Crispin Hull

The Great Communicator was to arrive.

It was Friday Bob Hawke was to give evidence at the Vitab inquiry. The place: First Floor of the AIDAB Building in Civic. He had to come out of the lift and walk 15 metres to inquiry room. He was trapped.

A gaggle of Television Teenagers awaited his arrival.

He answered one or two inane questions in a croaky voice and went inside not adding one iota to the store of public knowledge.

Nor did he inside. Vitab inquirer Professor Dennis Pearce has allowed the Great Punter and others to give evidence in private.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitabcom”

The Vitab inquiry finished taking evidence yesterday and inquirer Professor Dennis Pearce is expected to give his report to the ACT Government in a month or so.

Yesterday the inquiry took evidence in private from the present and former heads of the Victorian TAB.

Professor Pearce is inquiring into the contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab and ACTTAB under which ACTTAB gave computer access to the multi-state super-pool and other services in return for a percentage of turnover, enabling Vitab to run phone and other betting on Australian races. He is also inquiring into why the Victorian TAB terminated it super-pool arrangements with the ACT.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab20”

Mr Hawke nursing a sore throat complained about Canberra’s cold was greeted by a gaggle of cameras between the lift and the 15 metres to the hearing room and said anything he had to say he would say to the inquiry.

Asked about the Australian cricket captaincy, he thought that Allan Border had made the right decision.

He then entered the inquiry room where he gave evidence in private.

Professor Dennis Pearce is inquiring into the contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab and ACTTAB under which ACTTAB gave computer access to the multi-state super-pool and other services in return for a percentage of turnover, enabling Vitab to run phone and other betting on Australian races. He is also inquiring into why the Victorian TAB terminated it super-pool arrangements with the ACT.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab14”

The involvement of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke had help make ACTTAB boss Philip Neck think the Vitab deal could help ACTTAB start a major international operation in Asia.

Mr Neck, ACTTAB’s chief executive, told the Vitab inquiry that he thought that if he had not looked at the deal he could have been criticised 12 months down the track for not seizing the Asian opportunity.

He had in the back of his mind Mr Hawke’s extensive contacts in Asia and interest in racing and his involvement in a scheme to set up a race track in China.

Mr Neck said that at the time Vitab seemed like the answer to a maiden’s prayer. After years in the red, it looked as if Vitab could put ACTTAB back in the black. So he had been enthusiastic.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab13”

Two Independents are considering a censure motion against the Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, after questioning yesterday whether she also knew about Victoria giving notice to end its TAB arrangements with the ACT while the then Minister for Sport, Wayne Berry, was telling the Assembly that all was well with the TAB.

Mr Berry was forced to resign after a successful no-confidence motion asserted he had misled the Assembly.

Independent Helen Szuty asked at Question Time whether Ms Follett had known before the public announcement. Ms Follett said she had discussed it with Mr Berry and had received a document, but was uncertain of dates.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab12”

The ACT Opposition questioned yesterday whether former Prime Minister Bob Hawke was to get a future shareholding in Vitab for his role in the launch of the ACTTAB-Vitab deal.

The Leader of the Opposition, Kate Carnell, asked, “”Was he brought in to impress the socks off the ACTTAB Board?”

She was speaking at an inquiry by Professor Pearce into the contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab and ACTTAB under which ACTTAB gave computer access to the multi-state super-pool and other services in return for a percentage of turnover, enabling Vitab to run phone and other betting on Australian races. He is also inquiring into why the Victorian TAB terminated it super-pool arrangements with the ACT.

The contract led to a successful Assembly no-confidence motion against Sports Minister Wayne Berry last month, causing him to resign.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab11”

The chairman of Vitab, Dan Kolomanski, accused the Liberal Party at the Vitab inquiry yesterday of making false and outrageous accusations under parliamentary privilege.

Professor Pearce is inquiring into the contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab and ACTTAB under which ACTTAB gave computer access to the multi-state super-pool and other services in return for a percentage of turnover, enabling Vitab to run phone and other betting on Australian races. He is also inquiring into why the Victorian TAB terminated it super-pool arrangements with the ACT.

The contract led to a successful Assembly no-confidence motion against Sports Minister Wayne Berry last month, causing him to resign. During that debate Liberal MLAs accused Vitab principals of having connections with illegal SP book-makers.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab10”

A gloomy picture for ACT racing was painted yesterday by the ACT Racing Club unless the ACT TAB links with another major TAB.

The chair of the club, Bill Bartley, told the Vitab inquiry that the greater proportion of prizemoney, administration and capital costs of ACT racing came from the ACTTAB dividend. If the dividend were jeopardised, ACT racing would lose money which would have significnt flow-on effects for employment and the tourism industry.

Racing was the third-largest employer in Australia, he said. About 60 per cent of horses raced in the ACT came from outside Canberra, attracted by the prizemoney. This was a significant contribution to the visitor industry.

The Victorian TAB has given notice it will cut the ACT’s access to the pool of punters’ funds from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania from August 1 after the ACT entered a contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab, giving Vitab access to the superpool through ACTTAB computers.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab6”

The ACTTAB said it thought is was the job of ACT Government officials to do probity check on the Vitab proponents and assumed they were doing them, the Vitab inquiry heard yesterday.

The day before departmental and ministerial officers told the inquiry they thought the probity checks were the job of ACTTAB and assumed ACTTAB was doing them.

Professor Pearce is inquiring into the contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab and ACTTAB under which ACTTAB gave computer access to the multi-state super-pool and other services in return for a percentage of turnover, enabling Vitab to run phone and other betting on Australian races. He is also inquiring into why the Victorian TAB terminated it super-pool arrangements with the ACT.

The contract led to a successful Assembly no-confidence motion against Sports Minister Wayne Berry last month causing him to resign.

The chief executive of the ACTTAB, Philip Neck, told the inquiry the fact that former Prime Minister Bob Hawke was involved with the Vitab proposal ruled out the possibility they were dealing with a fly-by-night operation.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab”

The probity checking of Vitab principals was a matter for the ACT TAB, several senior ACT public servants told Vitab inquirer Professor Dennis Pearce at a public hearing yesterday.

And a former Hawke, Fraser and Dawkins staffer who was head of the ACT department with responsibility for sport at the time, Jeff Townsend, told Professor Pearce that he had had no contact with former Prime Minister Bob Hawke (a Vitab shareholder) about Vitab other than an exchange of pleasantries at the media launch in October last year.

Professor Pearce is inquiring into the contract with the Vanuatu-based Vitab and ACTTAB under which ACTTAB gave computer access to the multi-state super-pool and other services in return for a percentage of turnover, enabling Vitab to run phone and other betting on Australian races. He is also inquiring into why the Victorian TAB terminated it super-pool arrangements with the ACT.

The contract led to a successful Assembly no-confidence motion against Sports Minister Wayne Berry last month causing him to resign.
Continue reading “1994_05_may_vitab4”