Rebel director John Kanga concedes his bid to spill the Melbourne Racing Club board is unlikely to happen before the MRC’s annual general meeting.
Amid accusations from a rival MRC faction of a power grab, Kanga says stalling tactics have thwarted his attempt to call a special general meeting of the embattled club.
Kanga has already been exploring his legal options since he filed a motion for a special general meeting with the backing of high-profile owners Rupert Legh and Colin McKenna.
“I have certain levers I can push, being legal levers,” Kanga told The Straight.
“But if we have to go through an annual general meeting first, I’ll work with the two people who get elected.
“And I am totally certain that they will support the three agenda items - or the three mandate items - that I want to confirm.”
Asked about the chances of a special general meeting being held before the club’s AGM on September 26, Kanga said: “They are slim, but we’re hopeful.
“But we’re happy to go to an AGM, it’s not a problem.”
Voting in the election for MRC board candidates opens on September 10 and closes on September 24 ahead of the club’s AGM two days later.
Bren O’Brien
As it stands, two board spots will be decided by a voting process with chairman Matt Cain retiring and Mark Pratt up for re-election.
A backlash against Caulfield’s new mounting yard facility has been a tipping point for a members’ revolt.
Built for $60 million as part of the first stage of a Caulfield redevelopment, the functionality of the mounting yard has attracted widespread criticism.
Plans to replace the glass-front Rupert Clarke grandstand with a new $250 million pavilion-type building and a potential sale of Sandown racecourse are also issues at the heart of Kanga’s bid for change.
But in a letter to members last week, Cain said Kanga was using the contentious redevelopment to secure a membership vote for a rule change that would “put all power in his hands and those who back him”.
Bren O’Brien
The MRC executive committee claims Kanga and the Save Our MRC group has been operating outside the usual boundaries of an election process to oust six board members and have them replaced with a reform ticket.
The motion also proposes to amend the eligibility requirements to join the board from three years to six months.
“Let’s be clear, the proposed SGM is not about voting on the location of the Caulfield mounting yard, the Caulfield master plan and grand pavilion, or the future of racing at Sandown Racecourse,” Cain said in his letter.
“Mr Kanga’s faction’s motion for the proposed meeting is to take control of the club by asking members to vote to approve amendments to the club rules to allow the appointment of a block of Mr Kanga’s associates to a majority of the seats on the committee outside of the normal election process.
“There is no legal obligation for the (special) meeting to be called this week.
“The MRC belongs to all of its members, and we will pursue every avenue to protect your rights and the democratic governance that underpins them.”
Cain said the MRC board was already dealing with the three key issues that Kanga had raised.
He told the membership a review of the mounting yard operations would be held after the spring carnival, saying it wasn’t feasible to do it any earlier because of the club’s racing commitments.
Demolition of the existing grandstand had been put on hold, and a rezoning plan for Sandown had nothing to do with selling the racetrack, he said.
But Kanga said his motivation to act now had nothing to do with circumventing the board election process.
“The reason why I wanted it to be done as quickly as possible is because it is costing the club thousands and thousands of dollars in unnecessary expenses,” he said.
“Members aren’t interested in the politics of the club. They just want to be heard and they want the club to be transparent and united.
“Yes, this is unprecedented but it’s unprecedented that a board could waste $160 million of members’ money.
“Henceforth, the urgency and the seriousness of the matter. So it is absolutely not a power grab.
“All the conditions, based on (the club’s) constitution, have been satisfied.
“All the committee has to do is book a date for a special general meeting, allowing the members the democratic right to vote.
“And the vote is not a populist vote.”
The MRC board battle comes as a Sandown Racecourse Advisory Committee assesses a redevelopment proposal for the racecourse’s land.
A hearing was opened on August 19 and is scheduled to run until September 16 before a report is handed to the State Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny in November.
The MRC board says a vote of members will decide if Sandown is sold.
