Labor apparatchik David Tierney has been pushed for a place on the Racing NSW board amid questions about the appointment process after it emerged that one of the selection panel members sat alongside him as a director of the state’s stadiums agency.
The pending appointment of two directors to the state’s thoroughbred industry regulator is being finalised and requires approval of the NSW government cabinet.
The Racing NSW board oversees a revenue of $400 million.Credit: Jenny Evans
The Akubra-wearing Tierney, a former chief of staff to late Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson, who spoke at his funeral in Sydney on Tuesday, is regarded as a favourite to secure one of the board spots, which come with a $75,000-a-year payment.
If he does get the nod, it would be Tierney’s second appointment by the state government to a sports-related post in two years after he was added to the board of Venues NSW, which manages Sydney’s major stadiums and pays its directors $40,000 a year.
However, according to sources with knowledge of the process, speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the members of an independent panel that interviewed candidates for the Racing NSW board vacancies was fellow Venues NSW director and senior public servant Melanie Hawyes.
Tierney and Hawyes were announced by the government as new Venues NSW board members in January 2024 as broadcaster Alan Jones and Sydney Olympics bid chief Rod McGeoch departed.
A spokesperson for Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris would not confirm who was on the selection panel, whether Hawyes was involved in interviewing Tierney and whether that would constitute a conflict.
But they said the process had taken place by the book.
“A selection process for appointments to the Racing NSW board began in September and was undertaken in accordance with legislative requirements, including the establishment of a selection panel and the appointment of an external probity adviser,” Harris’ spokesperson said.
“All potential or perceived conflicts of interests were managed appropriately with all relevant professional interests declared.”
A government source said the association would have needed only to be declared to satisfy probity standards.
David Tierney pictured during his time as chief of staff to Olympics minister Michael Knight.Credit: Andrew Meares
Tierney did not return calls. Hawyes, who is deputy secretary for Crown Lands and Public Spaces at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, declined to comment. She is on the Venues NSW board as its public service senior executive.
The appointment of directors to the racing regulator, which is run by powerful chief executive Peter V’landys, has been the subject of controversy before.
In 2022, former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller was ruled out of contention when it was revealed that he had not declared his co-ownership of racehorses.
Harris was later questioned about V’landys’ friend and former Harness Racing NSW chief executive John Dumesny being on the Racing NSW selection panel in 2023, defending it in parliament last year.
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has run the organisation for 21 years.Credit: Getty Images
There was also a storm in 2023 over a bid to extend the term of then Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding beyond the 12-year limit for directors before the Minns government aborted new legislation to grant him two more years.
There are two coming vacancies on the Racing NSW board, which has seven members as well as V’landys as chief executive.
They have become available because the terms of former SCG Trust and Greater Western Sydney Giants chairman Tony Shepherd and corporate adviser Garry Charny are ending next week.
One factor for Harris to consider is that, of the seven Racing NSW directors, there is only one woman, chair Saranne Cooke, whose tenure will reach the maximum 12 years in 2027. The advertisement for the positions welcomed interest “from candidates with diverse backgrounds, in particular women candidates”.
The board also includes two former racing ministers: George Souris, who held the post under Liberal premiers Barry O’Farrell and Mike Baird, and Kevin Greene, who had the role in the Labor governments of Nathan Rees and Kristina Keneally.
Tierney, who managed the appointment of all ministerial staff after Chris Minns’ election win in 2023 and was chief of staff for Olympics minister Michael Knight in the lead-up to the Sydney Games, would be another Labor appointment to Racing NSW.
While it operates independently of government, it came under scrutiny during last year’s Rosehill inquiry and its governance and transparency mechanisms are also under review by former health minister Brad Hazzard.
The Racing NSW board oversees an organisation that controls $400 million in revenue due to betting-related fees and taxes that flow to it under deals executed by V’landys during his 21 years in charge.
But it is V’landys who has mostly called the shots.
Hazzard’s review of the Thoroughbred Racing Act, commissioned by the Minns government, includes examining tenure limits of Racing NSW directors.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
