Key Points
- Josh Landis was fired as CEO of ClubsNSW on Tuesday afternoon for comments he made about the state’s premier.
- He accused Dominic Perrottet of acting “from his conservative Catholic gut” on the issue of cashless gaming cards.
- Mr Perrottet said the comment was “incredibly inappropriate and offensive to people of faith”.
The boss of the powerful NSW clubs industry body has been sacked despite apologising for bringing religion into the debate over cashless pokies.
As the government and the state’s club industry face off over , ClubsNSW chief executive Josh Landis said Dominic Perrottet had “acted from his conservative Catholic gut” on the issue.
The remark drew a visceral response from the premier, a call from the Opposition leader to resign, and an emergency meeting of the ClubsNSW board.
“After careful consideration, the Board has made the decision to end Mr Landis’ employment with ClubsNSW with immediate effect,” the board said on Tuesday afternoon.
“The Board acknowledges Josh Landis’ exemplary service to the industry over more than 15 years through some very difficult times. We genuinely wish him all the best on his future endeavours.”
Mr Landis had commented on Mr Perrottet’s commitment to mandate cashless gaming for poker machines.
“I think it’s fair to say that the premier has very little understanding of this issue and has acted from his conservative Catholic gut, rather than based on evidence,” Mr Landis said in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
Mr Perrottet said the comment was “incredibly inappropriate and offensive to people of faith” across the state.
“(The comments) are an attack on every single person of faith in our state,” he told reporters.
“We live in a tolerant state, a tolerant country, and there is no place for comments like that in a modern Australia.”
By lunchtime, Mr Landis had withdrawn the comments and privately apologised to Mr Perrottet.
“I would like to take this opportunity to unreservedly apologise publicly for any offence caused,” he said in a public statement.
Mr Landis said he was responding to a question about the premier being “so insistent” on introducing a mandatory cashless system and other gaming reforms.
The comment wasn’t premeditated or an intentional personal attack, he said.
“Rather it was a poor attempt to explain that there is a lack of evidence for the policy and the premier is a moral person who intrinsically wants to help those who are causing themselves harm.”
Before the apology, kingmaker independent MP Alex Greenwich, who has been critical of ClubsNSW, said Mr Landis’ position as chief executive was “beyond untenable and it was time for him to go”.
Later, Labor leader Chris Minns called for Mr Landis to resign.
Problem gambling has become a hot-button issue ahead of the 25 March state election, with political parties under pressure to introduce cashless gaming after a NSW Crime Commission report found billions of dollars in dirty money was being laundered through machines every year.
ClubsNSW released a code of conduct on Monday , including a ban on suspected criminals, in a bid to avert the introduction of mandatory cashless gaming cards.
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