Racing NSW has strongly refuted allegations of a whistleblower raised in NSW Parliament that it accessed the federal government’s JobKeeper program inappropriately during the pandemic.
The allegations by the anonymous whistleblower of improper use of JobKeeper were brought to the surface by Independent MP Mark Latham, a major critic of Racing NSW and its CEO Peter V’landys, during the second reading of a parliamentary bill designed to provide greater oversight of Racing NSW’s operations.
JobKeeper was a federal government subsidy scheme administered by the Australian Tax Office, which was designed to help businesses adversely impacted in the first year of the pandemic.
Asked by The Straight about allegations surrounding the use of JobKeeper, which were made in a private submission to the Rosehill parliamentary inquiry before Latham was authorised to raise them in parliament, V’landys offered an emphatic response.
“To the extent that Racing NSW claimed jobkeeper, it was done strictly in accordance with the relevant legislation and was subsequently independently audited,” V’landys said.
“Again, there is absolutely no substance to the allegations of Mr Latham who continues to use parliamentary privilege to wage a vexatious campaign against Racing NSW for unknown persons.”
In a significant development in NSW parliament on Thursday, John Graham, the acting leader of the Minns Government in the Upper House, said he would be willing to meet with the whistleblower or anyone else who has concerns to put forward over Racing NSW’s conduct.
“It is my practice whenever possible to meet with or hear from as many people as possible. As a Minister my standard approach is to have an open door policy, particularly if members have raised concerns,” Graham said.
“I have no problem with that; that is my general approach. I do not say that to indicate a government view about these specific matters that have been raised. The member is entitled to pursue them and the government will respond formally. That is the usual approach I would take and I do not see any reason to change it now.”
“The way in which the member has raised his concerns and the serious level of concern he has shown means that the issues should be responded to formally in the appropriate way. The government will do that.”
Graham was also speaking as the Upper House representative for Minister Of Racing, David Harris, who is a Lower House MP.
“There are longstanding arrangements in place for managing these issues. I know that the Minister for Gaming and Racing has been very active in some other areas,” he said.
“Look at what he has done, for example, to press for the highest standards of behaviour in the greyhound racing industry, something that has concerned the House over many years and has been the subject of debate in the Parliament and in public.”
Bren O’Brien
Graham said the government would respond to the matters raised further during parliamentary debate over the Thoroughbred Racing Amendment (Racing NSW Accountability) Bill 2024, which Latham put forward earlier this week.
“I make this point: The government expects anybody in New South Wales to uphold high standards,” Graham said.
“That is true of any public sector institution or any private sector organisation. Of course, we should ask for high standards.
“Members are entitled to come here and raise issues. That is an important part of the process. On the specifics, if the member pursues these matters he can expect a more formal response from the government in debate on that bill.”
Under the bill, Racing NSW could face additional scrutiny from parliamentary estimates, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the auditor-general.
