Friday 14 June 2024
Minister for Racing, Anthony Carbines, has clearly missed out on landing the big fish he was desperately chasing.
The absence of former AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan was notable as Racing Victoria announced two new board members.
Racing Victoria also stated it believes Mr McLachlan will not be the next chairman, further ruining Mr Carbines’ Labor fishing expedition.
Shadow Minister for Racing, Tim Bull, said it was no secret Minister Carbines had been pursuing Mr McLachlan for almost 12 months in the hope he would join the board and then be installed as chair.
“It has been the worst kept secret in racing circles for some time that the Minister has been pursuing this outcome and he delayed announcements for an inappropriate amount of time in an endeavour to get his man,” Mr Bull said.
“Mike Hurst has done a terrific job as acting chair, but has indicated for some time he wished to depart, and the reality is we should have had board replacements and a new chairman in place last year to give the industry some certainty.
“We have now had more than 12 months of limbo, with the Minister seemingly frozen in making a decision or giving deadlines for answers, resulting in Mr Hirst having to extend his original retirement date. Then to cap things off, the Minister has failed to get the person he was chasing.
“Unfortunately, we now have a position where the new chair, whoever that is, will know they were not Minister Carbines’ preferred option.
“Victorian racing needs some strong leadership. Let’s hope the new chairman and CEO, when appointed, will be a little more proactive than the Minister has been.”
Mr Bull congratulated the two new board members in Mark Player and Tim Rourke on their appointments and said he looked forward to meeting them and working with them in the future.