❓ A parliamentary question regarding Lotterywest's handling of a misprinted ticket incident involving Palmer Holdings, focusing on the pursuit of a criminal case against the employee and the demand for compensation. The Premier defends Lotterywest's actions and declines to investigate further.
AnsweredQoN 4667Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to Lotterywest and its dealings with Palmer Holdings in Laverton in relation to an incident of misprinted tickets that occurred on Tuesday 4 November 2008, and I ask:
(a) is the Premier satisfied that Lotterywest has done everything possible to resolve this matter to the satisfaction of all parties;
(b) given that the employee in question notified Lotterywest of his error first thing the next morning, attempted to have Lotterywest cancel the tickets, and did not profit from the error, why did the State still pursue a criminal case against the employee;
(c) why is Lotterywest demanding compensation from the Palmer family for their employee’s mistake or offence; and
(d) will the Premier undertake to fully investigate the matter and report to Parliament the results of that investigation; and
(i) if not, why not?
(a) is the Premier satisfied that Lotterywest has done everything possible to resolve this matter to the satisfaction of all parties;
(b) given that the employee in question notified Lotterywest of his error first thing the next morning, attempted to have Lotterywest cancel the tickets, and did not profit from the error, why did the State still pursue a criminal case against the employee;
(c) why is Lotterywest demanding compensation from the Palmer family for their employee’s mistake or offence; and
(d) will the Premier undertake to fully investigate the matter and report to Parliament the results of that investigation; and
(i) if not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 March 2011
Response time
27 days
Lotterywest advises the Premier:
(a) I'm satisfied that Lotterywest has done everything to resolve the matter however I'm also aware that the owner of Palmer Holdings is not satisfied with the resolution of the matter.
(b) The employee in question notified Lotterywest of his error the morning after the OZ Lotto draw in which the entries had been made took place. Prior to calling Lotterywest to request that the entries be cancelled, Lotterywest's computer records show that the tickets had been checked for winning entries. It is not possible for Lotterywest to cancel entries into any Lotto draw once the draw has taken place as it had in this instance. Given the very high value of the entries into this draw Lotterywest reported this matter to the police for investigation. On the basis of that investigation, the police determined independently that there was a case for the bringing of charges against the employee. The matter was then referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This matter then went to court and the employee in question was found guilty by the court and given a suspended sentence. Lotterywest had no role in the prosecution.
(c) Under the terms of Lotterywest's licence agreement with the licensee, if a game entry is registered in Lotterywest's gaming system the licensee is liable to account to Lotterywest for the cost of that entry, irrespective as to whether or not that entry was as a result of a negligent, wilful or unlawful act of any person. It is then for the licensee to determine how to gain redress from the employee. Lotterywest has a requirement that the licensee will ensure that a trained operator is present at all times in all retail outlets and that untrained employees will not operate the terminal unsupervised. This employee in question was not trained and it is Lotterywest's understanding that he was alone in the shop at the time that this incident occurred. As this incident resulted in a debt to Lotterywest of $345,503.80 under the Financial Management Act, Lotterywest as a Statutory Authority has no option but to take proper steps to recover this debt. Lotterywest has already sought and obtained the proper approvals to write off a significant proportion of this debt in recognition of the personal circumstances of the licensee. Palmer Holdings, who was legally represented at the time, agreed in 2009 to pay the amount outstanding. Lotterywest is acting properly in seeking Palmer Holdings advice on what their intentions are in regard to this outstanding debt.
(d) No.
(d i) I have complete confidence in the way the Board and management of Lotterywest have managed this difficult situation.
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(a) I'm satisfied that Lotterywest has done everything to resolve the matter however I'm also aware that the owner of Palmer Holdings is not satisfied with the resolution of the matter.
(b) The employee in question notified Lotterywest of his error the morning after the OZ Lotto draw in which the entries had been made took place. Prior to calling Lotterywest to request that the entries be cancelled, Lotterywest's computer records show that the tickets had been checked for winning entries. It is not possible for Lotterywest to cancel entries into any Lotto draw once the draw has taken place as it had in this instance. Given the very high value of the entries into this draw Lotterywest reported this matter to the police for investigation. On the basis of that investigation, the police determined independently that there was a case for the bringing of charges against the employee. The matter was then referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This matter then went to court and the employee in question was found guilty by the court and given a suspended sentence. Lotterywest had no role in the prosecution.
(c) Under the terms of Lotterywest's licence agreement with the licensee, if a game entry is registered in Lotterywest's gaming system the licensee is liable to account to Lotterywest for the cost of that entry, irrespective as to whether or not that entry was as a result of a negligent, wilful or unlawful act of any person. It is then for the licensee to determine how to gain redress from the employee. Lotterywest has a requirement that the licensee will ensure that a trained operator is present at all times in all retail outlets and that untrained employees will not operate the terminal unsupervised. This employee in question was not trained and it is Lotterywest's understanding that he was alone in the shop at the time that this incident occurred. As this incident resulted in a debt to Lotterywest of $345,503.80 under the Financial Management Act, Lotterywest as a Statutory Authority has no option but to take proper steps to recover this debt. Lotterywest has already sought and obtained the proper approvals to write off a significant proportion of this debt in recognition of the personal circumstances of the licensee. Palmer Holdings, who was legally represented at the time, agreed in 2009 to pay the amount outstanding. Lotterywest is acting properly in seeking Palmer Holdings advice on what their intentions are in regard to this outstanding debt.
(d) No.
(d i) I have complete confidence in the way the Board and management of Lotterywest have managed this difficult situation.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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