In the space of 365 days, the Australian Turf Club’s proposal to develop and sell Rosehill racecourse has gone from a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Sydney to the subject of a parliamentary report, which is expected to be highly critical of the Minns government, the ATC and Racing NSW.
It was December 7, 2023 that Premier Chris Minns and ATC chairman Peter McGauran stood before the press at the famous western Sydney racecourse and formally announced that the government and the club were working on a proposal which would yield at least $5 billion for the racing club and 40,000 dwellings for a state government desperately searching for solutions to a housing crisis.
While it was a surprise to most, what has evolved since, at least politically, has been a shock to the Minns government, the ATC, Racing NSW and frankly, anyone else who was in any way connected to the idea.
It is the six weeks prior to the announcement that have drawn the most political intrigue and taken most of the energy of the Upper House Select Committee inquiry set up to investigate the proposal. That inquiry hands down its recommendations on Friday.
The idea to sell Rosehill seems to have derived from the ATC’s head of government relations Steve McMahon in late October last year. He met with planning staff on October 25 where he said he was told that 40,000 dwellings would be enough to secure a metro station for Rosehill.
It was clear to him that the only way the ATC could facilitate this number was a total sale, not a partial redevelopment, which had been the strategy since 2016.
So, on October 26 he met with McGauran and CEO Matt Galanos to discuss the idea. The upside was compelling to those three men and four days later McMahon was meeting with Minns and his chief of staff.
There was interest in the idea, and for probity reasons, McMahon was referred to The Cabinet Office for further advice.
The headline out of the Committee Report was leaked on Wednesday with Minns set to be referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption because he didn’t declare his personal relationship with McMahon.
Whether ICAC entertains the idea further is up to them, but the watchdog has brought undone two NSW premiers in the past 15 years, so is not to be trifled with.
Regardless, there will likely be a recommendation from the Committee that the standards in which Ministerial Diaries are kept are improved to highlight any potential conflicts.
The broader question, and the one which has drawn a lot of the attention of the Select Committee is the nature of the ‘unsolicited’ proposal by the ATC. That is the process they were advised to follow.
The Committee report is expected to highlight how the process was handled and question whether the manner in which it was announced by Minns and McGauran on December 7 was representative of a proposal which was supposed to be ‘unsolicited’ by the government.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding’ between the ATC and the government and the process in which this was communicated with key stakeholders such as boards, members and the broader industry is also expected to be highlighted.
Furthermore, it will likely question the viability of not only the alternate proposal for a western Sydney racetrack at the Brickpit at Homebush but also identify that no alternative site for a fourth Sydney racetrack has been put forward.
Significantly, the entire viability and value to the NSW public of the proposed project is also likely to come under question.
The other major aspect is the scrutiny on Racing NSW, which officially became involved with the process on November 17, 2023, when CEO Peter V’landys and then-chairman Russell Balding met with representatives of The Cabinet Office.
Bren O’Brien
It was at that meeting where Racing NSW said it was supportive of the idea, but wanted reform of the ATC via legislation to ensure the board was suitably skilled to handle such a proposal and wanted to ensure the revenue derived from the proposal would be “re-invested for the benefit of the racing industry as a whole”.
When the minutes of this meeting were publicised in April via a parliamentary call for papers, it changed the focus of the political aspect of Rosehill.
While Racing NSW and V’landys have insisted the genesis of the Rosehill idea did not come from them, their involvement in lobbying the government before the idea was even taken to the ATC board, drew them into the spotlight.
Off the back of that and several other questions, the desire for a political inquiry grew. In May, the Select Committee was set up with the support of Liberals and the crossbench, including one the major players in this whole saga, the Independent MP and ATC member Mark Latham.
Latham was initially not included on the nine-person Committee but found his way there as a back-up, and arguably played the largest role of any of those involved.
Bren O’Brien
It was he and his unlikely political ally Emma Hurst from the Animal Justice Party, who led the charge.
The terms of reference of the inquiry included a broad ‘impacts on the racing industry in NSW’ which allowed it to explore the function and power of Racing NSW.
On August 9, V’landys and his COO Graeme Hinton appeared before the Select Committee in public hearings. It was there that the battle between Racing NSW and Latham erupted and the dispute became personal and often nasty.
V’landys’ testimony that day had a shuddering impact across racing as the industry’s dirty laundry was laid bare in state parliament. The ramifications of that and subsequent submissions by Racing NSW are still being played out, with a chance it could be called before parliamentary privileges committee over contempt of parliament charges.
Bren O’Brien
At the next public hearing on September 12, Racing NSW chair Saranne Cooke offered her unconditional support for her CEO and her organisation, despite concerns raised over the governance of the PRA.
Leaving aside all that has been said back-and-forth between Latham and V’landys over the past few months, the wash-up is that the Committee has not been impressed with what it has heard about the way Racing NSW functions.
There are questions about board oversight, about the function of the integrity department and V’landy’s role within that, about workplace surveillance, the HR system and process employed at the racing regulator and about the transparency of Racing NSW when it comes to reporting to government.
The Committee is expected to recommend a review of the Thoroughbred Racing Act, under which Racing NSW has been set up, to determine if it remains fit for purpose.
There is also a distinct possibility it could ask for a separate review into the operations of Racing NSW.
Bren O’Brien
The Minns government has three months to respond to the recommendations of the inquiry. It is not compelled to act on any of them but must at least give a response to the concerns raised.
The other important aspect to remember is that this is just one battle front in this ongoing Rosehill saga. The Select Committee has brought a host of questions to light and there has been further parliamentary scrutiny brought forward, primarily by Latham, but with crossbench support, which is operating separately to the Committee.
Regardless of how the government responds, or indeed whether the ATC members approve of the sale, the questions over the Rosehill issue and Racing NSW will continue to reverberate for some time to come.
