New Tasmanian integrity boss Sean Carroll reveals top priority is to rebuild confidence in racing industry

New Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll has his hands full cleaning up racing in the Apple Isle and has laid down his priorities to senior racing writer Ben Dorries.

Tasmanian racing has a new integrity commissioner. Picture: Clare Pettit

Tasked with cleaning up racing in Tasmania, respected integrity official Sean Carroll says his top priority is to rebuild the confidence of the racing public and racing participants in the Apple Isle.

There have been troubled times in racing in Tasmania which has faced major integrity flare-ups in all three codes, prompting a new-look integrity structure to be established.

Headhunted from a similar job in Victoria, and with a distinguished history before that working as the head of integrity for Cricket Australia, Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner Carroll has vowed to hit the ground running.

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He isn’t hiding away from the fact there have been integrity dramas in racing in Tasmania, as he gave Racenet his first interview since the new integrity model was launched this week.

“It’s fair to say there hasn’t been a lot of confidence in Tasmanian racing,” Carroll told Racenet.

“I can understand why that is the case.

“We have to rebuild the confidence of the racing public and the racing participants.

“That’s my number one priority.

“Everyone asks me what I am going to do to fix things up.

“It’s a bit like my days in cricket, you actually get around and listen to the participants about what’s wrong.

“I have been going to stables and kennels and talking to people.

“When I took the job, I wasn’t presented with a smoking gun which laid out the issues.

“My job is to find out those issues and to get to the bottom of them.”

Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll, Minister for Racing Jane Howlett and Tasracing CEO Andrew Jenkins.

The new integrity structure may have taken wings this week but Carroll has been working in the position mid-December.

One of the early moves has been to establish the new Racing Integrity Hotline [phone]) which provides whistleblowers with the opportunity to report integrity concerns, corruption or improper conduct without fear of reprisal.

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“I’ve got an act of Parliament that sets out what my agenda is and sets out the powers I have,” Carroll said.

“I have got pretty extensive powers, where I can subpoena people to come and give evidence under oath and produce documents.

“They are compelled to do that and there are substantial penalties for failing to do that.

“I can hold public inquiries, a bit like mini Royal Commissions.

“My job is a new role that is being an oversight body for all of racing in Tasmania.

“It is essentially to make sure there is a level of accountability for all racing in Tasmania, including the administration of racing which is different to the role I had in Victoria.

“We have to prioritise integrity to the punter and to the racing public.”

Originally published as New Tasmanian integrity boss Sean Carroll reveals top priority is to rebuild confidence in racing industry