04/03/15
It is my considered opinion that the current catastrophic problems that have beset the racing industry via the 4 Corners expose on problems in the greyhound industry would have been severely diminished – or may not have existed at all in Queensland – if certain people in Racing Queensland had just done the job they were employed to do along the way.
In recent weeks we are used to seeing Racing Queensland executives fronting the media telling the public how “abhorrent” and “barbaric” and all the rest of it that things have been that have been exposed in the greyhound racing industry. Then Racing Queensland Integrity boss Wade Birch was “stood down” a couple of weeks ago, the inference being to the general public that we as an industry don’t muck around when things go awry – we’ll find somebody to be a scapegoat over the whole mess. You just watch us swing into action and run around closing gates after the horse has bolted. If it wasn’t so serious it would be funny.
I thought that standing down Wade Birch would be just the start of the internal Racing Queensland/State government actioning on the matter, but nothing has happened since. No one else in a senior capacity within the organisation has been stood down or sacked over an email that famously “fell through the cracks”.
I must admit that I would have thought that people in senior capacities above Wade Birch would have been sharing some of the blame for everyone cumulatively seemingly sitting around on their hands and doing absolutely nothing constructive to get out in the field in the last few years and conduct some raids on thoroughbred and harness racing stables or greyhound kennels. Blind Freddie, accompanied by a faithful Labrador and holding a white cane would surely know that everyone in Racing Queensland from the very top down the line – would know that raids would be a good way of uncovering any wrongdoing within the three codes of racing. History has proven that the only people who don’t seem to have understood that concept are those that oversee the three codes of racing.
Queensland’s TAB owned radio station RadioTAB is virtually useless to the cause of bettering racing as they do revolutionary things like banning me from being interviewed and don’t like to have anything negative said about the hallowed racing industry. Thankfully all radio stations aren’t as passive and patronizing as RadioTAB and yesterday morning on Brisbane radio station 4BC there was some interesting action.
When he came on for his show between 8.30am and noon, filling in for the day for Patrick Condren, long time respected Brisbane radio announcer and racing devotee Kim Mothershaw happily raised the recent greyhound industry problems to his audience by saying in part, “But $3million is going to be thrown at it (funding an inquiry from the State government into greyhound racing). In addition to that there’s going to be about $1.6million that will be in the form of a levy from greyhound prizemoney that will go in all sorts of odds and ends to probably try to keep people happy. That will come out of prizemoney from the good people who are in the industry. They’ll have to effectively pay for that, because it’s going to come off the top of prizemoney. So we’re doing all these things now. But I just wonder if it should have been done a long time ago? Who was asleep at the wheel here? It’s all well and good for everyone to jump up and down now and say ‘ah, but you know this is the way it was’. Let’s have a listen to what (Racing Queensland boss) Kevin Dixon had to say this morning when he was on the programme with Ian (Skippen) and Loretta (Ryan). This was earlier this morning on 4BC”.
Kim Mothershaw then played a grab from Kevin Dixon being interviewed earlier that morning and Dixon stated: “What the (Racing Queensland) investigation is starting to show us is that, ah, over time, ah, this is an activity that some trainers have, ah, have engaged in and then the authorities, ah, you know, ah, work away and manage to, ah, stamp it out, but it keeps coming back”.
So there you have it – straight from the top man at Racing Queensland. He and his merry band of men and women had live kills in the greyhound industry beaten during his reign but bugger me dead they came back at short notice, which allowed 4 Corners to video it. Gee you can be unlucky sometimes in life.
So following on from incredible readership feedback after I last week publicly displayed aspects of Racing Queensland’s operation which I took directly from their 2014 Annual Report to parliament, I decided to revisit the 2014 Annual Report to find out who could be deemed to be responsible and/or partly responsible, for possibly being more pro-active in making sure that raids were being carried out across the three codes of racing and here’s what I came up with – quoted word for word on that report.
On Page 65 of the 2014 Racing Queensland Annual Report section 9 states the following:
“Key Management Personnel
The following details for key management personnel include those positions that had authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of Racing Queensland during 2014.
Position
Responsibilities
Contract appointment authority
Date appointed to position
Chairperson
Decides the objectives, strategies and policies to be followed by Racing Queensland and ensure it performs its functions in a proper, effective and efficient way.
Appointed by the Governor In Council
1 May 2013
Member
Decide the objectives, strategies and policies to be followed by Racing Queensland and ensure it performs its functions in a proper, effective and efficient way.
Appointed by the Governor In Council
1 May 2013
Chief Executive Officer
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the ongoing management of the organisation in accordance with the strategy, policies and programs approved by the Board. Provides leadership and strategically manages the performance and services delivered through each of the corporate services areas of financial management and compliance, legal, information technology, business analysis, business services and commercial racing development.
Appointed by the board and Governor In Council
1 August 2013
General Manager, Operations
The General Manager, Operations, provides leadership and strategically manages the performance and services delivered through facilities development and maintenance and racing program management.
Appointed by the board/Chief Executive
1 May 2013
Acting Chief Executive Officer
1 Jul 13 – 31 Jul 13
Chief Financial Officer
1 Aug 13 – 30 Jun 14
The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for strategic leadership and direction over efficient, effective and economic financial administration of Racing Queensland
Appointed by the board/Chief Executive
1 May 2013
Chairman of Stewards
Chairman of Stewards responsible for the efficient delivery of licensing, stewarding and integrity services, including veterinarians and swab officials and operational stewarding throughout the state and is responsible for policy, strategy and performance under these areas, management of the complaints system and investigations as required, and maintaining the interaction with various levels of government. Other responsibilities include the effective delivery of betting analysis and monitoring of all Queensland TAB races.
Appointed by the board/Chief Executive
1 May 2013
I leave readers to decide what senior personnel within Racing Queensland they think could be held accountable for recent problems that have been unearthed in the Queensland greyhound industry.
Today on www.brisbaneracing.com.au there’s the first of two montages of photos from Doomben last Saturday. On www.sydneyracing.com.au there’s a harness story, whilst on www.melbourneracing.com.au Matt Nicholls takes an early look at the Newmarket.