An influential group of Australian Turf Club members is behind a petition to remove current chairman Peter McGauran over his handling of the Rosehill proposal.
A letter from long-time ATC member Errol Chant was sent to the ATC board on September 3 calling for McGauran’s resignation.
In the wake of this, a member-led petition, supported by the Save Rosehill group, is now being compiled to bring on a vote to remove McGauran from the ATC Board.
In order to bring on a vote, the members would require the signatures of five per cent of the ATC’s estimated membership of 12,000.
The ATC would have up to two months, but perhaps as short as 21 days, to convene a general meeting, where a majority vote of those present would be sufficient to remove McGauran as a director.
McGauran announced the $5 billion plan to close, redevelop and sell off Rosehill with NSW Premier Chris Minns last December.
The cash-strapped club is now going through a NSW government process to identify the opportunity and do due diligence.
McGauran has always insisted that the members would get the final vote on the propose once that process is completed.
However, this has not assuaged those opposed to the idea, which included the powerful Save Rosehill group, led by syndicator and owner Jason Abrahams.
Save Rosehill feels the testimony during the recent Select Committee public hearings into Rosehill has undermined faith in McGauran’s leadership.
“The overwhelming sentiment I have received is that Mr McGauran’s position is now untenable,” Abrahams said.
“Members were already alarmed to learn from documents tabled in the NSW Upper House that the ATC leadership were drafting a press release announcing the sale of Rosehill Gardens before the ATC board were even informed of the proposal.
Bren O’Brien
“The most recent hearing not only confirmed that his proposed alternative – a racetrack built around the Brickpit at Sydney Olympic Park – was fanciful, but also that in the six months since the plan was first publicly mooted, the ATC has not even engaged with Sydney Olympic Park Authority to investigate its feasibility.
“Frankly, the ATC’s leadership is publicly embarrassing the club, and it is time for a change of leadership.”
The Upper House Select Committee inquiry also heard that Racing New South Wales requires the ATC to identify and secure an alternate venue for a racecourse should Rosehill be closed.
The possibility of that happening at the Brickpit site, supported by both the ATC and Racing NSW, seems slim after Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) CEO Carla Armanet said it would be difficult to envision a racecourse on that Homebush land.
“The evidence plainly shows that there is no viable alternative if Rosehill were to be sold for development, and we know that first-class racing in metropolitan Sydney cannot survive without a second Group 1-quality track alongside Royal Randwick,” Abrahams said.
“The ATC leadership have had almost a year to convince members of the merits of selling the club’s most important asset, and their continued inability to articulate a credible plan is shockingly amateur.
“It is no wonder they cancelled the remainder of their member consultation program.
“It is clear to us that Mr McGauran has lost the confidence of the majority of ATC members, and should be removed as Chair.”
