Conflict claims over Sydney International Equestrian Centre upgrade

Investigation into the tender process which used to award more than $1m to resurface Sydney International Equestrian Centre.

Photo: Chris McKeen

The tender process used to award more than $1m in taxpayer funds to resurface two ­arenas at Sydney International Equestrian Centre is under ­investigation following alle­gations of conflict of interest.

The contract, awarded to a company connected to the son of Equestrian NSW president and former ACT magistrate Peter Dingwall, has been the subject of an internal inquiry after concerns were raised.

Documents seen by The Australian show that in March 2017, Equestrian NSW made representations to the state’s Office of Sport for funding to upgrade two dressage arenas at the centre, an upgrade it claimed would yield upwards of “$1.2m per annum” for the state economy.

Following an invitation-only tender process, Barrie Smith Motor Sport Pty Ltd was selected to carry out the upgrade. According to tender documents seen by The Australian, the company was the most expensive of the three companies considered.

Mr Dingwall’s son, Stephen, is married to the daughter of ­Barrie Smith and has worked for his father-in-law’s company, BSM Sport Equestrian, which is the Australian distributor for German arena surfaces company Otto Sport.

Stephen and his wife, Niki, are sales representative for Otto Sport Australia, whose products were used in the upgrades.

In a submission to the Office of Sport, Equestrian NSW chief executive Bruce Farrar described Barrie Smith Motorsport as the “preferred tenderer” ­because of its “mats technology, international elite experience, commitment to the program and ease of doing business with”.

Mr Farrar failed to disclose the connection between the Dingwalls when signing a “no conflict of interest” declaration on October 25, 2017.

He told The Australian the Equestrian NSW board was not involved in the decision to award the contract to Otto and at no stage did Mr Dingwall seek to ­influence him.

“The decision to award the contract to Otto was made by the NSW Office of Sport,” he said.

While the original quote was listed in official documents as being $735,438, Equestrian NSW’s 2017-18 annual report shows the total amount awarded by the NSW Office of Sport was “more than a million dollars”.

Peter Dingwall said the tender process was conducted by the NSW Office of Sport. “At no time prior to, during or since the tender process have I had any ­involvement in the process, nor have I had any communications whatsoever with any employees of the NSW Office of Sport or SIEC concerning the upgrade,” he said. “I have never seen, nor been privy to, the contents of the tender documents issued by the NSW Office of Sport or the submissions made by any tenderers. Consequently, I have never been in a position giving rise to a conflict of interest.”

Letters seen by The Australian show two SIEC employees raised concerns with former NSW director of Olympic ­Venues Darren Crumpler regarding the Barrie Smith Motorsport connection. In an email sent on December 20, 2017, Mr Crumpler told the employees he was “happy the process has been conducted internally”, “however on reflection an independent ­expert aside from ENSW would have provided ­reduced conflicts and clear delineation”. The ­Office of Sport said it was aware of the matters raised about the upgrade and was looking into it.