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April 3rd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The scandal surrounding Sydney’s casino, The Star, has claimed the scalp of the NSW premier’s communications director, who resigned just hours after giving evidence at an inquiry into the sacking of former Star boss Sid Vaikunta.
Peter Grimshaw tendered his resignation to Premier Barry O’Farrell on Tuesday afternoon, after almost two days in the witness box at the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry in Sydney.
Mr Grimshaw and his partner have been accused of mounting a campaign against The Star and Mr Vaikunta, who was sacked in February amid sexual harassment allegations.
Both former employees at the casino, Mr Grimshaw’s partner is one of two women who have accused Mr Vaikunta of sexual harassment.
On Monday, Mr Grimshaw dragged Mr O’Farrell into the messy scandal, after a series of texts from 2010 discussing Mr O’Farrell’s desire to “smash” the casino were read out at the ILGA inquiry.
Answering questions in parliament on Tuesday, Mr O’Farrell said he had no recollection of a conversation in which he is alleged to have told Mr Grimshaw that The Star needed “a wake-up call”.
However, he revealed that Mr Grimshaw had tendered his resignation on Tuesday afternoon – shortly after he had finished giving evidence at the inquiry being held on the other side of the city.
“Shortly before question time today I had a telephone conversation with Peter Grimshaw in which he offered his resignation – a resignation I accepted with regret,” Mr O’Farrell said.
The premier also tabled the findings of an inquiry conducted by the director-general of his department, Chris Eccles, into claims Mr Grimshaw breached the staffers’ code of conduct by forwarding an email from the premier to his partner.
Mr Grimshaw agreed to stand down at the beginning of March while Mr Eccles conducted his inquiry, which was unrelated to The Star or the sexual harassment allegation made by Mr Grimshaw’s partner against Mr Vaikunta.
The premier revealed that Mr Eccles found “the breach of the code was unambiguous, material and serious”.
“The director-general said in his view … the options available are either to terminate Mr Grimshaw’s employment or a first and final warning that a further breach will result in termination,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“Whilst I’m disappointed, I do appreciate Mr Grimshaw has done the right thing.”
The state opposition has accused the premier of colluding with Mr Grimshaw in his campaign against the casino in the wake of the texts sent in 2010 produced by lawyers for The Star during Mr Grimshaw’s evidence.
At the time of the texts, Mr O’Farrell was the state’s opposition leader, and Mr Grimshaw was still employed by the casino.
The first text, sent from Mr Grimshaw to his partner on August 21, said: “I just told Barry what a dick Sid is. He said we might all have to give Star a wake-up call when I leave.”
The other two, on November 8, read: “Barry just texted me. He is at the Leonard Cohen concert.
“Not even sure why he texted. Just asked me if I was out yet. I think they are going to smash Star.”
Mr O’Farrell told parliament: “I don’t recall any conversation I had with Grimshaw about those matters”.
“I stand by my record in government,” he said.
“Because when we put our mind to it, we can smash people.
“And yet … in the more than 12 months we have been in office, we have not taken a single adverse decision about The Star casino.
“So much for the conspiracies.”
Opposition Leader John Robertson, who raised a failed censure motion against the premier in the lower house on Tuesday, said the premier had to front the casino inquiry.
“We know from the evidence that’s come out of the … inquiry that the premier has been up to his neck in this whole scandal, and at some point, the premier needs to come clean with the people of NSW as to exactly what his involvement was,” Mr Robertson said.
Louise Marshall, the human resources manager for Echo Entertainment Group, The Star’s parent company, told the inquiry that alcohol had played a part in the difficult and acrimonious internal investigation.
“They were complex complaints and they were difficult to identify the truth in.
“There was a degree of alcohol present … in the circumstances of the allegations.”
The investigation turned ugly when Mr Grimshaw’s partner started threatening to go to the media, Ms Marshall said.
“Complaint number two did stand out … as being the most difficult and acrimonious complainant I’ve ever dealt with in my career,” she said.
“It did get at times to the situation where I was just saying black, she was saying white.”
She said she wasn’t aware Mr Grimshaw and his partner were in a relationship, because she “projected she was married” and wore a wedding ring.
“Why was that a concern to you as an employer, Ms Marshall?” Gail Furness SC, who heads the inquiry, asked.
“Because she was sending sensitive business information … to an unknown person.”
Ms Marshall said the woman was sacked in February after it became clear she had accepted another job, was passing on emails to Mr Grimshaw and had lied about going on a holiday to Bali with him.
The inquiry continues.
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