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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-20 Daily Xml
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RACING INDUSTRY

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government, representing the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing, a question about the racing industry.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: Since the release of the Bentley report into South Australian racing, minister Wright has made several threats to the racing industry based on the notion that, if it did not accept and comply with the report's proposals, racing would miss out on lucrative cuts to wagering tax of somewhere in the vicinity of $7 million annually.

Following the release of the Bentley report, the minister has adopted what has been described at times as a heavy-handed approach, giving the racing industry 30 days to respond to the recommendations made in the report. From then on, the minister's theme has essentially been, 'Do what you're told, or there will be no money.'

On Saturday, an article in The Advertiser stated that the minister told the SAJC that a board member, Mr David Rasheed, was putting the tax cuts at risk by his suggestion that he wished to remain on the SAJC board while taking up a role on the new controlling authority for racing. Minister Wright had previously called for an independent board, but Mr Rasheed stated that he wanted to remain on the jockey club board until both the sale of Cheltenham and the redevelopment of Victoria Park were finalised, as he had had an integral role in both processes.

In the meantime, there has been very little detail from the minister about the proposed tax cuts he has boasted about for an industry that desperately needs the money. The silence has been deafening about when this money will be forthcoming. My questions are:

1. Does the minister think that these kinds of threats are helpful to the industry, given that he refuses to provide any real detail on the proposed tax cuts?

2. Will he confirm that the government can still afford to provide the cuts to wagering taxes he has boasted of?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:13): I know that the honourable member is a very keen supporter of the racing industry. Like him, we all want to see the industry within the state progress, and I note today that the SAJC has announced the successful tenderer for the Cheltenham land.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Who is it?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I think it is Urban Pacific. I trust that the price it pays to the SAJC will enable the industry to move forward from the complex issue that has been around for a long time. I know that my colleague the member for Lee (Hon. Michael Wright) is a very keen supporter of the industry. I think that he has been outspoken in trying to get the industry to speak with one voice and to move forward. I will refer the question to him to see whether he has anything further to add.

I am sure that he and members of the government are all aware of the importance of the racing industry. We are aware that it is going through difficult times. It does need to restructure, and it is doing so now in relation to Cheltenham. The government is keen to see the industry move forward.

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