Key events
VIP doors open at Crown Sydney casino
Gaming group Crown’s flagship skyscraper casino on Sydney Harbour will open its doors to VIP wagering after delays caused by a gaming inquiry, AAP reports.
Crown previously said in a statement:
The doors to Australia’s only VIP casino will begin opening to members and guests from 08.08.2022.
Crown had been prevented from opening the high-end casino in its $2.2bn dining and hotel tower in Barangaroo for more than a year.
The opening was hampered, then blocked, after an inquiry led by former supreme court judge Patricia Bergin found Crown was not fit to operate a casino.
The approval, finally granted earlier this year by the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority for the members-only gaming facilities inside the upscale Barangaroo complex, is conditional for up to two years.
The conditional period, which will run for 18 to 24 months, will allow the authority to monitor changes made at Crown Sydney so they are “embedded” in the venue.
The opening marks a big step forward for the once-listed Crown, which has been taken private by US investment firm Blackstone after a successful $8.9bn takeover was ticked off in June.
National homelessness plan will tackle social housing backlog
There are currently 162,500 households on the social housing waiting list. Collins says in order to deal with the backlog, the government is working with “as many people as we can to get a plan and get us all heading in the same direction”.
That’s why we need a national plan [on housing and homelessness] … having some leadership and trying to get everyone working together means we’ll have better results and we’ll be able to get more homes in the ground faster.
By providing some leadership and getting everyone to work together on a national plan, we might be able to tackle it nationally rather than on a state by state basis.
Man charged in Perth with ‘being armed in a way that may cause fear’
A 31-year-old man has been charged over a bizarre incident in Perth yesterday.
Police received information Sunday afternoon regarding a man on King Street, Perth dressed in SWAT clothing and who was in possession of what appeared to be an assault rifle and ballistic vest.
A second call was then received that a man was inside a vehicle on King Street armed with a large firearm.
Police attended the scene under emergency conditions, but it was later established there was no real threat to the community.
The uniform the man was wearing was part of his adult entertainment work attire, according to police.
Perth police nevertheless charged the man in relation to the incident. They said in a statement:
It will be alleged the man parked his vehicle on King Street and removed a suitcase from the vehicle. It will be further alleged the man placed a gel blaster gun similar in design to an AR-15 assault rifle on the ground next to him and put on a pair of boots and a black military style mesh vest with ‘SWAT” embossed on the back.
Members of the public witnessed this at various stages and phoned police fearing the firearm was real.
The firearm was seized and subject of further examination.
Police say the man from Nollamara has been charged with “possess[ing] a prohibited weapon” and “being armed in a way that may cause fear”.
Rent assistance not being considered in budget, housing minister says
Collins is asked if the government is working on and considering lifting rent assistance. She responded that states and territories are currently sharing “the innovative things they’re doing … and how they’re managing that”.
Asked if rent assistance is being considered in the budget context, Collins responded:
We’re not at the moment, we’re talking to states and territories about what can be done in terms of rental affordability.
Ultimately it’s an issue around supply and we want to build 30,000 more social and affordable homes atop what states and territories are doing.
Labor government launches homelessness strategy
Julie Collins, the housing and homelessness minister, is on ABC radio as the Albanese government launches its homelessness strategy today.
Collins says the strategy will be “about working with local community organisations and understanding the need for social and community housing to be built right across the country.”
She says fixing homelessness is in the public interest because “everybody benefits from everybody having a safe place to call home”.
Collins served as minister for homelessness in 2013 and is asked how the situation has changed since then.
What we’re seeing, and what I’m hearing is that it’s much harder for people to be able to purchase a home and it’s much harder for people to be able to rent a home.
Good morning!
John Barilaro, the former NSW deputy premier, is set to appear today before an inquiry examining his controversial appointment to a plum New York trade job.
Barilaro is expected to respond to internal government documents uncovered by the inquiry and the testimony of those who have already appeared before the inquiry.
The committee is likely to ask about the evidence given by former adviser that Barilaro fast-tracked a cabinet submission that would have ministers appoint the trade commissioners rather than the public service.
In national news, the Albanese government will launch its homelessness strategy today, with the commonwealth to take greater responsibility for housing.
Julie Collins, the housing and homelessness minister, will make a speech to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute later today – but you can find out what she is expected to say thanks to Paul Karp who reports on an advanced copy.
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