Don’t throw John Coates out with the bathwater: Kevan Gosper

The debate about John Coates’s future as AOC president seems like it’s change for change’s sake.

The current efforts to depose AOC president John Coates, about which I was consulted late last year, centres on his length of term in office, his remuneration level and a determination by him to fulfil an Olympic obligation to preserve the AOC’s independence from external (read government/sports bureaucracy) interference.

The matter of limiting terms of office as a governance issue typically exists to protect an organisation against inadequate performance or misbehaviour at a high level. In the case of John Coates, there appears to be no substantive criticism of his professional or ethical commitment and achievement in office.

Further, those who are in support of change rest their arguments only on conventional platitudes about “the need to keep evolving, we should not be afraid in considering change, the risk of an ingrained culture, the need to modernise and so on”. This seems like change for change’s sake.

The question of John Coates’ remuneration being inflated is spurious. This has been openly declared in successive AOC Annual Reports and never previously deemed to be inappropriate, particularly given his international Olympic workload for which he is not remunerated. It is also selective in that it fails to account for the substantial and independent financial position Coates has secured for the AOC, notwithstanding considerable annual outlays for Australian athletes and sports.

His defence of the AOC’s autonomy is no secret. A United Nations Declaration further endorsed this right for all Olympic sports organisations as recently as December 2016. At the same time this declaration recognises the need and value of good relationships with government and its instrumentalities.

The current antagonism between the heads of the AOC and the Australian Sports Commission should not lead to one party allegedly endeavouring to remove the other from office, and indeed this is dangerous ground. This dispute can be appropriately mediated by the Minister of Sport, Greg Hunt, who has declared his willingness to do so.

At a broader level, Coates is not simply the president of the AOC. He is also a senior vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, a confidant of the IOC President, the head of the Tokyo 2020 Co-ordination Commission and not the least, chair of the International Sports Court of Arbitration, which not only carry enormous responsibility, but also extends enviable international prestige to Australia and Australian sport.

Coates has publicly stated that he has and is continuing to give attention to the question of his succession.

John Coates, through the various roles he holds, is immensely valuable for Australia as well as the global sports community. So before considering change, we had better believe we have a replacement of comparable talent and promise rather than being left with serious regrets and a president without tested credentials.

Kevan Gosper AO is a former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, former president of the Australian Olympic Committee and the inaugural chairman of the Australian Institute of Sport. He remains an honorary IOC member and an international adviser on sports issues.