Ombudsman reverses SA Tourism Commission’s attempts to suppress docs on suspended Adelaide 500 volunteer
The state’s public sector watchdog has urged the SA Tourism Commission to surrender secret documents related to the Adelaide 500 Supercars event.
SA News
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The state Ombudsman has told the South Australian Tourism Commission to cough up documents relating to an Adelaide 500 volunteer who claims he was abused and harassed by race marshals.
The volunteer, a radio communications officer and track marshal whose identity is secret, used the Freedom of Information Act to apply for all documents about him while he was an official at the race between 2011 and 2016.
But the tourism commission – the agency responsible for the documents – denied his application and believed the material should stay confidential.
The commission recently announced it had cancelled the iconic Adelaide 500 Supercars race, due to COVID-19 and declining interest in motorsport.
In March 2014, the volunteer claimed he was “subjected to” a workplace incident and received treatment at the venue’s medical centre.
“As a result of that, I was stood down from duty for the rest of the event,” he wrote in his FOI application to the tourism commission.
He also claimed this incident resulted in a clash with two “senior officials”, who “abused and harassed” him.
In July 2014, he wrote to Jeff Mattner, manager of the now defunct SA Motorsport Board, complaining about the behaviour of three race marshals.
After an investigation into the volunteer, Motorsport Australia suspended his licence in 2018 – but he is now seeking to have it renewed.
For this purpose, he applied for copies of all documents that were created during the investigation.
State Ombudsman Wayne Lines recently completed an external review into the matter and concluded that the documents should be provided to the applicant in full.
“In light of my views … I vary the agency’s determination over the documents in issue and grant full access to the documents,” he wrote in the report.
The tourism commission argued the documents should remain secret because all information was “provided on the basis that it was confidential”.
“The confidentiality should be maintained to ensure individuals feel comfortable raising future issues,” they wrote.
“The documents remain relevant to an investigation that resulted in the applicant’s Motorsport Australia licence being suspended and the suspension is still current.”
In his report, Mr Lines said the tourism commission did not provide any material that supported its argument that the documents should stay secret.
“From the information provided, it is apparent that the marshals had discussed the matters amongst themselves,” he wrote.
“I also note the applicant recounted his interaction with the marshals in his letter to Mr Mattner … all of these facts diminish the confidentiality of the material in the document.”
Mr Lines also denied the commission’s claims that releasing the documents would jeopardise the business dealings of Motorsport Australia – a not-for-profit agency.
A Motorsport Australia spokesman said: “The disclosure of information has no factual bearing on the reasons for Motorsport Australia not renewing the individual’s licence. Those reasons are unrelated to the basis for their claim to the documents.”
A spokeswoman for SATC said: “The Ombudsman’s determination has been published within the statutory period to review the decision. The SATC is considering its options during this period and is seeking advice accordingly.”
gabriel.polychronis@news.com.au
