Failing the vet check: RV can’t mark its homework on Robertson-Smith own goal

Comment: Given the messy circumstances of the departure of the previous chief veterinary officer, you would think there would have been an extra emphasis from Racing Victoria boss Aaron Morrison and his executive team to get the key appointment right this time around.

Instead, Morrison and RV have found themselves in the embarrassing situation of having announced Dr Glenn Robertson-Smith as the regulator’s chief vet, only to reverse the decision 24 hours later and withdraw the offer after it was confirmed the preferred candidate had been charged at one point with threatening a race club official.

It seems extraordinary that nobody at RV took the trouble to further research Robertson-Smith’s history with a simple Google search and discover earlier media coverage of a 2018 incident involving former Melbourne Racing Club executive Jake Norton.

To have not taken the trouble that Betsy journalist Paul Tatnell did of digging enough to find that Robertson-Smith was subsequently charged with “using a carriage service to menace or harass” Norton in a series of phone calls, seems equally as jarring.

Robertson-Smith escaped without a criminal conviction, receiving a diversion order from the Magistrates’ Court on the charges. It was a bizarre incident, made even stranger by the fact that Robertson-Smith had not even met Norton.

There will be arguments made that much water has passed under the bridge in the intervening eight years and that Dr Robertson-Smith’s long career in the thoroughbred industry should be given weight when compared to any criminal matters.

That is something Morrison and his executive team, including Jamie Stier, should have weighed up when making an appointment, had they known the full nature of the matter.

It would appear that, in Morrison’s case at least, there was no knowledge of the scope of that incident involving Robertson-Smith, despite the fact that Morrison started at RV in 2017.

What Stier, who joined RV around the same time as the charges came to light, knew about the situation is yet to be determined, but The Straight does not believe it was discussed at any stage of the recruitment for the chief veterinary officer role.

Robertson-Smith was not a licensed person in Victoria at the time, and the requirement for stable vets to have permits was only introduced subsequently, so, as per when the charges were laid and Robertson-Smith fronted court, there was no scope for RV to act.

Also, given he was not convicted, any police check typical of such appointments would not have turned up anything of note.

However, it does somewhat beggar belief that in a world as insular and rumour-strewn as the Victorian racing industry, a criminal matter involving a high-profile vet and a relatively prominent club racing executive wouldn’t have come to RV’s attention.

At least enough that when Robertson-Smith’s name came up in dispatches for the chief vet role, it warranted a second look, or a Google search.

Let’s not forget that Stier is general manager of integrity services, so he has plenty of investigative resources at his disposal should he choose to use them.

That situation is exacerbated by the fact that the person being appointed would be responsible for a key arm of the state’s integrity in racing, leading a team of regulatory veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and swabbing officials who officiate at 530 race meetings annually.

The successful candidate would also oversee RV’s anti-doping program and deliver a range of non-raceday welfare initiatives.

It may be stating the obvious, but integrity is everything in integrity.

This wasn’t any administrative role. It was one of the most important at 400 Epsom Rd in terms of the industry’s integrity.

It is also relevant that the previous person in the role’s term ended acrimoniously. Morrison, Steir and at least one other executive faced a Fair Work Commission inquiry into bullying allegations levied by Dr Grace Forbes.

In the end, that action was abandoned, and a settlement was reached with Forbes, but the painful nature of her departure, which saw her take personal leave for the final six months of her long period in the role, made the next appointment especially important.

There is also an argument that the circumstances of her departure warranted at least an external review of how RV executives deal with significant human resources issues.

There is said to be genuine frustration at senior executive level with the multiple points of failure in the Robertson-Smith appointment. There are now promises of significant internal scrutiny.

But is that enough? Given that it involved a crucial integrity role, to restore faith in RV’s appointment processes, any review should at least involve some external parties and definitely include members of the RV board, who were informed of the appointment but were not required to sign off on it.   

The nature of the whole palaver should also draw the attention of the state’s racing integrity commissioner, Terrie Benfield.

This story is no longer about Robertson-Smith and his suitability for the role. Morrison made his position clear on that with his rapid reversal on Tuesday.

It is now about RV’s processes and whether they are fit for purpose. Given that, the regulator can not be seen to investigate itself.