Talking Heads.

[A]

"O'Farrell Decides, but Packer's Man Has Last Word", says Sean Nicholls, from Fairfax Media, in exclusive note published today.

I don't think Nicholls' note needs much comment:

"A senior executive at James Packer's Crown Limited was allowed to rewrite a media release before it was issued by the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, announcing initial government backing of the company's plans for a $1 billion hotel and casino at Barangaroo."

Spokesmen for NSW premier O'Farrell and Crown did not deny the fact, but declined to say whether O'Farrell had personally approved the rewritten version of the release. There was "nothing unusual" about this, which is a "common practice", they said.

The revelation comes after Fairfax published last November "that strict guidelines for when the government could bypass a competitive-tender process for major projects were watered down shortly before Mr Packer put forward his plan."

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What is it people say about governments being independent arbiters? Something related to the Road to Serfdom, maybe?

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