ASIC takes action on Prime Retirement Property Trust

It is interesting to read that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has taken action against the directors of the trustee of The Prime Retirement and Aged Care Property Trust. The core of the ASIC case is that the directors failed to act in the best interest of members of the trust when they paid an excessive fee to entities associated with directors.

In a press release ASIC said "Central to ASIC's action is the duty of officers of responsible entities to act in the best interest of the members of the scheme and to refrain from making improper use of their position as an officer to cause detriment to the members of the scheme."

If ASIC mean what they say then the four trustees of the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund in 2004 are in big trouble. John Kemmedy, former Chairman of City Tatts, and the other three trustees set up an arrangement where the Fund paid annual fees to their own company, Super Promoters. And this arrangement was obviously detrimental to the members of the Fund since it provided no benefit for the fees paid.

It can only be a matter of time before ASIC takes action against the four.


Save City Tatts Committee

City Tatts Lame Duck Chairman

Case 1 - 2004

City Tatts CEO Tony Guilfoyle took $200,000 of Club funds, without the knowledge or permission of the Committee. This was discovered by the auditor, KPMG, in 2011 and, among other things, is currently under investigation by the Department of Liquor, Gaming and Racing.


Case 2 - 2011

As a result of a complaint to the Anti Discrimination Board, the President of that board referred the matter of Tony Guilfoyle aiding and abetting racial vilification to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal for hearing. This matter was settled before the final court hearing with a payout by the Club to the victim. The cost to the Club for legal fees and payout was in excess of $50,000. The Club Chairman, Pat Campion, has stated that he has no knowledge of this payout.


These two cases of Tony Guilfoyle using Club funds for his own benefit, without the knowledge and permission of the Committee, took place seven years apart. This raises the very obvious question - how many other times during that period has he used Club funds for his personal benefit? And why does Patrick Campion tolerate it?


We have access to the relevant documantation that proves the misuse of Club funds by Tony Guilfoyle in both these cases, as well as other cases, and so does Mr Campion.

Over to you, Pat



Save City Tatts Committee 

All In The Timing

Guilfoyle and Campion are running out of time in their pursuit to sell off City Tattersalls Club

They are currently under investigation so they have to fasttrack the process. Their latest destruction strategy is to hold out on paying even the smallest creditors and not replace employees who continue to form a long line to leave the Club. They hope this will speed up the decline to justify that the sell-off is the only option for members.

These two destroyers will put a plan to members under the guise of "saving the club". Campion continues to aid and abet Guilfoyle's "questionable" irregularities by repeatedly covering them up and the $64m question is "will the expanded investigations into the Club, the Committee, Guilfoyle, Kennedy and Campion be finalised before they can put the sell-off to members?

"The biggest single threat to the survival of our Club is the activities of ... Campion and Guilfoyle" - Pat Campion's message to members (slightly modified by the Save City Tatts Committee to reflect the truth)


Save City Tatts Committee

Spare a thought for Mark Cooper!

City Tatts CEO Tony Guilfoyle has two "alibi's-on-call" - Jan Elks and Mark Cooper.

Although Cooper's alibi duties might seem attractive, destinations like Hamilton Island and the Snowy Mountains, the reality is different.

When Cooper attends these Guilfoyle/Purdy getaways he is still required to bring along his computer and put in a 8 hour day. He is put under pressure by Guilfoyle to cover for him both recreationally and professionally. Cooper comes back from these trips needing a holiday himself!

Jan Elk's alibi duties, more often than not, only cover for Guilfoyle up until 9pm, although there have been some midnighters.

While Cooper is referred to by some staff as Guilfoyle's "pet dog", because of the ongoing bullying, it should be noted that even pets can turn on their masters under certain circumstances.

Every dog has his day, Mr Guilfoyle!

Save City Tatts Committee

Round Table (Re)Treat at Boonoona Ski Lodge !

It became obvious this week who wears the pants in the Guilfoyle/Campion relationship. After being directed by Campion to cancel the Melbourne jaunt because it was highlighted in the Herald article, Guilfoyle blatantly defied Campion and went on his own Round Table Retreat to Boonoona Ski Lodge for the past week (at the Club's expense) so that he wasn't deprived of the valuable time he had earmarked to spend with Tania Purdy.

To give this junket credibility Guilfoyle dragged along the Marketing Manager and the Financial Controller. By the way, the total salaries of these for absent employees is over $1 million per annum. (It should be remembered that Guilfoyle took Mark Cooper and The Hyphenator to Hamilton Island last year as his alibi for his holiday with Tania.)

How Campion tolerates this contempt is a mystery (one of many in City Tatts!) and again raises a number of questions. Over the last few weeks Campion has steadfastly defended Guilfoyle in a number of areas and this is how he is rewarded.

By failing to stand up to Guilfoyle, Campion is proving to be not only a disgrace to the Club but an embarassment to the memory of his late father John who was held in the highest regard by the Club and it's members. 

Footnote

For those (valued?) staff members who are not up to speed with staff terminology, T1/T2, Ken and Barbie, Bill and Monica and TG/TP are one and the same (or should that be two and the same?)



Save City Tatts Committee

City Tattersalls Club - AGM 2012

City Tattersalls Club held it's Annual General Meeting on 22nd May 2012 and a number of very interesting issues arose at the meeting, at least to those who carefully observe everything about the Club.

Financial Questions from members
The main part of the meeting consisted of financial questions from members. That's good because it is the only part where any real information is given to the meeting. The Chairman's and Treasurer's reports basically consist of weak excuses to explain the Club's poor management, with very little useful information.

Before we look at some specific issues we have to highlight something that the Chairman, Patrick Campion, told the meeting before he got on to the questions. He said that the Club would answer financial questions as required by the Club's rules but was only obliged to answer questions if the disclosure was required by the Registered Clubs Act. This is totally false. There is no connection between the requirement to answer members' financial questions at a meeting and the disclosures required by the Registered Clubs Act. The requirement to answer financial questions is contained in the Club's Rules attached to the City Tattersall's Club Act. Even if there was no Registered Clubs Act, the Club would still have to answer financial questions at meetings according to it's own rules ! 

Campion is a solicitor. So whether he deliberately tried to deceive members, or just has no idea, we can't say for sure. Here, at Save City Tatts, we are not solicitors but we spent five minutes looking at this and the legal position is clear. How could a solicitor not know ?

Radio Advertising
One of the very interesting facts to emerge from financial questions was that radio advertising cost $246,000 in 2011. This is interesting because when members asked a few years ago it was $500,000 and a few years before that it was $900,000 (yes, $900,000 in one year, that is not a misprint).

We have known for a long time that the money spent on radio advertising was a disgraceful waste of members' funds but in their own roundabout way the Club has now basically admitted this. Just consider a few basic facts about radio advertising at City Tatts:

1. City Tatts used to spend $900,000 a year on radio advertising but once members started asking questions about it the amount has dropped every year. This makes no sense. If it was money well spent it would make no difference whether members asked about it or not. Clearly, the scrutiny from members exposed it for the fraud it always was.
2. Every time members asked about it, management have always assured them that it was successful, that they were pleased with it, that it was effective etc. etc. The problem is that the same answers were given whether they were spending $900,000, $500,000 or $246,000. It is not possible that spending $900,000 or $246,000 is equally valuable. If spending $900,000 was bringing great benefits to the Club, then they are making a big mistake today in only spending $246,000. If spending $246,000 is enough, then the excess $654,000 was a disgraceful waste. Either they were lying back then or they are lying now.
3. In any case, it is clear from listening to the answers at the AGM that management have no idea if radio advertising brings any benefit to the Club. Any club that spends $900,000 on anything should be able to clearly demonstrate the benefit to the club or else you don't spend it !
4. Apart from the nonsense "explanations" provided by management, it is obvious to members that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on radio advertising is a complete waste of members' money. Here is our simple suggestion: Cancel all radio advertising today and give the money directly to members in door prizes, free drinks and subsidised meals. This would have ten times the promotional impact.

194 Pitt Street
194 Pitt Street is always of interest to us (and should be of interest to all members who care about their club) because it has been a financial disaster from the day it was bought in 2007 and nothing has changed since. Questions at the meeting reminded us of a few issues about the building.

Campion told the meeting that 194 Pitt Street "completely complies with all fire regulations". We are not sure what to make of this answer. Our sources have always told us that the building does not comply with fire regulations. So who is right? Well, remember that only one floor of the building has ever been renovated for use by members - the other seven floors are vacant (or "used for storage"). Maybe 194 Pitt Street "complies with all fire regulations" as it is currently used - that is, using the ground floor only. And, in this scenario, the other seven floors comply as long as they are not used by members. This may be the explanation - members need to find out more about this.

Another subject that caught our eye was the valuation of the building. One member asked what the current valuation was (a very good question). Jimmy Chen's answer was that 194 Pitt Street was regarded as "core property" of the Club ("core property" is a term from the Registered Clubs Act) and was therefore included in the Club's total premises valuation of $63 million. That is very convenient for management because it allows them to hide the disaster from members. But, hold on. National Australia Bank only has a mortgage over 194 Pitt St - they have no mortgage over the rest of the premises. Well, if that's their only security, they must have a valuation of the building. Maybe Jimmy Chen could ask them what it is and pass it on to the member who asked the question.

Save City Tatts Committee


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Unsolved Mysteries at the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund

After all the publicity in the papers there is still one thing that remains a mystery in the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund and that is the role of Keith Free.

Keith Free and the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund

For those of you who don't know, Keith Free was the Treasurer of City Tatts for 19 years until he retired in 2009.

The more interesting fact is that he also ran the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund for a long time before it became a Public Offer fund in 2004. (The BSF office was located on the second floor of City Tattersalls Club.)

Then John Kennedy came along!

As the whole world now knows (as a result of coverage in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Financial Review) in 2004 there were big changes in the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund.

John Kennedy (Committee member, and later Chairman, of City Tatts) set up a company called Super Promoters Pty Ltd to get fees from the BSF. He did this, by the way, while he was a Trustee of the fund. This nifty little scheme eventually made $11 million for him, and the other three amigos, by the time they sold it to Diversa in 2009.

Here is the real mystery of the Bookmakers Superannuation Fund

Given the amount of money made from the scheme (at the expense of members) you would think that Keith Free must have had strong feelings about it, either for or against.

Since he built up the Bookmakers Superannuation over a long time you might expect him to be totally opposed to what Kennedy had done. But that is not the case:

1. He obviously knew about the Super Promoters scheme and no member ever heard him say anything against it.
2. He worked very closely with John Kennedy on the Committee of City Tattersalls Club especially when John Kennedy became Chairman.
3. He was the Treasurer of City Tatts when the City Tattersalls Staff Super Fund was rolled into the Bookmakers Super Fund (which meant that every member of the City Tatts fund started to pay fees to Kennedy).
4. He was an Employer Representative on the policy committee of the BSF after the Super Promoters scheme was set up.

So he certainly was not against the scheme.

But if he approved of it why did he not insist on his share of the profits?



Save City Tatts Committee

An Open Letter to Mr Patrick Campion

Dear Sir,

In your recent correspondence sent to staff on Tuesday August 7 you refer to staff at City Tatts as Valued Staff Members.

Valued Staff Members?

These are the same valued staff members who don't get a regular roster until a couple of days before the shifts are to start. This is despite repeated requests for rosters to be passed to staff in advance on many, many occasions.

These are the same valued staff members that you and your executive team headed by Guilfoyle thanked last Christmas for an entire years work with a tiny cup cake (which staff had to sign for).

These are the same valued staff members who were not paid public holiday rates, as award requirements dictate, during public holidays over Christmas last year and early this year.

The same valued staff members who only got paid their public holiday rates when they complained about not being paid.

The same valued staff members who don't receive any overtime, even when colleagues are sick or indisposed.

The same valued staff members who are expected to work full shifts with no support often on their own when fellow staff do not show up for shifts.

The same valued staff members who thought you looked like a rabbit trapped in a spotlight when delivering you spiel about the recent newspaper articles.

The same valued staff members who don't believe a word you say!


Signed
The Valued Staff Members Group, City Tattersalls Club

City Tatts are saving costs !!

First there was the cancelled holiday to Melbourne for the committee, executive staff, Ms Purdey and Mr Guilfoyle (that Guilfoyle-Purdey has a ring to it, doesn't it?). Then there was the stripping back of poker machine staff.

In a business that has declining membership revenue and massive losses in all restaurants, that is wholly and solely dependent on gaming revenue, what do they do?  Cut back on poker machine technicians of course !

Now if you are unsure what the issue is here, a poker machine technician is the person who ensures that poker machines are working to full capacity. They are what a motor mechanic is to a car dealership or what a pastry chef is to a bakery. They are as important as the battery in a battery operated torch or the gas in a gas lamp.

Now that we have painted the picture we can advise that Guilfoyle has cut back on technician hours. It is not clear whether he was advised to do so or decided on this foolhardy initiative on his own.

Come to think of it, he must have decided on this himself because it fits in with every other foolish idea he has come up with while he has held office at City Tatts.

Consider the facts:

• Pokies deliver in excess of $20,000,000 revenue yearly to City Tatts club.
• Technicians work for average wages and keep the machines working at all times the Club is open.
• Guilfoyle delivers nothing except heartache and bad decisions while receiving in excess of $500,000 in wages.

The Solution

• Replace Guilfoyle with two technicians and a CEO on a wage more in keeping with a fair wage for managing a registered club. For this swap City Tatts would ensure their only "cash cow" was working to maximum capacity and better decisions would be made, not to mention less staff turnover, improved staff morale, happier members and a club not for sale! All this for $250,000, representing a saving of over $300,000!

Sounds like a good idea to us - and we are sure it will sound like a good idea to most.



Miss Management