A VITALLY IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENT PLAN IS ON THE TABLE. IS GOVERNMENT PAYING ATTENTION?

By Graham Potter | Sunday, October 13, 2019

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.

The Sunshine Coast Turf Chairman Peter Boyce has come out very much on the front foot as he seeks to gain governmental acceptance of a plan outlined by Sunshine Coast Turf Club in a submission made to government with regard to suggested reforms to Racing Integrity Act.

The plan, in essence, relates to making sweeping changes to racing’s judicial system which, in the eyes of many, have for so long been mired in a state of disarray.

Currently, the stewarding body is the authority who issue and rule on the charges … and then they also decide on the penalties where a guilty verdict is handed down.

Boyce says there is absolutely no independence in that process which leaves stewards as both judge and jury.

Under the proposed plan that Boyce is promoting, one set of stewards would issue charges and a different panel would then decide the outcome of those cases.

Currently, for those found guilty of charges by stewards, the first option to contest their finding is to opt for an Internal Review. Boyce had reported called this aspect of the system ‘a complete failure’ and again cites lack of independence as a basic flaw in this model.

The Turf Club’s proposal to correct that imbalance is that there be a first level appeal body for each racing code of no more than three persons. Each member on the appeal board will have to have acknowledged experience and expertise within the relevant code so that they would have a clear understanding of the evidence presented to them and be thus able to hand down a judgement in a speedy fashion.

Currently, if not satisfied with the Internal Reviewer’s decision, those aggrieved can take their case to QCAT, where they join a queue that goes around the block … and then some … and wait for an undetermined period of time for their case number to be called.

Presently, almost every person and their dog who has come this far take up this option … thus severely clogging up the final outcome leg of the process to a degree where, because of the excessive delays, it hardly seems to serve its proposed purpose.

Under the Turf Club’s plan, the only way a matter could proceed to QCAT after the first level appeal outcome would be on a point of law, or for offences that incur a penalty of six months or more.

There is no doubt that the Sunshine Coast Turf Club’s proposal and the position explained by Peter Boyce has a huge amount of support within the racing industry where so many, for so long, have called for a complete overhaul of a flawed system which continues to frustrate all of those in the industry who want to see the all-important judicial arm of the sport conducted with a more acceptable efficiency.

The Sunshine Coast Turf Club’s plan makes perfect sense but the wheels of the government grind notoriously slowly on such matters and, even when accepted in principle, reforms to the Racing Integrity Act have to be legislated before they can take effect.

How long will that take?

Hopefully not as long as a racing case currently takes to get through QCAT … but don’t hold your breath.

Of course, it will take time.

What racing needs in the interim is to do exactly what the Sunshine Coast Turf Club, Peter Boyce and all of those in tune with their sentiments are doing … and that is to keep pushing hard until racing ultimately gets the judicial deal its needs so it can finally confine the ills of the current system to the past.

Good luck to them!

Peter Boyce