RACING Minister Steve Dickson this week introduced the Racing and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 in the Queensland Parliament.

This will see the abolishment of Racing Queensland Ltd as the control body and it will be replaced  by the Queensland all Codes Racing Industry Board.

Below is Mr Dickson’s statement to Parliament taken from the Queensland Government Hansard:

Today I introduce the Racing and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012. The bill delivers on the Government’s election commitment to rejuvenate the Queensland racing industry by: removing Racing Queensland Ltd as the control body for racing in Queensland and establishing the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board in this role; establishing a code-specific board for each code of racing; establishing and transferring appropriate racing integrity functions to the government; and providing a competitive environment for Queensland bookmakers.

The Newman government was elected on a platform of rejuvenating Queensland’s racing sector after it was brought to its knees by the former Labor government. In 2010, under the former Labor government, amendments to the Racing Act 2002 amalgamated the then three control bodies into a single control body, Racing Queensland Ltd.

The spectacular carelessness and arrogance of those who were put in charge of RQL is still being felt in the industry today. Whilst Labor turned a blind eye, those who were charged with running the racing industry in this state were instead running the racing industry into the ground. Much like their political masters, RQL’s dodgy deals, sweetheart pay-offs and questionable business practices will be their legacy.

Currently, Racing Queensland is a company limited by guarantee with no requirement to consult or consider the basic needs and views of those who actually derive an income from or participate in the racing industry.

Our bill proposes to remove Racing Queensland Ltd as the control body for the thoroughbred, harness and greyhounds codes of racing and establish the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board in this role.

Vitally, to address long held industry concerns that the principal racing authority has no direct interaction with code participants and licensees in each specific racing code have no code-specific board with which to interact, the bill also proposes to establish three separate code-specific boards: the Queensland Thoroughbred Racing Board; the Queensland Harness Racing Board; and the Queensland Greyhound Racing Board. The 30,000 people who rely on the racing sector for their employment will once again have a voice.

The functions of the code-specific boards will include but not be limited to: reviewing and making recommendations regarding allocation of race dates and prize money; making recommendations in relation to amendments or enhancements to their code’s rules of racing; undertaking ongoing consultation with code stakeholders; and developing a five-year rolling strategic infrastructure plan.

As previously mentioned, our amendments also provide for the removal of Racing Queensland Ltd as the control body and the establishment of the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board to fulfil that function. Important to note is the fact that the three chairs of the code-specific boards plus an additional two members will make up this entity.

This board’s composition and structure ensures that the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board will derive and retain its legitimacy and authority by virtue of the fact that it is truly representative of the sector.

The functions, roles and purposes of the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board are to: act as the principal racing authority—control body—for the purposes of satisfying national and international racing authority’s governance and regulatory requirements; identifying, assessing and developing responses to strategic issues relevant to the racing industry as a whole, including wagering negotiations and television rights deals; developing and implementing responses to strategic challenges faced by the relevant individual codes of racing or the industry as a whole; leading and facilitating negotiations between two or more code-specific boards about strategic issues and agreements that affect the relevant individual codes of racing or the industry as a whole; and provide administrative and corporate support to code-specific boards to enable them to deliver their functions and meet their objectives.

In terms of giving the industry a genuine say in who represents it, a board recruitment process will be instituted which fulfils both the spirit and the practical application of the LNP’s commitments.

The code-specific boards will consist of three non-executive independent members selected by an independent selection panel. The chairs of these code-specific boards and two other members identified by the independent selection panel will be appointed to the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board by the Governor in Council upon the recommendation of the minister.

Prospective members of the code-specific boards and the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board will be identified through a recruitment process conducted by an executive recruitment company engaged by the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing.

The recruitment company will provide details of the short-listed candidates to a selection panel appointed by the minister. In establishing a selection panel, the minister must consult with the persons involved in the racing industry.

The minister will consider the recommendations of the selection panel with the Governor in Council to appoint board members.

Once Racing Queensland Ltd is abolished, the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board becomes the control body for racing and all assets, employees, instruments, authorisations and liabilities of Racing Queensland Ltd will be transferred to it.

The bill proposes that the employees of Racing Queensland Ltd be transferred to the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board and continue to be employed under the applicable industrial relations system, whether federal or state, that they were employed under prior to the transfer. Amendments propose that a person who is an employee of Racing Queensland Ltd becomes an employee of the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board on the same terms and conditions of employment as applied to the person immediately before the commencement of the amendments.

The Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board will assume liability for outstanding leave entitlements and recognise the employees’ length of service at the date of transfer.

Our government has promised to restore accountability to racing, and one of the most important ways we will do so is by taking on responsibility for racing integrity functions.

The bill proposes to transfer appropriate racing integrity functions to government through the establishment of the Racing Disciplinary Board to replace the existing appeals committees established by Racing Queensland Ltd.

The Racing Disciplinary Board will be responsible for the initial hearing of all appeals from administrative and disciplinary decisions of the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board and stewards’ inquiries.

A person appointed as a member of the Racing Disciplinary Board must either be legally qualified or have knowledge of the rules of racing for one or more codes of racing.

The bill requires that any hearing conducted by the Racing Disciplinary Board must be conducted by a legally qualified member and a member with specific knowledge of the relevant code of racing.

The Newman government is responding to overwhelming feedback from the industry that they deserve a fair and transparent appeals system. Appeal hearings will be presided over by persons who have legal qualifications or a thorough knowledge of the rules that govern the operation of the racing industry.

A key provision of the bill requires that at any hearing conducted by the Racing Disciplinary Board the control body cannot be legally represented unless the licensee is also legally represented.

This provision addresses concerns voiced by licensees that they have previously been forced to incur significant legal expenses to level the playing field in appeals against decisions of the control body.

It is also proposed to establish a Racing Integrity Commissioner to provide independent oversight of integrity issues across the three codes of racing and conduct audits and integrity related investigations.

The Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board will be required to meet the costs associated with the operations of the Racing Disciplinary Board and the Racing Integrity Commissioner.

Proposed amendments to the Racing Act and the Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act 1998 will allow bookmakers to use internet based technology to conduct their business, both at the racecourse and at other off-course premises approved by the minister.

This will allow Queensland bookmakers to be more competitive with their interstate counterparts, especially the corporate bookmakers who have had a free ride on the Queensland racing industry for too long.

To ensure these changes also provide the benefit of strengthening the local bookmakers’ rings, bookmakers will need to conduct on-course, face-to-face bookmaking for a minimum number of meetings to gain an off-course approval.

The Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board will be responsible for approving any telecommunications system used by a bookmaker and monitoring it, as currently occurs with telephone only bookmaking under the Racing Act. However, any system for bookmaking approved by the control body will be required to demonstrate appropriate integrity standards and safeguards to protect both the bookmaker and customers.

Accordingly, the bill requires any online systems used for bookmaking to be independently certified to protect the public interest.

Wagering conducted under the Racing Act has always been exempted from being classified as an interactive game under the Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act 1998.

Accordingly, the bill proposes amendments to maintain this exemption for bookmakers conducting business via internet based technology.

Amendments to the Wagering Act are required to extend the funding for the Racing Industry Capital Development Scheme from 2014 to 2015. The scheme provides funding for priority infrastructure upgrades at racing venues across the state of Queensland.

The amendments to the Wagering Act 1998 allow the provision of funding of $110 million for the industry from the scheme, which fulfils the government’s election commitment.

In closing, the Racing and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 will continue the LNP’s delivery of our Rejuvenating Queensland Racing election policy.

By introducing amendments which truly give industry participants a greater and meaningful say in how their specific code, as well as the industry more broadly, is run—a freedom denied to grassroots participants by the former government—we will be in a position to deliver on our core commitment to rejuvenate racing in this state.