THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: OPPORTUNITY CALLS BUT IS ANYBODY LISTENING?

By Graham Potter | Friday, March 23, 2018

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

Opportunity. Opportunity. Opportunity!

It is difficult, I know, given all that has gone before, but, in a sense, that is what the still to be named new CEO of Racing Queensland and the new Racing Minister are being offered ... an opportunity to break the mould of unsatisfactory performance, whether real or perceived, that has haunted those positions in the past ... an opportunity to step up, to make bold decisions, to lead and, most importantly, to replace words with action.

They could even make a name for themselves.

To do all of that they would have to acknowledge and avoid the mistakes of the past ... and we are not talking rocket science here.

As a starting point the offices of Racing Queensland and the Racing Minister need to stop treating racing stakeholders, who interests they are duty bound to serve, as if they are idiots. On so many occasions in the past the media releases put out by these authorities have insulted the intelligence of the regular racegoer ... not least those concerning the sorry saga of the Eagle Farm racetrack.

This has helped cause the significant and nasty divide that exists between the power-brokers and the stakeholders which currently translates into a huge negative for racing in Queensland.

The importance of turning that around into a positive relationship cannot be exaggerated yet even at this time of delicate change the latest Racing Queensland media release talks about ‘exciting times ahead’ and ‘a great foundation has been laid resulting in increased industry sentiment.’

This, while many stakeholders, those on the ground and in the trenches, are shaking their heads, wondering what they are doing here and what is going to happen next.

Multiple premiership winning trainer Robert Heathcote spoke for many people when he said he is sick and tired of all of the ‘spin’. That statement is unambiguous and doesn’t blur the facts ... a message that authorities need to hear and to learn from.

For the Racing Minister and the new CEO of Racing Queensland much work awaits most of which will not be an overnight fix ... but mending fences with participants can start straight away.

Trust needs to be rebuilt. Confidence needs to be restored and the Minister and the CEO have to understand and accept that their credibility and accountability are all part and parcel of that.

It is something that needs to be worked on as much as anything else.

Just imagine what racing could do if everybody was on the same side.

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Column update

Racing Minister Stirling Hinchliffe has been pretty vocal this week about the plight of Eagle Farm.

What can we read into his comments? A sign of hope or more of the same?

Hinchliffe reportedly stated he was losing patience with the status of the stalled Eagle Farm project and put Racing Queensland on notice to deal with the problem as a matter of absolute priority.

Stating the obvious ... maybe ... but at least, in that, he was aligning himself with the strong views of the stakeholders.

However ...

Some old chestnuts also found their way into his rhetoric when he said ...

1) ... that he did not think the "blame game" and "finger pointing" was the way forward.

2) ... that he could not give any confident timeline on when racing would return to the "jewel in Queensland's racing crown". (what?)

and 3) ... that he would commit to is making sure it Eagle Farm will not come back until it is ready,

Sound familiar?

Let's take that one point at a time ...

1) 'Blame' is a provocative word which those in power like to use in place of 'accountability.' They think blame is an inappropriate exercise to pursue and try to use it as a distraction from what it really is ... accountability ... which is an entirely appropriate measure that always needs to be put in place whether looking backwards, sideways or forward.

We have already seen what happens when nobody is held accountable. Eagle Farm is a mess. The buck has to stop somewhere. There should be praise for a job well done. There has to be consequences for those who don't do the job to a proper standard.

2) The fact that Hinchliffe could not even speculate on when racing would return to Eagle Farm is at least an honest assessment which replaces the nonsense racegoers were fed before.

It however also underlines the current despairing nature of the Eagle Farm track situation with everybody, including the Minister, currently floundering in the dark.

Absolute transparency is now required. The game-plan and time-line for the Eagle Farm return has to be made available to all stakeholders - not just selected, restricted industry groups - once it has been formulated.

To have any confidence that the future is now in good hands, that has to happen very much sooner rather than later.

And one other thing, the Minister should stop referring to Eagle Farm as the jewel in Queensland's racing crown. The situation is embarrassing enough already!

3) The suggestion by Hinchliffe that he will commit to making sure Eagle Farm will not come back until it is ready is pie in the sky stuff.

Nobody will know whether it is ready or enduring until the track has been raced on for a period of months.

Hinchliffe means well and no doubt will do what he can to ensure the best return possible but failed good intentions and false promises are something that stakeholders have already had to live with for far too long.

They have learnt not to get ahead of themselves. Racing authorities should do the same.

A sign of hope or more of the same?

What do you think?