Annette Sharp: Kevin Anderson and Rob Macaulay cause a stir at Gunnedah greyhounds meeting
An angry exchange of words between the opposition spokesman for racing and gaming and NSW’s greyhounds boss has been downplayed as one man offering the other some ‘open and honest advice’, writes Annette Sharp.
NSW
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State opposition spokesman for racing and gaming Kevin Anderson has played down eyewitness accounts that third parties had to intervene when he and GRNSW chief executive Rob Macaulay exchanged angry words at a Gunnedah greyhound meeting two weeks ago.
According to this column’s sources, Macaulay didn’t take kindly to the Tamworth MP offering Macaulay what he described on Friday as “some open and honest advice … over a few beers” about Macaulay’s plans to close the politician’s local greyhound track at Tamworth.
A spirited discussion subsequently broke out in the dining room bar of Gunnedah Greyhound Club on the evening of June 9, as racegoers waited for the running of the aptly named Chief Havoc Cup.
Anderson on Friday said he “stood (his) ground” during the discussion but that the GRNSW boss “was not happy about the fact I was giving him some open and honest advice”.
“We were just having a discussion at the bar in the … indoor dining area. It was pretty cold so everyone was inside,” he said, confirming he’d already “had a few beverages” when the dispute took place.
“I certainly don’t let any animated discussion get to a point where it becomes physical, that’s not the way I do things, but I will certainly stand my ground and put my view forward,” the MP said.
He added: “I was certainly not going to be intimidated,” but conceded the physical discrepancy: “He’s much taller than me — he’s a big guy.”
The men were debating the embattled greyhounds boss’s decision to close Anderson’s local greyhound track at Tamworth, sell it and then rebuild it.
“I reminded him that the money was already there … There’s no need to close tracks and then force (participants) to travel unnecessary distances … I said to him that he should get on with building a new track and not to close the Tamworth track and put all the owners and trainers and everyone out of the Tamworth zone,” Anderson recapped for the benefit of this column’s readers.
The blow-up comes a fortnight after the two men had a tense exchange on Ray Hadley’s 2GB radio show after Anderson, who was gaming and racing minister when Macaulay was appointed GRNSW boss in 2022, expressed his frustration Macaulay no longer took his calls. On Friday, Macaulay denied he had physically “chested up” to Anderson at Gunnedah saying the “assertions … are all false and baseless”.
“I have a good, perfectly civil and professional relationship with Kevin Anderson MP,” Macaulay said.
“I am not in the habit of ‘chesting up’ to anyone, let alone a respected member of parliament.”
The racing boss separately confirmed the men did have a few beers under their belts when the exchange took place.
Later they appeared in separate promo photographs with race winners, but none together, spurring further talk of a rancorous falling out.
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Originally published as Annette Sharp: Kevin Anderson and Rob Macaulay cause a stir at Gunnedah greyhounds meeting
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