Only in Australia

Hearing someone from the PMU accuse the private betting industry of being money launderers reminds me of the time I went in to see the Australian Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop, seen by some as Australia's answer to Margaret Thatcher.

I was living in Australia, trying to get Betfair a licence to operate out there (which we eventually succeeded in doing). Ms. Bishop said in parliament that we might be a front for Al Qaeda to launder money, and our lobbyists secured a meeting a few days later so that I might meet her face-to-face.

I followed my advisor, the former Liberal Party Treasurer Michael Yabsley, into the room, looking terribly English in a double-breasted suit.

"Well Bronnie..." said Michael as we walked in. "Let me introduce Mark Davies to you. I made sure he left his turban at the door."