The new Chair of The Star has conceded that the group is not fit to hold a Sydney casino license currently but that the company could “be transformed and possibly within six months”.
According to reports, Anne Ward indicated to a New South Wales special inquiry, known as Bell Two, that despite previous comments that management of the company had been “fairly dysfunctional” there had been improvements since July of 2023.
Ward says she now aims to have an “open and honest and constructive relationship with the relevant regulators.”.
Ward has replaced former Chair David Foster, who was ousted over the weekend following his testimony to the NSW inquiry which included mentions of the company “prepping for war” with regulators – in reference to the first Bell Inquiry into its suitability to hold a license.
Quoted by media, another director at The Star, Deborah Page, agreed that the company had alienated the regulator and that it should have been clearer in its communication regarding necessary areas of improvement.
