Victorians deserve answers over whether they have been short-changed by Labor’s decision to lock in an unprecedented 40-year lottery monopoly for $220m less than it was valued at.
The Victorian Auditor-General’s report into the government’s secretive deal with The Lottery Corporation released today found “limited public transparency” of the Government’s key decisions, meaning there was little chance all integrity risks were properly tested.
Victorians were only made aware of this deal following the Lottery Corporations disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Shadow Minister for Liquor and Gaming, Tim McCurdy, said greater scrutiny of this secret deal was required.
“VAGO’s report should not be treated as a rubber stamp for Labor’s decision,” Mr McCurdy said.
“It is concerning that the Government chose a confidential negotiation with the incumbent before handing it a 40-year monopoly in a vain attempt to keep its net debt under $200 billion.
“Worse still, Victorians have been potentially shortchanged hundreds of millions of dollars because Labor did a secret deal behind closed doors.
“Victorians deserved far greater transparency before that decision was made and only the Liberals and Nationals in government will clean up the books and restore integrity and transparency to Victoria’s finances.”
