Landis was about war.
Murray MP Helen Dalton in one of the clubs in her electorate.
Landis scoffed at the powerful NSW Crime Commission’s finding that poker machines in clubs were being used to wash the proceeds of crime,and opposed the agency’s key recommendation of a cashless card.
He warned that independent Murray MP Helen Dalton would be targeted for supporting cashless gaming reform and he was true to his word.
Reminiscent of the campaign against then prime minister Julia Gillard when she tried to reform pokies more than a decade ago,clubs in Dalton’s electorate have life-size posters of her in foyers,authorised by ClubsNSW,warning she was out to get the average punter. She is convinced it is because she is a woman.
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“I’m not the only MP supporting the reforms but I really believe ClubsNSW think ‘She’s a female,we can get stuck into and she’ll pull her head in’,but I can promise you I will not back down on this,” Dalton said.
Under Landis’ leadership,ClubsNSW launched a provocative and emotive online campaign which claims the government wants to treat punters like criminals and would be responsible for stopping clubs helping their local community and sporting groups. No doubt the campaign has the backing of the ClubsNSW’s board,but it is hard to imagine Landis’ modus operandi did as well.
Landis was forced into an apology after his comments about Perrottet’s Catholicism – which happened to coincide with a damagingFour Corners expose into the conservative Catholic organisation Opus Dei and the premier’s former school – were widely condemned.
Senior ministers,independent MPs,religious groups and unions called for Landis to be sacked. Minns said he had not seen such displays of sectarianism in NSW politics for decades,while Perrottet described Landis’ comments as “incredibly inappropriate and offensive” to people of faith across the state.
Landis claimed he misspoke but for a seasoned political operator,that seems inconceivable.
Those comments ended Landis’ career at ClubsNSW,but they may well have helped Perrottet. It has given his reform agenda renewed momentum and bought him a little more time to convince his sceptical National colleagues and the industry that change is urgently needed.
Perrottet is under increasing pressure to deliver on his much-touted gambling reforms. The clock is ticking and he is fast losing political capital the longer he delays an announcement.
Landis’ actions have no doubt bought Perrottet a little more time to land his proposal before the premier must take it to his cabinet and the people of NSW.
Landis’ departure from one of the most powerful and well-resourced lobby groups in NSW should also finally create an environment where overdue poker machine reform can be achieved. Landis was a roadblock,but the board of ClubsNSW now has the chance to show its moral strength.
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