SOUTH AUSTRALIAN JOCKEY CLUB

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen) (14:56): My question is for the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. During or subsequent to the 2006-07 review of racing by Philip Bentley, did the minister receive information from Mr Bentley regarding claims made to Mr Bentley that there were corporate governance issues at the SAJC?

On 11 March this year, Mr Bentley stated publicly that during the course of his 2007 review of racing several people had made allegations to him regarding corporate governance issues at the SAJC. He stated:

All I will say is that they made allegations which could not be tested and could not be verified, and I stand by that, and it was right then and it is right now.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:56): What the opposition fails to realise—although I am sure that the member for Davenport realises it—is that the racing industry has been corporatised. As a result of it being corporatised, we do not have day-to-day responsibility for the racing industry.

All this nonsense about what was known, when it was known and all that type of thing is irrelevant. Is the opposition suggesting that people were told by whomever about vote stacking, when all that would do would be to increase the chances of the people who were doing it to be caught out? Of course it is a nonsense.

What the opposition needs to appreciate is that the racing industry has been corporatised. As a result of that, Thoroughbred Racing SA has responsibility for the viability, for the future and for the strategic direction of the racing industry.

As the Premier has already outlined, the two major shareholders, SAJC and SARC, are responsible for putting in place the TRSA board. Once that board has been put in place the board elects the chair. Obviously, as minister, I meet from time to time with the SAJC, TRSA or with individuals when I go to the races, just as I would expect that the opposition does as well.