THE racing industry in Queensland is breathing a collective sigh of relief with the overnight news that Tim Mander has been reinstated as Racing Minister.
Even those who were critical that the industry was not moving forward fast enough under the Mander implementation plans were concerned that it was going nowhere – in quicksand – under caretaker Minister Tim Powell.
The good news from Premier David Crisafulli is that there will be no Cabinet reshuffle with Mander immediately back at his desk and resuming the enormous porfolio duties involved Olympics, Paralympics, Sport and Racing.
The bottom line to this unfortunate affair is that Mander stood himself down from Cabinet after he was referred to the Australian Federal Police by the Australian Electoral Commission in May.
The AFP rejected complaints on Ministerial misconduct involving where he was enrolled to vote. That should be the end of the questions he needs to answer and if Labor doesn’t walk away from their continued harassment of Mander and his new partner, Ministerial colleague Amanda Camm, it will look like a witch-hunt.
The good news about Mander’s return is that a high profile candidate has emerged in the search for a new CEO of Racing Queensland. Whether new Board Chairman Matt McGrath wants Interim Lachlan Murray to retain the job or not, this is a one-horse race.
The identity in question, who is recognised world-wide for what he has already achieved in racing, arguably has more experience on the grass roots level of racing in Queensland, where he has a strong background, than Murray possesses in his little toe.
LGHR is confident that Minister Mander will see the difference in profiles of the pair. The appointment of the highly-credentialled candidate – whose identity we know but cannot reveal – would be a coup for racing in Queensland.
With the industry about to learn of the departure of another high profile identity who isn’t happy with the way the industry is travelling under Sydney-based Chairman McGrath, it’s time for Mander to take a stand and appoint someone to run the show.
McGrath might not be happy to have a CEO who knows much more than he does about racing but if he doesn’t like it he can always return to Harbour City with his tail between his legs.
LGHR doesn’t want to see Murray lost to the industry and recognises the job that he has done under trying circumstances. There is a roll for him involving his old mates from the corporate bookmaking fraternity. But a new CEO needs to put the cleaners through the First Lieutenants who ‘the bike rider’ has allowed to send the industry in the Sunshine Coast on a downward spiral.
To keep the industry happy, Mander needs to implement the recommendations of the Mary Collyer inquiry into the Racing Review run by McGrath and his colleague Kym Daly which saw both emerge as Members of the new Board it had recommended. There’s something about Mary in the eyes of the stakeholders and they hope there is a major role for her to yet be announced.
What projects are ear-marked for immediate attention should be much clearer with Tim Mander back to face the music later this month at the Government Estimates Hearings.
When the industry looks back on some of the Ministers it has had (LGHR is compiling a story on them), it should thank it’s lucky stars that Mander has survived this Federal Police investigation and that it didn’t inherit a couple of the no-hopers that were being mentioned in dispatches to replace him.
