RACING QUEENSLAND SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO BE LEFT WITHOUT LEADERSHIP FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME

By Peter Boyce | Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Many people have had their say about the decision of the Premier to dissolve the various Racing Boards that operated under the Racing Queensland banner. Peter Boyce was the Chairman of the Queensland Thoroughbred Racing Board. These are his thoughts on the matter …

ONE WEEK ON AFTER DISMISSAL OF THE THOROUGHBRED BOARD

I note, as far as I understand, that the $12,000,000.00 funding approval for Eagle Farm has not been announced unless the Brisbane Racing Club have been told independently.

This is urgent and has been urgent for a significant period of time. It will ensure that the track opens as early as possible.

The delay is certainly not to anyone’s benefit.

The decision by the Government to dismiss all Boards is one that obviously they have the power to do, but whether it was well thought out is another question.

As you know there were three people on the Thoroughbred Board, three on the Harness and there were three on the Greyhound Board. Each Chairperson then became a member of the All Codes Board.

I am concerned about the impact of the decision made on Tuesday 2 June, 2015 because Thoroughbred Racing needs to have many decisions made in a relatively short period of time.

There can be certainly no suggestion that the Thoroughbred Board was in any way connected to Greyhound Racing and we have all paid the price for what is really an inquiry dealing with a minority industry.

I feel even more concerned for my former fellow Board members Mike Kelly and Reg Clairs whose only role has been thoroughbreds whereas arguable, as I have been on the All Codes Board since about August, 2014, there might be some who say that the All Codes Board was responsible … but again I reject that.

There can be no doubt about the fact that Mike Kelly and Reg Clairs have nothing whatsoever and have never had anything to do with Greyhound Racing or its policing.

Mike Kelly was instrumental in making sure that the country racing program thrived and was instrumental in making sure that it is progressed. He had a very good relationship with the relevant stakeholders.

Reg Clairs brought with him a wealth of experience and his background alone shows just how valuable he was to our Board.

The other thing that needs to be borne in mind is that we have certainly seen a major turnaround in the Thoroughbred industry and by and large many people are happy with what they have seen.

We certainly had an open door policy and we were happy to speak to anyone in the industry who might have had issues.

I am personally aware that Central and North Queensland had a number of issues and we were about to address those and to also attend a meeting in Cairns in July, 2015.

As you know, the Thoroughbred industry is the flagship for all wagering in Queensland.

There are numerous tasks to be fulfilled and they need not to be put on hold.

Whilst I recognize that the industry will continue under new guidance, it should not be left without leadership for any length of time.

I am acutely aware that the setting up of a new integrity commission will cost a lot of money and the industry will have to fund it.

Likewise, the cost of the Commission Inquiry is already having its affect on the Greyhound industry.

I just hope that some of the good work that has been undertaken to date will not be undone.

We certainly do not want to go backwards.

Our plan was always to move forward and to be progressive and responsible in our planning for the whole of the Thoroughbred industry.

Unfortunately all three racing codes have been put into the one box and we have all suffered the same consequences.

Is that fair?

The answer is no, but I guess that is politics.

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