Unpacking the Rosehill Inquiry: who knew what and when?

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

With the first two sittings of the Select Committee on the Proposal to Develop Rosehill Racecourse headlined by claims of failures of governance within the New South Wales industry and calls for a change in the funding model for clubs, Thursday’s final public session was, on the whole, more within the scope of the broad terms of reference.

The proceedings were textbook lessons in the art of political defence. Firstly from the public servants called to give evidence around just who knew what and when regarding the timeline of events leading up to the announcement on December 7th of the proposed sale, and the Premier’s possible involvement in expediting matters, while the day finished with Racing New South Wales Chair Dr Saranne Cooke putting up a stoical rebuttal of criticism aimed at her CEO Peter V’Landys.

The morning session gave the Committee an opportunity to question Simon Draper, the Secretary of the Premier’s Department, Will Murphy who was deputising as Secretary at the time in question, and Kate Boyd, Secretary to the Cabinet Office, over the timing of the approach from the Australian Turf Club with a proposal to sell the western Sydney track.

Metro station or full redevelopment for housing?

Murphy testified that on November 2 last year he received an email from the ATC’s Head of Membership and Corporate Affairs, Steve McMahon, seeking a meeting over the Club’s preferred site for a possible Metro station. Murphy stated he forwarded the email, which included a rudimentary diagram of Rosehill and what could have been construed as plans for housing, to the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, also known as Investment NSW. Certain members of the Committee found it difficult to swallow that without a heads up, that email was returned just two business days later on November 6 accompanied by a detailed plan with four options for consideration, including one covering if the ATC sought to redevelop all of Rosehill for essential housing.

Independent Senator Mark Latham tried hard to find out just who had requested such a detailed plan, but to no avail.

Later in the morning Ms Katie Knight, the Executive Director of Commercial Transactions for Investment NSW, said she had taken on the task of completing the four-option document in the knowledge the Government were looking for opportunities to increase housing in Sydney, but had done so without prompting from those in charge in Macquarie Street. Using a variation of a standard document she had merely been efficient in providing details that “set out four options from which the ATC could approach government” at a meeting scheduled for November 8.

It was clear that, no matter how many times the witnesses denied any contact from those representing the Premier, at least Senator Latham and the Nationals Senator Wes Fang weren’t buying it.

Horsley Park

In the lead up to the luncheon break the Committee heard from Carla Armanet as CEO of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) and Karen Jones as the CEO of the Office of Sport who run the Sydney International Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park, the site of the proposed training centre should Rosehill no longer exist. Both witnesses prefaced their evidence by saying they could not offer an opinion on the suitability of the sites for the purpose of racing or training as they were yet to receive proposal plans from the ATC.

Under questioning Mrs Armanet stated the brick pit site consisted of 27 hectares, less than half the 60 hectares of Rosehill, almost all of which is used on race days.

Mrs Armanet also explained SOPA had an existing 99-year lease agreement with the Royal Agricultural Society covering 35 days per year to stage the Royal Easter Show which would have to be considered under any ATC proposal. There are also plans afoot to turn a nearby carpark into 3200 apartments by 2030, while SOPA had other brick pit linked obligations under license arrangements for mobile telephone towers and operation and maintenance of the Water Reclamation and Management Scheme as a water storage reservoir along with the associated supporting infrastructure.

These issues would have to be overcome before addressing the environmental concerns of the brick pit itself and the adjacent wetlands. Mrs Armanet mentioned that the two sites were connected ecological systems, and any intrusion on one would impact the other.

Of some concern given the Unsolicited Proposal to be put to the government should be well advanced, Mrs Armanet confirmed that “SOPA had not participated in, or facilitated any inspections by Racing NSW or the Australian Turf Club of the brick pit as a potential site as a replacement of Rosehill Racecourse.” She also stated that under current planning controls the development of a racecourse would be prohibited.

Ms Jones stated that without having received a proposal from the ATC, any answers on developing Horsley Park would be hypothetical, but the Office of Sport would be looking for the training centre to be ‘co-located on the site to incorporate existing stakeholders’, for example those that use the facility for Three Day Eventing. Ms Jones went on to explain that co-located did not necessarily mean shared facilities when questioned by Mark Latham over possible security issues with Thoroughbreds.

Failure to protect the industry as a whole

One of the more refreshingly direct statements was delivered in the afternoon by Cowra trainer Debbie Prest who took aim at both government and racing authorities stating, ‘It has taken the sale of an iconic racing and training precinct to lead to scrutiny never shone on the racing industry before.’ She stated the situation “was the failure of this and previous governments to protect the industry as a whole. Racing NSW and clubs like the ATC exist to regulate, distribute prizemoney and provide racing and training surfaces that meet minimum standards.

Sadly, these administrative bodies and functionaries have gained a life of their own, wanting to operate unfettered with little or no (industry) consultation, and with past and present government Ministers taking a hands off approach there has been a reinforcing of their untouchable status.”

Under questioning Prest raised a number of issues including failed promises to deliver capital works and a perception within the industry that criticising the status quo or those in charge would have serious ramifications for the individual.

The sittings concluded with the calling of Dr Saranne Cooke who put up a robust defence of both her organisation and her CEO. In her opening statement she took aim at those who she said had used this inquiry to ‘make unsubstantiated accusations against him to discredit and harm’ V’Landys, which, if nothing else, she said was outside the terms of reference set for the Committee and lacked procedural fairness.

When questioned by Latham over perceived failures by the regulatory body to fulfil its obligation to provide a Strategic Plan every three years Dr Cooke said the Board had chosen to use the existing Plan through the COVID period. She did not explain why it had taken a further three years on from the pandemic for an updated Plan to be published.

Stage 2 of the unsolicited Proposal

During Dr Cooke’s evidence it was also mentioned that while a full plan and costing had not been provided to the Board, it was looking likely that upgrading Warwick Farm to a standard equivalent to Rosehill would prove too expensive to be viable. One has to wonder how expensive that might be given the windfall the ATC stand to gain and how much they may have to spend on another site like the brick pit. However, Dr Cooke did use the words “we haven’t decided yet”, from which the inference is Racing NSW will be making the decision over Warwick Farm.

So with the Select Committee meetings at an end the next step is for the relevant report to be tabled before parliament at a date no later than November 30. With the ATC yet to provide plans for the brick pit, or another similar site, and Horsley Park, it would seem highly unlikely that Stage 2 of the Unsolicited Proposal would be put before the government this calendar year.