Sydney Olympic Park Authority board sacked in ‘efficiency’ push

The powerful board of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority has been sacked by the NSW government.

Sydney Olympic Park Authority chairman John Fahey. Picture: Damian Shaw

The powerful board of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority has been sacked by the NSW government as part of ongoing preparations to wind down the agency and ­restructure its management.

SOPA chairman John Fahey was told on Tuesday night that his board would be dissolved by the end of next week during a meeting with Tim Reardon, secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and Jim Betts, secretary of the Department of Planning.

Mr Fahey, a Liberal Party elder and former NSW premier whose clout shielded the agency from early interference, told the SOPA board on Wednesday morning.

The Australian reported last week that Mr Fahey had long used his political clout to try to prevent the agency from being wound down, and did so as early as last year, when the government began weighing considerations to dismantle the organisation.

The reasons for sacking the board are largely related to efficiency and funding, The Australian has been told.

During a meeting with departmental heads in the middle of last year, Mr Fahey effectively saved SOPA from being completely dissolved by agreeing to cede key division­s of the authority, namely its finance, legal and human resourc­es sectors, to the NSW government.

An official familiar with the matter likened that effort to a stay of execution. “It meant we could park the issue,” the officer said.

The authority oversees Sydney Olympic Park, a major events precinct in the city’s west encom­passing­ 430ha of parkland, seven sporting venues and more than 200 businesses. It attracts about 14 million visitors a year.

“There were some discussions last year about bringing things togethe­r,” Mr Fahey said in an ­interview last week.

He did not reply to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Board members include distinguished industry figures, such as David Baffsky, the former executive chairman of hotelier Accor Asia Pacific, and Romilly Madew, chief executive of Infrastructure Australia.

The decision effectively to sack the board brings to an end the years of preserving the agency and its vaunted legacy following the 2000 Olympics, which Mr Fahey was instrumental in securing for Sydney as NSW premier.

Planning Minister Rob Stokes declined to comment.

A second agency facing the prospect of dissolution is Landcom, which develops housing for the NSW government, and which has been mired in turmoil over bullying allegations involving its chairwoman, Suzanne Jones.

The Australian has also report­ed that the government was ­considering amalgamating Landcom with the Department of Planning, in a bid to sensitively remove­ its chief executive, John Brogden, a longstanding friend of Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

A Treasury Department advice recommended that Ms Jones be moved on, but she was reinstated regardless. She ­resigned this week, just months later.

A statement released on ­Wednesday in relation to Ms Jones said she had resigned to give the organisation “fresh ­leadership” and enable it to focus on “its ­important work creating more affordabl­e and sustainable commun­ities”.