‘Significant cultural weakness’ at Crown Resorts could take many years to fix, the Perth royal commission has been told.
It may take much longer than the two years Crown has been put on probation in Victoria to see real signs of improvement in the scandal-plagued casino operator, evidence to the Perth royal commission has suggested.
The Victorian royal commission last week stopped short of stripping Crown Melbourne of its gaming licence, even though it was found not suitable to continue to hold one, instead imposing a two-year deadline to prove to a new “special manager” that it has returned to suitability.
The Victorian government, however, will automatically assume at the end of those two years that Crown Melbourne’s licence has been cancelled unless the company convincingly demonstrates otherwise, with Premier Daniel Andrews saying that was a “powerful shift” in onus.
At the Perth royal commission on Friday, Deloitte partner in risk advisory Victoria Whitaker was asked about a staff survey that had concerning results, saying it usually took about three to five years to see material, sustained cultural change in an organisation of Crown’s size.
The findings of the survey have previously been aired at the probe, with more than one-third of security staff agreeing that their colleagues bent the rules when it suited them, rising to more than 40 per cent for surveillance employees.
Crown Perth’s head of security and investigation Derek Burling was asked about that finding when he testified in September, saying it “absolutely” concerned him.
Ms Whitaker was also quizzed about a survey question asking staff whether they perceived the board and senior management were acting in accordance with Crown’s values.
“They don’t generally agree or strongly agree that they are behaving in effect with the purpose and values – there was a very, very high neutral response in particular so that always leads us to ask why,” she said.
“We don’t know and if I were to hazard a guess in my professional judgment … there was very little visibility, for example, of the board. There was almost no communication from the board until Helen Coonan became the executive chair.
“I think there’s definitely work to be done by Crown’s leadership and board to set the tone from the top.”
Asked if those neutral responses represented a significant cultural weakness, Ms Whitaker said: “Yes, absolutely.”
The survey also uncovered among staff a perception that Crown prioritised customers and profit above compliance with its regulatory requirements.
The West Australian and Victorian probes were instigated after the NSW gaming regulator found the Perth and Melbourne venues had been infiltrated by underworld figures through Chinese high-roller “junket” tours, with vast sums of ill-gotten cash washing through its bank accounts.
Originally published as Crown Perth royal commission hears ‘significant cultural weakness’ could take up to five years to fix
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