Senin, 05 Agustus 2019

Assisted dying: Australian cancer patient first to use new law - BBC News

An Australian woman with terminal cancer has become the first person to end their life under new assisted dying laws, a charity says.

Kerry Robertson, 61, died at a nursing home in the state of Victoria in July.

She was granted permission to use the controversial legislation - which exists only in Victoria but is being considered in other states - after a 26-day approval process.

Her family said she was able to have "the empowered death that she wanted".

Ms Robertson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, and it later spread to her bones, lungs, brain and liver.

She decided to stop chemotherapy and radiation treatment in March after the side effects and pain became "intolerable", her family said.

Victoria's legislation, which came into effect in June, allows terminally ill patients who meet certain requirements the right to access lethal drugs.

"We were beside her, David Bowie playing in the background, surrounded by love, with final words spoken, simple and dignified," said her daughter, Nicole Robertson, in a statement released by charity Go Gentle Australia.

"To me that is the greatest part: the knowledge that we did everything we could to make her happy in life and comfortable in death."

Who is eligible?

The state's law has 68 safeguards and is designed for people who are in severe pain.

It requires the person to make three requests to end their life to specially trained doctors. The person must be aged at least 18 and have less than six months to live.

The bill was passed in 2017 after more than 100 hours of parliamentary debate that deeply divided state lawmakers.

Ms Robertson's family said she had applied to utilise the legislation on the day it came into effect in June.

Western Australia and Queensland are considering similar laws.

In 1995, Australia's Northern Territory introduced the world's first voluntary euthanasia law, but it was overturned by federal authorities in Canberra eight months later. The federal government does not have the same power over states.

Laws allowing terminally ill patients to legally end their lives with a doctor's supervision have been passed in countries including Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-49230903

2019-08-05 02:39:30Z
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Jumat, 02 Agustus 2019

4 Australian Podcasts for Your Commute - The New York Times

Letter 118

4 Australian Podcasts for Your Commute

Aug 2, 2019

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This week’s issue is written by Isabella Kwai, a reporter with the Australia bureau.

______

I’ll admit it: I’m an anxious driver. When I’m on those seemingly never-ending stretches of road that connect towns to cities and cities to suburbs, a soothing voice goes a long way to quell the worries. So when I’m driving alone, whether to report or to play, podcasts are the perfect way to wile away the hours until the next pit stop.

There are more than a few podcasts out there these days, which led one of my colleagues to wonder if we’ve reached peak podcast. But the podcast will always have a special place in my heart and commute, and recently I’ve been making an effort to explore more Australian ones. Thanks to our readers who sent in recommendations. Here are four we rate, for whatever mood you’re in.

Did I miss your favorite? Write to me at nytaustralia@nytimes.com and let me know, or drop into our NYT Australia Facebook group.

If you’re into true crime try …

“Wrong Skin”

On the face of it, “Wrong Skin” is about an unsolved death and a missing persons case in the Kimberley, a stunning region in Australia’s northwestern corner. But it’s also a look into a forbidden relationship and the cultural values of Aboriginal Australians in a less populated part of the country. Richard Baker, an investigative reporter with The Age, goes back to the wet season of 1994, when Richard Milgin and Julie Buck, two young lovers, disappeared from the community of Looma. Only Ms. Buck’s body was found, months later.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are warned that the podcast contains names, images and audio of people who have passed away.

Where to start: Episode 1: Richard and Julie

If you’re a news junkie try …

“7am”

If you’re enjoying the New York Times podcast “The Daily,” “7am,” which follows a similar format but for Australian news of the day, is a perfect complement. Created by Schwartz Media, which publishes The Monthly and The Saturday Paper, the show is hosted by Elizabeth Kulas, an Australian journalist who talks to some of the country’s leading reporters to explain the day’s news from Australia and around the world. I’d recommend this one for your morning commute.

Where to start: Anywhere!

If you’re into pop culture try …

“Shameless”

Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrew are two Melbourne journalists who go deep on the ‘stupid stuff,’ with plenty of banter along the way. It’s a fun one for pop aficionados, its feels like chiming into a conversation between two very up-to-date friends. But as with all great pop culture discussion, “Shameless” taps into bigger themes that hide beneath and how a zeitgeist can change the way we think.

Where to start: Complicated celebrity comebacks

If you want a deep dive try …

“Wilosophy”

Who are you? What do you believe in? Do you live your life by a philosophy? Every week, the writer and comedian Wil Anderson spends an hour or so in the company of an interesting person with a simple objective: to uncover how that person lives their life. If you’re incessantly curious about the things that govern people’s decisions, this is a podcast for you. The answers are often intimate, funny and might just prompt some reflection.

Where to start: Andy Lee

______

Australia and New Zealand

Image

CreditWilliam West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Gambling Investigation Scrutinizing Xi Jinping’s High-Rolling Cousin: Australia is confronting a sprawling scandal involving Chinese money, high-stakes gambling, accusations of money laundering and special immigration favors for high-rollers — including a cousin of China’s top leader.
Chinese Nationalists Bring Threat of Violence to Australia Universities: A clash with Hong Kong supporters at a student protest in Queensland could be a dark omen of what’s to come.

Jacinda Ardern Is Tested by Construction on Land Held Sacred by Maori: An intensifying standoff between Maori groups and a construction company threatens to tarnish Ms. Ardern’s reputation on the world stage for her politics of kindness and tolerance.

The Best Movies and TV Shows New to Netflix Australia in August: Wanted to wait out the hype before seeing “A Star is Born?” Now’s your chance.

Review: Is Hannah Gadsby’s ‘Douglas’ Stand-Up? Theater? Yes, Please.: The New York Times reviews the star comedian’s new show and follow-up to “Nanette.”

Brett Whiteley Partied With Bob Dylan. Now His Life Is an Opera.: How do sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll fit into an opera? Read about the risky venture by Opera Australia that finished its run in Sydney this week.

_____

Around the Times

Image

CreditSusan Wright for The New York Times

When Trump Tweets, the Editor of ‘China’s Fox News’ Hits Back: Inside a bustling, 700-person newsroom in downtown Beijing, Hu Xijin leads a 24-hour propaganda machine. And he’s not afraid to taunt President Trump on Twitter.
Teenage Murder Suspects Vanish Into Canada’s Wilderness: Police are searching in bush, swamp and forest for two teenagers suspected of killing three people, including an Australian man. It is an optimal place to hide — and a difficult place to survive.

What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team: Surprising truths about why some work groups thrive and others falter, new research reveals.

Facebook Connected Her to a Tattooed Soldier in Iraq. Or So She Thought: Renee Holland sent her Facebook friend thousands of dollars. She became entwined in a global fraud that the social network and the United States military appear helpless to stop.

Hunting for the Real Pasta all’Amatriciana: Essentially, a page of pasta pornography, under the guise of a travel story. Do not click hungry.

______

… And Over to You

Last week, Tacey Rychter wrote about the late, beloved cookbook author Margaret Fulton, and the cultural impact she made on Australian cooking. She asked for your memories of home cooking in the 1960s and ’70s. Thanks to everyone who wrote in — there was a fascinating mix of horror and nostalgia in your responses. Here are a few choice ones:

“I recall my mother being partial to a most revolting dessert called “Jellywhip” — a mixture of jelly crystals and custard. It always seemed to be pineapple which made it even more revolting in both taste and color.”

— Jan Aminoff

“As a young adult I didn’t believe vegetables could taste nice. The worst cooking was for cabbage. It was boiled with vinegar and heavily salted for about an hour."

— James Moore

“Prior to The Margaret Fulton Cookbook, all our vegetables were cooked in a pressure cooker, which rendered them all gray in colour, texture and taste. For my brother and I, it was a bridge too far. But we were not allowed to leave the table until we’d eaten everything on our plates. So the contrast between the pre and post-Margaret Fulton eras could not have been more dramatic.”

— Judy Charlton

Are you enjoying our Australia bureau dispatches?

Tell us what you think at NYTAustralia@nytimes.com.

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Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/world/australia/4-australian-podcasts.html

2019-08-02 05:19:17Z
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Kamis, 01 Agustus 2019

Australian farmer says human orthopedic plate found in croc - Yahoo News

In this June 27, 2019, photo provided by John Lever an orthopedic plate is laid on a counter at Coowonga, Australia, after it was found inside a crocodile's stomach. Lever had been told the surgical device was from a person's body and had been contacted by relatives of missing people anxious for clues. (John Lever via AP)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian crocodile farmer who found an orthopedic plate inside a croc's stomach said Thursday that he had been told the surgical device was from a person's body and had been contacted by relatives of missing people anxious for clues.

Koorana Crocodile Farm owner John Lever found the plate inside a 4.7-meter (15-foot-5-inch) croc called M.J. during an autopsy in June at his business near Rockhampton in Queensland state.

He initially wasn't sure if the unusual find had been part of an animal or human. But he said since making photos of the plate public, he had been told it was a type used in human surgery.

Lever estimated that M.J. was 50 to 70 years old when he died. M.J. could have eaten the bone that the plate had been attached to by six screws 50 years ago, he said.

All remnants of human tissue attached to the plate had been long digested before M.J. died several months after losing a fight with another croc.

Lever later said that Queensland police had told him they had opened a missing person investigation and asked him to bring the plate to the Rockhampton station on Friday.

A police spokesman told The AP he could not comment.

Lever is continuing to make inquiries in the hope of discovering what decade the type of plate was used and perhaps who it had belonged to.

"I wouldn't call it an investigation, we're making inquiries because we're fascinated by this whole thing," Lever said. "Obviously this crocodile has chomped on something and that plate has been left in its stomach complete with screws."

Lever bought M.J. from a farmer in Innisfail, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), north of Rockhampton, six years ago. Sometime earlier, M.J. had been trapped in the wild. Crocodiles are protected in Australia and are only trapped if they are a threat to humans.

"We've had a couple of people get in touch with us about their relatives that have gone missing in the northern Queensland area and they're anxious to find out — there's been nothing heard of these people, they've just disappeared," Lever said. "We'll certainly keep these people informed of any new news that we can get."

The last fatal crocodile attack in Australia was in October when a woman was snatched while gathering mussels with her family in a waterhole in a remote part of the Northern Territory.

The last fatal attack in Queensland was a year earlier, when a 79-year-old dementia patient was killed after wandering from a nursing home at Port Douglas.

The crocodile population has exploded across the country's tropical north since the 1970s. Because saltwater crocodiles can live up to 70 years and grow throughout their lives — reaching up to 7 meters (23 feet) in length — the proportion of large crocodiles is also rising.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/australian-farmer-says-human-orthopedic-045700002.html

2019-08-01 11:59:28Z
CBMiUWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlhaG9vLmNvbS9uZXdzL2F1c3RyYWxpYW4tZmFybWVyLXNheXMtaHVtYW4tb3J0aG9wZWRpYy0wNDU3MDAwMDIuaHRtbNIBAA

Farmer finds human orthopedic plate in crocodile's stomach - Stuff.co.nz

An Australian farmer who found an orthopedic plate inside a crocodile's stomach said on Thursday he had been told the surgical device was from a human and had been contacted by relatives of missing persons anxious for clues.

Koorana Crocodile Farm owner John Lever found the plate inside a 4.7-metre croc called MJ during an autopsy in June at his business near Rockhampton in Queensland state.

He initially wasn't sure if the unusual find had been part of an animal or human. But he said since making photos of the plate public, he had been told it was a type used in human surgery.

Lever estimated that MJ was between 50 and 70 years old when he died. MJ could have eaten the bone that the plate had been attached to by six screws 50 years ago, he said.

All remnants of human tissue attached to the plate had been long digested before MJ died several months after losing a fight with another croc.

Lever is continuing to make inquiries in the hope of discovering what decade the type of plate was used and perhaps who it had belonged to.

KOORANA CROCODILE FARM/FACEBOOK
Koorana Crocodile Farm owner John Lever estimated that MJ was between 50 and 70 years old when he died.

Lever bought MJ from a farmer six years ago. Sometime earlier, MJ had been trapped in the wild. Crocodiles are protected in Australia and are only trapped if they are a threat to humans.

KOORANA CROCODILE FARM/FACEBOOK
Koorana Crocodile Farm owner John Lever found the human orthopedic plate inside a crocodile called MJ.

"We've had a couple of people get in touch with us about their relatives that have gone missing in the northern Queensland area and they're anxious to find out - there's been nothing heard of these people, they've just disappeared," Lever said. "We'll certainly keep these people informed of any new news that we can get."

The last fatal crocodile attack in Australia was in 2017, when a 79-year-old dementia patient was killed after wandering from a nursing home at Port Douglas in Queensland.

Crocodile population has exploded across the country's tropical north since the 1970s. Because saltwater crocodiles can live up to 70 years and grow throughout their lives - reaching up to 7m in length - the proportion of large crocodiles is also rising.

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https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/114689519/farmer-finds-human-orthopedic-plate-in-crocodiles-stomach

2019-08-01 06:11:00Z
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Australia's Two Leading Blockchain Advocate Groups Announce Merger - CoinDesk

Two groups seeking to promote blockchain technology in the Asia-Pacific have officially merged.

Announced July 22, the Australian Digital Currency Association (ADCA) and Blockchain Australia (BA) signed documentation that will see the two groups formally combine efforts under the BA logo and brand.

ADCA is the industry’s leading network for businesses seeking to implement blockchain solutions while BA is the industry body that represents domestic organizations participating in the crypto asset economy.

The announcement, as well as the unveiling of the group’s new logo, took place at the Annual APAC Blockchain Conference in Sydney.

Further, the news was presented by the assistant minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology, the Hon. Senator Jane Hume, demonstrating government support for the merger and future developments from the Australian blockchain community.

“I’m absolutely delighted to see that ADCA and BA have decided to merge, having a consistent and united voice advocating for the responsible adoption of blockchain technology,” Hume told attendees. “We need to recognize the potential for Australian blockchain businesses to tap into the demand that’s deriving from Asia’s growing middle class.”

The official merger was hosted by the Sydney Stock Exchange (SSX) and witnessed by directors and members from both organizations.

Nick Giurietto, CEO and managing director of BA, told CoinDesk:

“Bringing the two organizations together will allow the whole Australian blockchain community to speak more clearly and consistently to key stakeholders including governments and regulators and will strengthen the connections between all parts of the Australian blockchain ecosystem.”

“The merger of our two organizations creates a stronger and more united voice,” added Adam Poulton, director on the newly formed organization’s board.

Those involved in the new organization hope the merger will open pathways for greater opportunities and advancement in the APAC region.

Logo unveiling image via Annual APAC Blockchain Conference

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2019-08-01 04:15:00Z
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Selasa, 30 Juli 2019

Chinese Nationalists Bring Threat of Violence to Australia Universities - The New York Times

BRISBANE, Australia — The Chinese nationalists disrupting pro-Hong Kong democracy rallies at the University of Queensland arrived 300 strong, with a speaker to blast China’s national anthem. They deferred to a leader in a pink shirt. And their tactics included violence.

One video from the scene shows a student from Hong Kong being grabbed by the throat. Another shows a philosophy student, Drew Pavlou, 20, shouting, “Hey hey, ho ho, Xi Jinping has got to go,” until a counterprotester throws his megaphone aside.

The altercations, which took place last Wednesday in the main square of a major Australian university, were broken up by the police, but experts believe it could be a dark omen of what is to come as the passions of Hong Kong protesters ripple to other countries.

A similar scuffle broke out on Tuesday at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, when three Chinese men were filmed shouting down students from Hong Kong at a rally and pushing a young woman to the ground.

For Australia in particular, the past week signals trouble after years of gliding along and growing rich off China’s growth. Australian universities have come to depend on Chinese donors, students and organizations that are often loyal to Beijing and intolerant of dissent.

More collisions with China’s muscular nationalism now seem likely. Racist chants and insults have been traded, along with punches. The Chinese Consulate in Brisbane praised the “spontaneous patriotic behavior” of the pro-China activists — leading the Australian defense minister to take the extraordinary step of warning foreign diplomats against attempts to suppress free speech.

Deconstructing what led to the clashes on Wednesday, through interviews, online messages and videos, reveals just how volatile, racially charged and violent any reckoning with China may become.

“It would certainly be nice if it didn’t escalate, but I remain quite concerned that the entire way this has been handled makes copycat attacks inevitable,” said Kevin Carrico, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at Monash University in Melbourne. “It’s quite worrying.”

New activists and new causes

The protest began with two students: Jack Yiu, 21, a quiet psychology major from Hong Kong, and Mr. Pavlou, a chatty grandson of Greek immigrants from Brisbane.

Both new to activism, they didn’t know each other until a few weeks ago.

Until recently, Mr. Yiu had led the university’s Hong Kong Student Association, holding benign activities like welcome dinners. Mr. Pavlou was known on campus for starting a popular Facebook group for intellectual debate.

But recent events involving China, they said, forced them to act. Mr. Yiu said he had friends in Hong Kong marching for democracy and against a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. Mr. Pavlou said his own outrage was prompted by reading about Xinjiang, a region of China where the government has pushed minority Muslims into re-education camps.

“It’s cultural genocide,” Mr. Pavlou said.

Adding to his anger, he discovered his own university had cultivated close ties with Chinese officials. While the University of Queensland is one of several universities with a Confucius Institute — officially a program to promote Chinese language and culture — the vice chancellor, Peter Hoj, has made more of that relationship than his peers have.

The institute at the university plays a broader role, emphasizing collaboration with China in science, engineering and technology. Until late last year, Mr. Hoj was an unpaid consultant for the Confucius Institute headquarters. This month, he granted a visiting professorship to the Chinese consul general in Brisbane, Xu Jie, bringing a Communist Party official into university life at a time when the United States, Canada and several European countries have cut ties.

“It’s part of this China illiteracy, which is quite prevalent in Australia,” said Louisa Lim, a professor at the University of Melbourne and the author of “The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited.”

“In many cases,” she said, “the allure of Chinese investment and large numbers of Chinese students has been so overwhelming that educational institutions have just thrown their arms wide open without doing their due diligence.”

The University of Queensland's vice chancellor, Peter Hoj, right, with Xu Jie, the Chinese consul general in Brisbane, Australia, in a photo released by the Chinese Consulate this month. — CreditThe Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Brisbane

In a statement online, the University of Queensland said that the consul general would not be teaching and was one of 260 titleholders appointed in recent years.

But for Mr. Pavlou, who is majoring primarily in philosophy, his university’s warm welcome has legitimized a culture of disinformation and censorship. He said his anger crystallized after a student Facebook group, called StalkerSpace, filled up with pro-China statements around the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in June.

“I saw all these people denying things that happened or stating the official government line on it, and like to me, that was really disgusting and horrifying,” Mr. Pavlou said.

A recent poll of Australians’ views on foreign affairs, by the Lowy Institute, found that many Australians were experiencing a similar shift: Only 32 percent of respondents said they trust China either “a great deal” or “somewhat” to act responsibly, a 20-point fall from 2018.

Mr. Pavlou said the recent protests in Hong Kong were an inspiration. He found Mr. Yiu through other activists, and they agreed to back-to-back rallies on July 24: The Hong Kong students would start at 10 a.m.; Mr. Pavlou and his group, broadening the focus to the university’s China ties, would start at noon.

Mr. Pavlou posted a notice of the event on Facebook. That’s when the trouble started.

Counterprotesters emerge

“Yo bro where u from? Australia?” said the Facebook message from an account with the name Frank Wang. “If so u better want to stay away from political problem.”

“Cancel the event,” the message continued. “If u keep doing this, uv gonna face millions of people on your opposite side.”

Other messages were more aggressive. Mixing Chinese and English, some people called Mr. Pavlou a white pig, using a pig emoji. One comment in Chinese said: “When will you die.”

Image

CreditDrew Pavlou

Mr. Pavlou was drawn into trading insults with some of them. “It was out of fear and anger,” he said. “It was silly. I regret it.”

Nonetheless, he carried on. The first protest was uneventful. A wall filled up with sticky notes of support, mirroring those in Hong Kong. But by the time Mr. Pavlou and a few others started their protest, a crowd had gathered.

Several people there estimated that about 300 people — appearing to be a mix of Chinese students and nonstudents — appeared suddenly. Within minutes, someone had grabbed Mr. Pavlou’s megaphone, prompting him to jump up and push back.

Security guards intervened, but the leader of the counterprotesters demanded an apology on China’s behalf.

“We tried to talk to them,” Mr. Yiu said. “On the megaphone, I told them, we’re just fighting for Hong Kong democracy, not independence.”

By 2:15 p.m., it had grown tense. Mr. Pavlou, who had continued the protest inside the Confucius Institute’s offices, re-emerged to see 50 or so Hong Kong students surrounded.

Priya De, 22, a leader with the socialist group that connected Mr. Yiu and Mr. Pavlou, said she heard white Australians shouting “Go back to China” at the Chinese students, and “Deport them, deport them.”

A video shot by a Hong Kong student showed David Chui, 23, a business student from Hong Kong, being grabbed by the throat and thrown to the ground.

Christy Leung, 21, another Hong Kong student, said a sign was torn from her hands and her clothing ripped. She and Mr. Chui went to the police to press charges. They were told there was nothing they could do.

“I don’t know how to be hopeful,” Ms. Leung said. “People told me to report it and I did, but it didn’t work.”

The aftermath

Mr. Pavlou’s group is planning another protest this week. The university said that it opened an investigation into the clash, and it issued a statement defending free speech but proposing that the demonstration be held in a more remote area of campus.

“It’s simply a way to starve the protest of visibility,” Mr. Pavlou said.

Some students would rather see it canceled. A half-dozen students from mainland China interviewed around campus on Tuesday called any demonstration against Chinese influence unnecessary and useless.

Some activists on the left, noting that the Hong Kong Student Association is not involved, said they worried that any protest led by Australians who were not from Hong Kong or mainland China would only contribute to anti-Chinese racism.

But for Mr. Pavlou, Mr. Yiu, and many others, there is no turning back. A group of Tibetan students has aligned with Mr. Pavlou’s group, calling for the university to shut down its Confucius Institute.

Mr. Yiu and his fellow Hong Kong students are planning more rallies, coordinating with groups all over Australia.

“People in Hong Kong are risking their lives,” Ms. Leung said. “The threats we faced last week are nothing compared to them. We have to stand up. With them.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/world/australia/hong-kong-china-queensland-protests.html

2019-07-30 12:02:33Z
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Australian officials who helped Chinese high rollers obtain visas face probe over money-laundering claims - The Washington Post

SYDNEY — Australia’s government said Tuesday it would investigate relations between consular officials and the country’s main casino operator, Crown Resorts, after media reports alleged that organized-crime gangs from China were laundering money through its casinos in Melbourne and Perth.

In recent days, articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers asserted that Crown, which is part-owned by tycoon James Packer, the ex-fiance of singer Mariah Carey, obtained assistance from Australian consular staff to facilitate the travel to Australia of people under investigation or being monitored by police and intelligence agencies.

The reports also said that a cousin of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ming Chai, holds an Australian passport and was aboard a private jet that was searched by Australian agents in 2016 on suspicion the aircraft was involved in money laundering.

Ming, a former police official who has not responded to the reports, was a valued client of Crown known as a VVIP, or Very, Very Important Person, according to confidential Crown documents cited by the newspapers.

The Washington Post has not been able to independently verify the reports, and Ming could not be reached for comment.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Christian Porter referred the allegations to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, a body that investigates corruption in federal law enforcement agencies, including the border-control force.

“It’s my view that there are sufficient concerns to warrant further investigations,” Porter told Parliament.

A former head of the Australian Border Force, Roman Quaedvlieg, told the papers in an article published Sunday that two senior government officials had lobbied him to make it easier for wealthy Chinese gamblers to enter Australia on private jets.

Crown said Tuesday it would assist with any investigation but rejected allegations of illegality.

“We believe these allegations are ill-informed and an attempt to smear the company,” it said in a statement.

The Department of Home Affairs, which oversees the Border Force, said it offers fast-track visa processing for “a number of large international organizations.”

The allegations are proving explosive in Australia, which is grappling with an influx of wealth from mainland China that has driven up property values, generated lucrative tax revenue and raised questions about the source of the financial windfalls.

Packer, who stepped down from the board of Crown in 2018, citing mental illness, is one of the country’s most famous business executives.

Two months ago, he sold 19.9 percent of Crown, leaving him with about 26 percent of the company, which reported profits of 559 million Australian dollars — about $380 million — in the year ended that June 30, 2018. Members of Crown’s high-stakes “VIP program” wagered 52 billion Australian dollars — about $36 billion — in the same period, according to corporate filings.

Packer’s lawyer has said that Packer has not held an executive position at the company since 2012 and had a passive interest in the company.

The Law Enforcement Integrity inquiry is likely to focus on whether federal officials did anything wrong in their relations with Crown. The casino operator is primarily regulated by state authorities, which have said they are monitoring the situation but have not taken any specific action.

From 2003 to 2016, Crown had an arrangement with the government to expedite the issuance of short-term visas for gamblers. Why the arrangement ended is unclear.

An independent, anti-gambling lawmaker, Andrew Wilkie, had unsuccessfully sought a broader inquiry into the company by a parliamentary committee.

“There is clearly a need for everyone in this place to understand we have a multi-jurisdictional issue, and Crown Casino is at the center of it,” Wilkie told Parliament on Tuesday.

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2019-07-30 07:15:24Z
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