Former Turf Club board members feel ‘scapegoated’ by government
Former board members of the Darwin Turf Club say the demand from Chief Minister Michael Gunner for their resignation was pointing blame in the wrong direction.
Northern Territory
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FORMER members of the Darwin Turf Club (DTC) board claim they’ve been “scapegoated” by the NT government in the fallout from the bombshell Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) report into the $12m grandstand funding.
On the morning the ICAC report was released, Chief Minister Michael Gunner demanded the entire DTC board resign while Racing, Gaming and Licensing Minister Natasha Fyles last week announced she would boycott the upcoming Darwin Cup, vowing not to attend unless the entire board resigned.
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That’s despite the ICAC recommending only “annual awareness training” for the board, volunteers and employees and making no recommendation for their resignation.
The ICAC report found the DTC board failed to exclude chairman Brett Dixon over conflicts of interest.
It found the board continued to allow Mr Dixon to attend board meetings when the board became aware of his intention to bid for the $12m contract.
The report found Mr Dixon acted often independently of the board and multiple former board members have told the NT News of their shock when the $12m grandstand grant was announced.
One former board member, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said he was frustrated that the government had demanded their resignations.
“The fact remains the board became the target for all these ministers, yet the board never even asked for the money,” the board member said.
“Other than the chair (Brett Dixon) and the CEO, there was no knowledge across the board.
“Fair enough they could call for Brett Dixon to resign … they’re not within their rights to attack a volunteer board who never knew money was being asked for in the first place.
“The board has become some sort of scapegoat.”
The board member said the board had no knowledge that the submission for the grant had been completed until it was announced.
Another former board member was hesitant to speak on the record but corroborated these versions of events and agreed he felt scapegoated.
When contacted for comment, the Chief Minister’s office referred to statements made by Mr Gunner on the day the ICAC report was released.
“The government is calling for the resignation of the entire Darwin Turf Club board, so that an administrator can be brought in, and a new board appointed,” Mr Gunner said at the time.
“I know not every board member was in place at the time of this conduct, but given the level of dishonesty, and given the findings of misconduct and corrupt conduct, this needs to be done to return confidence to the organisation.
“If these resignations are not forthcoming, we will make legislative changes to sack the board.”
Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro said the government needed to stop blaming others for a grant greenlit by the cabinet.
Territorians know that the only board that gave away $12 million was Michael Gunner’s Cabinet,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
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