Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys has confirmed he has been requested to appear before the Select Committee into the Proposal To Develop Rosehill Racecourse, with the likelihood he will be asked to provide evidence at both private and public hearings.
V’landys and the role of Racing NSW were a major topic of discussion on the first day of public hearings in the Upper House inquiry on Monday. His name appears 24 times in the transcript of proceedings, while the term Racing NSW appears 135 times.
V’landys confirmed to The Straight on Wednesday that he had been requested to appear before the Committee and would do so.
The Racing NSW CEO did not confirm when he would appear. However, The Straight understands he has been requested to appear twice, once in private and once as part of a public hearing.
The Select Committee's next two public hearings are scheduled for August 9 and September 12. However, the number of hearing days is not limited, and sessions can be closed to the public.
V’landys was asked to comment by The Straight on some of the matters discussed at Monday’s public hearing, including claims by trainer John O’Shea that he had been warned by unnamed people not to participate in the hearing, as well as claims by former Australian Jockey Club chairman David Hall and former auditor-general Tony Harris that Racing NSW’s accounting practices fall short of industry standards.
He said he would not offer any comment as he didn’t want to interfere with the inquiry's process.
“Unfortunately there was a number of items that were factually wrong with no evidence to support them,” he said.
“However, as I have been requested to appear I will provide the correct facts which is backed up with verifiable evidence at the hearing.”
The bi-partisan Upper House Committee is comprised of 10 members of the NSW Legislative Council and is chaired by opposition planning minister Scott Farlow.
Vice-chair Emma Hurst of the Animal Justice Party was particularly focussed on Racing NSW and V’landys on the first day of hearings. Nine of the 24 mentions of the Racing NSW’s CEO name were by Hurst.
Independent MP Mark Latham, an ardent critic of V’landys and an Australian Turf Club (ATC) member, was also focussed on the racing executive, mentioning his name on six occasions during Monday’s hearing.
While the focus of the inquiry is on the ATC’s proposal to redevelop Rosehill, the name of ATC chairman Peter McGauran was mentioned just 17 times, while the ATC/Australian Turf Club received 139 mentions.
McGauran confirmed to The Straight that he had not been yet invited to the hearing but was "only too willing to accept" an invitation.
Bren O’Brien
