The significant political scrutiny placed on the Racing NSW board this year has not convinced Racing Minister David Harris of the need to make any changes, with the terms of directors Michael Crismale and Garry Charny extended.
Crismale’s three-year term and Charney’s two-year term were both set to expire on Thursday, with Harris confirming with a day to spare that both men will remain on the Racing NSW board, Crismale for another two years and Charny for another one.
“I look forward to continuing working with both members and the Board of Racing NSW,” the brief statement from Harris read.
Harris established a selection panel and called for expressions of interest for the two potential vacancies in September.
It is a different feel to the tumultuous end to Russell Badling’s reign as chairman at this time last year.
In that case, Harris had sought to extend Balding’s term on the board to 14 years by amending legislation. But when the opposition and crossbench MPs placed amendments on that bill to place greater scrutiny on Racing NSW, Harris abandoned it at the last moment.
That meant Balding, who had been chairman for seven years, made a hasty exit, with Saranne Cooke appointed by Harris as chair after a selection panel recommendation.
Former Racing Minister Kevin Greene was appointed to the board in February, filling the vacancy left by Balding. Greene had previously served on the board from 2011 until 2018 and his appointment was heavily criticised by Thoroughbred Breeders NSW chairman Hamish Esplin.
“I have not met Kevin Greene, and I have not met (newly elected chair) Saranne Cooke at all, so this is not a personal comment on their skills,” Esplin told The Straight in February.
“But we have just gone through several months of very public statements about the role of corporate governance of Racing NSW and the involvement of government in the decision-making as to what goes on there, in respect to leadership.”
George Souris was then appointed as vice chair in April and had his term on the board extended until 2028. This wasn’t announced publicly at the time, but Souris’ bio on the Racing NSW website was updated.
The Select Committee inquiry into the Rosehill proposal saw several members of the Racing NSW board and executive feature in public hearings.
On August 9, the same day as Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys and chief operating officer Graeme Hinton appeared, Charny also spoke before the bipartisan committee.
In his evidence, Charny, who is a corporate advisor and investor, said that the $1 million delegations in place in terms of discretionary legal spend by V’landys and his executive team, were "broad" and could do with a review.
Charny said his personal view was that greater scrutiny and oversight on Racing NSW would be a positive outcome.
“I fear no light being shined in the dark corners,” he said.
Bren O’Brien
Racing NSW chair Cooke then appeared in front of the committee on September 12.
She defended the financial delegation up to $1 million which V’landys had, saying it had been in place for at least nine years and “was a bit low” considering Racing NSW’s turnover was over $400 million.
“The management, including the CEO, is responsible for implementing the strategic direction and the policies that we set. And he always reports at every board meeting through what we call a bulletin,” Cooke said at the time.
“It's a thick pack of pages on every departmental report, including the decisions that have been made. So we have full oversight of the decisions that are made within delegation.”
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Cooke described V'landys as an 'exceptional leader’ and said the Racing NSW board unanimously agreed that V'landys is the best person to be chief executive.
After 12 months of scrutiny, just one of the seven Racing NSW board positions has changed hands, Balding out and Greene in.
Charny and Tony Shepherd are up for renewal in December 2025, while Simon Tuxen’s four-year term ends in December 2026.
Bren O’Brien
