The Minister of Internal Affairs, Jack Elder, has announced the appointment of Auckland lawyer, Judith Collins, as the new Chairperson of the Casino Control Authority. She replaces Jock Irvine who has served as Chair since the Authority was established in 1990.

Mr Elder said Ms Collins, Vice President of the New Zealand Law Society, has all the qualities to make an excellent Authority Chairperson.

“She is highly experienced in commercial and property law issues, and has proved she can foster co-operation and consensus in diverse groups," he said. "She also has an understanding of cultural, racial, and other social issues which will equip her well to assess the range of issues facing the casino industry.

“Ms Collins has a very good reputation among the legal community and clearly meets the legal requirement of having at least seven years' experience as a High Court lawyer.”

Ms Collins' appointment is for three years. The final duties of the former Chairperson, Jock Irvine, will be to complete the operator’s licence hearings for Otago Casino Limited, one of the Queenstown casinos. Mr Irvine is not participating in the Hamilton casino hearings.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>