Handling of racing complaint ‘breached general conflict of interest principles’: Inquiry

A parliamentary committee has criticised the Tasmanian racing watchdog, singling out its handling of complaints, which Labor says has exposed the identity of a “whistleblower”.

Derby Day at Elwick. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

The handling of an official complaint about Tasmania’s director of racing “breached general conflict of interest principles”, a parliamentary inquiry has found.

A Legislative Council committee, comprised of four independents, one Liberal and one Labor MLC, was established in March to examine how the state’s racing industry watchdog, the Office of Racing Integrity (ORI), was functioning.

It handed down its final report last week, making 23 findings and seven recommendations to the Rockliff government, including that complaint handling processes between the office of the Racing Minister and the Natural Resources and Environment Department (NRE Tas) needed to be “clearly defined in relation to conflicts of interest”.

Harness racing in Tasmania.

It comes after Shaun Kennedy, the president of the Tasmanian Harness Racing Breeders, Owners, Trainers and Reinspersons Association (BOTRA), sent a letter to then racing minister Madeleine Ogilvie on September 9 last year, outlining a series of complaints about how the industry was being governed.

It is understood to have included a specific complaint about director of racing, Justin Helmich. Despite this, Ms Ogilvie admitted during a public hearing as part of the inquiry that the correspondence had been forwarded on to Mr Helmich himself, prompting Labor to accuse her of exposing the identity of a “whistleblower”.

NRE Tas secretary Jason Jacobi said during the same hearing that the director had “immediately” referred the correspondence back to the department upon inspecting it “because he recognised there were sensitivities in that letter”.

Madeleine Ogilvie MP speaks to the media outside the Executive Building in Hobart.

“I am entirely comfortable that the director behaved appropriately, with integrity, and dealt with the matter following due process,” Mr Jacobi said at the time.

Ms Ogilvie said she had received advice that the complaint was “dealt with appropriately”.

However, one of the Legislative Council committee’s 23 findings was that “the complaint handling process between the offices of the then Minister for Racing and the department breached general conflict of interest principles”.

It also concluded that “perceptions of conflict of interest in complaint-handling processes may deter industry participants and the community from lodging complaints”.

Independent McIntyre MLC Tania Rattray, the chair of the committee, said the report would “assist in delivering greater compliance and integrity” within the state’s racing industry.

Tania Rattray MLC.

“The committee acknowledges the commencement of legislative reform to increase the independence of the Office of Racing Integrity. This should be expedited as a matter of priority,” she said.

Ms Ogilvie’s successor in the racing portfolio, Felix Ellis, said the draft Racing Regulation and Integrity Bill, which is currently out for consultation, incorporated recommendations from a 2021 review into the racing industry.

“[The] government will now consider all of the recommendations [of the upper house inquiry] and respond in due course,” the minister said.

Felix Ellis MP. Picture: Chris Kidd

An NRE Tas spokeswoman said the complaint framework for racing was “complex” and a new online portal had recently been established, allowing for complaints to be made anonymously.

An independent review into allegations of team driving, race fixing and animal cruelty in harness racing and the management of these issues by ORI is currently being undertaken by national integrity expert Ray Murrihy.