Australia remains one of the world's hotbeds of unique casino, gambling, and political news. The Labor Government has just lost a minister to porn and gambling at work, Liberal poised to introduce their high speed internet solution at the fraction of the cost to Labor's, we've got fighting at Crown Casino, Mildura Jewel Casino moving forward and more. Media Man and Gambling911 continue to bring you the best. We load up the sniffer dogs and navigate kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils... it's a whale hunting time down under...
Politics, Gambling And Porn At Work: Labor Minister Quits...
Yep, down under in Australia Spring has sprung... 1st day of the season and another Labor minister has been busted by extremely naughty (and wasting the public's money). Another minister is knocked out in NSW. Paul McLeay has resigned after being busted for using a work computer to visit gambling and adult sites. Gambling911 and Media Man can do it if they want, but Paul, its a no go zone for you because you work for the 'Big Brother' Aussie Government... well, you used to. Whose next hey? 4 ministers have resigned or being sacked (depends who you want to believe) from Premier Kristina Keneally's government this year. Let's see... there was former state development minister Ian 'More Please' (MM tag) Macdonald after proven allegations he misused taxpayers' dollars, former juvenile justice minister Graham 'Why' West who became pissed with the political process and ex transport minister David 'Cunning' (MM tag) Campbell, who was filmed leaving a gay sex club. It's almost enough to make 'Casino Jack' blush. Keneally confirmed early today that McLeay had resigned. In a prepared statement she said that he had advised her that he had "used a computer supplied by the Parliament to visit gambling and adult sites". He visited and played. Keneally said the minister immediately accepted her request to resign. "This behaviour is not the standard I expect of a minister. I have made clear to Mr McLeay that I expect ministers to use the resources of office appropriately. Some people may choose to undertake similar activities in their personal lives, but I cannot condone the use of parliamentary resources by a minister in this way. Keneally spoke to NSW folks with "I am sorry that this situation has occurred. I will not condone it, and I will continue to make clear that I expect the highest integrity from ministers." McLeay's vacancy would be filled with a more suitable poly. At least McLeay said sorry. McLeay issued a statement this afternoon apologising for his actions. "I would like to apologise to the Premier, my parliamentary colleagues, my electorate and the people of NSW. I apologise to my wife and family." McLeay advised he accepted that as a minister he was "held to a higher standard" and that was the reason he resigned. We just hope he didn't fund the gambling and porn directly on tax payers money, even though its bad enough he wasted the resources. He won't be making further comment and requested for his family’s privacy to be respected. Keneally recently spoke out at her naughty misbehaving ministers and blamed them for a recent less than stellar political poll. She had vowed to rebuild trust again by announcing policies in the coming months and squarely blamed the behaviour of the former Penrith MP Karyn Paluzzano and Mr Macdonald, who both quit after scandals, and Cessnock MP Kerry Hickey, who revealed he had fathered a child with a parliamentary staffer. "There are too many examples of ill-disciplined behaviour among individual members of Parliament and it destroys people's confidence and people's trust that the government is focusing on their needs," Keneally said. "I say this very clearly...if that sort of ill-discipline continues, the blunt reality is that we will lose the election." McLeay was first elected to Parliament in 2003, and still holds the southern NSW seat of Heathcote. Before Parliament, Mr McLeay was a prominent unionist. He is married to author Cassandra Wilkinson, who has previously worked for the NSW government. A number of Labor MP's are currently stating on thin ice, and the weather is hotting up, so the smart money says to expect more MP's to go missing in action.
Victoria: Mildura Backing Jewel Casino; 2nd Casino For State Looking Good...
The Victorian government powers than be have given a solid indication it is preparing for a second casino. Punters rejoice. This news at the same time as newly elected independent federal MP Andrew 'Wild & Witty' (MM tag) Wilkie is campaigning to reduce "community harm" from pokies, that one finds wall to wall in casinos, alongside other attractions of course. The state government has now established an interdepartmental committee to consider a second casino and Gaming Minister Tony Robinson has indicated that Labor party is coming around to the proposal, concept et al. At the current rate construction might start before you can say 'Jackpot'! James Packers' Crown Casino's exclusivity deal with the government has lapsed and exciting plans for a $400 million casino and convention centre complex for Mildura have been whipped up to the state government. The new casino is looking to include 200 pokies and about 50 tables. If the development goes ahead expect to see favorites like Cleopatra, Wheel of Fortune, Monopoly, Outback Jack, poker and roulette. Even a local poker tournament for the locals, like a much smaller version of Crown's 'Aussie Millions'. Robinson told ABC radio: Mildura last Thursday a second casino "might actually be a good thing for the state", as long as it met certain conditions and criteria etc. He advised the main impediment to a second casino at the time was the backing of the state opposition. Nationals leader Peter Ryan went on record last night the opposition would not get in the way of the Mildura casino proposal in State Parliament. He said the government could already introduce regulations and guidelines for a second casino and then offer the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation the job of starting the process for the new casino. Robinson has indicated the government is leaning towards the prospect of a second casino. "What will happen in coming weeks is the government will be better informed by the work that is under way. We may be in a position to announce that under certain circumstances we would support or allow the Parliament to contemplate means by which a second casino could be established in Victoria." He said the interdepartmental committee was likely to report back to the government in a couple of weeks. Robinson said issues that might be considered included the length of a casino licence (gaming machine licences outside the casino are a decade), the size of the new casino operation, how the revenue from the casino would be directed, and how many one armed bandits would be allowed. A government spokeswoman said last night that it was committed to its cap of 30,000 pokies in Victoria. The move towards a second casino for Victoria has been strongly criticised by independent South Australian senator Nick 'Mr X' (MM tag) Xenophon, who quipped the gaming minister was "chasing fool's gold". He said "How much more money does the Victorian government want to suck out of problem gamblers in the community?" He said the state government was out of touch with community support for curtailing gambling. But the casino idea has been welcomed by the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "A casino for Mildura is worth exploring as a magnet attracting tourists to Mildura and as a provider of a variety of jobs," spokesman Chris James went on record with.
A Media Man rep said "The amount of jobs and the tourism boost the Jewel will provide can not be underestimated. The community at large is well aware to bet with your head, not over it, so god knows what all the fuss is about. In regards to the casino haters, it smells like a complex publicity stunt. I guess that anti poker brigade and bible bashers are just doing what they think their job is. Our job includes helping raise awareness and present both sides of the argument, and we're having a great time doing it. The amount of support for the casino has been extremely encouraging.
Aussie Internet Broadband: Liberal's Tony "I'm No Bill Gates" Abbott Might Be Right!...
An impressive alliance of communications companies aka "telcos" has dropped a bomb at the 11th hour into talk fests around who will in fact form the next Aussie government by proposing a new broadband plan that appears more aligned with the Coalition's policy than Labor's national broadband network. It's more bad news for Labor, who just had a MP resign over his surfing of porn and gambling websites at work... surely Sen Stephen Conroy or one of his army should have prevented that happening, in the 'Big Brother' regime. The Alliance for Affordable Broadband...made up on telcos including Allegro Networks, PIPE Networks, BigAir, Vocus Communications, AAPT, Polyfone and EFTEL...proposes government-subsidised fibre backhaul but recommends connecting the country regions with a fourth-generation (4G) national wireless broadband network. Labor's government-funded plan will connect 93 per cent of homes with fibre-optic cables, the alternative plan, similar to the Coalition's, will connect up houses via a new wireless broadband network. The 4G network would connect 98% of Aussies and offer speeds of up to 100Mbps. The release of the broadband prop parallels with meetings between key independents, members of the government and NBN Co. The independents will decide who will form the next Australian government and broadband is now a key factor in negotiations. May say the internet censorship debate was a lead up to the broadband proposals. Liberal's are understood to have secured some good advise from Malcolm 'No Bull' Turnbull, who co founded ISP OzEmail, and became a millionaire fueled from the business.
The telco alliance said in a statement released Tuesday "We believe the argument for a national fibre-only NBN solution has failed to convince. A well-informed independent member of Parliament might wisely favour an NBN version 3 public-private model on a mix of technology, with deliverables within a term, over a more costly and more risky eight-plus years NBN 2.0 rollout." Probed why they didn't release their plan before the election, alliance member Jason 'Ask Me' (MM tag) Ashton, chief executive of Big Air, advised the delay was due to the fact that the Coalition released its broadband policy late in the election cycle. The Coalition points out that the alternative broadband plan as evidence that Labor's $43 billion broadband plan was a "white elephant" that was technically and economically deficient. "The sensible and affordable approach outlined by the alliance largely reflects Coalition policy," shadow finance minister Andrew Robb told press. "By using a dynamic mix of technologies, including next generation wireless, and by deploying a core fibre backhaul network, major improvements can be achieved, particularly in rural and regional areas, for a fraction of the cost of Labor's $43 billion, one-size-fits-all approach." The alternative plan, like the Coalition's, is dependant upon the private sector to build much of the future broadband infrastructure. Labor has said the government should build the infrastructure and then sell it to the private sector later, and this has attracted many skeptics. Labor's plan will give speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, whereas the alliance believes 100Mbps is good enough. "We see the greatest priority is giving broadband to those who don't have any, not faster broadband to those that have," the alliance said. It has gone on record that it believes that a 4G wireless network could be built for $3 billion with a large part of this delivered by private investment as opposed to public monies. Some telco experts, including Internet Industry Association chief executive Peter Coroneos, have said wireless would never be a substitute for fibre. Labor's NBN plan has massive support within the industry. "The problem with wireless is that it always is a shared spectrum so you always have the problem that if you want to use it in built-up areas you actually need thousands and thousands of towers so the signal doesn't degrade to such a level that it becomes unusable," telco analyst Paul Budde said. Budde advised all the wireless towers would need to be linked to a fibre network anyway, so the question was largely around whether to connect the "last mile" to people's homes using fibre, which is what Labor is proposing, or wireless. "Experts around the world are saying that fibre is by far the most cost-effective way of doing that - it's not just a matter of the upfront cost but also the maintenance," said Budde. "The ongoing cost of maintaining a wireless network is significantly higher than the ongoing cost of a fibre network. Telstra has clearly indicated this in the past. "Budde said it was unclear whether wireless networks could deliver future services promised by Labor and the NBN, such as "tele-medicine" and "tele-education". A spokeswoman for the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, said Labor's NBN policy was not a "quick fix for an election" but a solution for the long-term benefit of the country. "The NBN will deliver affordable, high speed broadband to all premises in Australia, no matter where they are located. Every home, business, school and hospital will be included and no one will miss out," the spokeswoman said. The government provided a list of companies that had come out in support of the NBN, including Telstra, Optus, iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Primus, Adam Internet, Intel, Huawei and Google. A spokesman for Telstra said: "We are not joining the debate on the NBN. Ah, Australian telecommunications and political wars continue, adding to an already explosive Aussie gambling and casino war. As U.S media critic Alex Jones says...'Infowars... because their is a battle on for your mind'.
Fighting At Crown Casino: Big Fines For Mugs...
A threesome of brothers who brawled with Crown casino security staff aka 'bouncers' were yesterday convicted and fined in excess of $10,000 grand. Ex Iraqi refugees, the 3 main tag team of Hemdad, Bestoon and Ghamber Muhammad pleaded guilty to a charge of "affray" (legal jargon for fighting and running a muck)... no fights were scheduled as part of the festivities, not officially anyway. Swinging now to court side...Melbourne Magistrates Court heard they were rejected from Fusion nightclub at roughly 1.40am on 23rd January last year before they joined a bakers dozen of other combatants in fighting with about 5 casino staff. The Muhammad brothers threw numerous bare knuckle punches in a brawl that lasted only about two minutes before reinforcements settled down the offenders. It was quite the street fight, with no sign of bodyslams, suplexes, triangle chokes or Indian death locks. It's understood a variation of a collar and elbow hooks up, Irish whip and good old fashioned side headlock was used, but wrestling and MMA purists would not have been impressed. Maybe Mike Tyson and Stone Cold Steve Austin might have gave marks for aggressive force used in the encounter. Quizzed his reason for the blue, Hemdad, 29, told cops "Because of my brothers. I was too drunk. I got my lesson". Defence lawyer Emma 'No Bull (MM tag) Turnbull told the court her fighters er...clients, who did not normally drink or fight, had been celebrating Bestoon's birthday. Turnbull said none of them had any memory of the incident which was spontaneous, did not involve weapons, and did not cause serious injuries. 'No Bull' told the court the trio, who worked as painters and had no prior convictions, fled Iraq circa 1988 and spent a decade in refugee camps before finally arriving in Australia. Magistrate Tim 'The Master' (MM tag) McDonald advised such behaviour happened too often in the community and told the trio, from Deer Park, they would have received a jail term if they had not pleaded guilty. Their strategy of pleading guilty goes against the oath of legendary Australian 'Underbelly' figure Mark 'Chopper' Read' who says "Never Plead Guilty". Hemdad and Bestoon were fined $4000 each while Ghamber was convicted and fined $2500. None of the brothers have immediate plan to enter the MMA, boxing or professional wrestling world, but word has spread to the organisations who are always on the look out for new, exciting talent who stands out from the pack.
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Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, what's your view on online poker, online casinos, broadband, censorship, internet censorship and freedom of the press?... at work or home? Who will win the Aussie Casino Wars? Do you enjoy adult content (that is legal)? Make your voice heard. Tell us in the forum. The big wigs of Australian politics and business read and hang on every word at your beloved Gambling911. From Australia's answer to 'Casino Jack' to 'Outback Jack', they're all here folks. Keep checking daily for updates. Don't forget to use Proxy if need be, depending upon how you like your coffee and internet... filtered or not?
The Late News...
Australian Labor party tipped to expect more resignations from MP's doing the wrong thing. Sports: Pakistan Cricket team may be banned for Australia for many years, due to allegations of match fixing, much of which happened on Australian soil! If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.
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