Ben Dorries: Secret probe into QRIC must be final straw for under fire integrity body

Revelations of a secret probe into QRIC and allegations of bullying and sexual harassment from former staff could spell the end of the integrity body, writes Ben Dorries.

When an integrity body is itself being investigated, you have a monumental problem.

And it could be the final nail in the coffin of the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission.

Racing participants in the Sunshine State lost faith and confidence in QRIC many moons ago.

But the latest allegations from former staff which include bullying and sexual harassment take things to a toxic new level.

QRIC – an independent statutory body which oversees the integrity and welfare of racing animals and participants – was established in 2016 in the wake of the greyhound live baiting scandal.

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Now the ABC has detailed how a secret probe from external investigators has been ongoing into QRIC, in relation to matters including the mishandling of an alleged incident involving an employee who had been running a private side business selling bondage equipment.

The probe comes after a KPMG review into QRIC was ordered by Racing Minister Grace Grace amid growing unrest from racing participants over the culture and management of the organisation.

That report cost more than half a million dollars and it has yet to be released.

Former QRIC boss Shane Gillard resigned after the review was handed down, while his deputy Natalie Conner also resigned while it was being conducted.

Shane Gillard resigned from QRIC.

Conner, who rarely uttered a word in public while she was in the job, has now rejected most of the fresh allegations levelled at QRIC, telling the ABC: “There was a lot of backstabbing and general discontent underpinning the culture and a siloed mentality with one group not liking the other and there was nastiness that had not been dealt with.”

It all comes on a backdrop of the last eight years which has seen QRIC offer little stability to the racing industry, with a revolving door of staff and high-level officials coming and going.

There have also been countless embarrassing stuff-ups, including QRIC being poleaxed in court on several occasions in relation to the long-running and hugely expensive case regarding the 2020 Magic Millions disqualification of star racehorse Alligator Blood.

QRIC also sensationally dropped an incredibly costly three-year CCTV investigation into legendary jockey-turned-trainer Chris Munce.

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There’s been many other potholes including an upheld protest shocker at Beaudesert which sparked widespread dismay by punters and participants and led to a review by former high-profile steward Des Gleeson.

The bottom line is that everyone in racing – and now even many people outside the industry who couldn’t tell a filly from a colt – have zero confidence in QRIC.

That’s despite one former Racing Minister once famously boasting QRIC was “the envy of the nation.”

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The only way forward is to go back to the future and disband QRIC, returning integrity functions to being under the auspices of Racing Queensland.

It would be a major leap towards restoring confidence and also empower stewards and integrity officials to operate without the shocking red tape and bureaucracy they are currently entangled in.

Let people who know, love and understand racing take charge of QRIC rather than public servants who are riding on the back of one of the greatest white elephants that racing has ever seen.

Now it just needs a politician to pull the trigger.

Grace Grace won’t want to be making waves so close to the state election, but an exit strategy from the lost cause of QRIC is now racing’s most pressing problem.

Originally published as Ben Dorries: Secret probe into QRIC must be final straw for under fire integrity body