Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Outgoing Darwin Turf Club CEO Brad Morgan on why returning the $12 million grandstand funding will cripple the racing industry

Transcript

Outgoing Darwin Turf Club CEO Brad Morgan on why returning the $12 million grandstand funding will cripple the racing industry · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We do know as well that obviously the Northern Territory
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: government and the Chief Minister has demanded for the repayment
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: of the twelve million dollars that's gone to the Darwin
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Turf Club grant. Stand so it is obviously for that
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: grant which had been provided by the Territory Labor government.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: But we now know that the Darwin Turf clubs say
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: that that will cripple the racing industry.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Now joining me on the line.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: To talk more about this is Brad Morgan, who is
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: indeed the CEO of the Darwin Turf Club.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Brad, Katy. How are you very well? Brad?
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: I will ask you about it towards the end.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: I know that you are due to finish up with
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the with the turf club.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: But talk us through you know this situation.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: In terms of the government demanding this repayment of the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: twelve million dollars, what kind of impact it's going to
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: have on racing in Darwin.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah? Thanks, Hey, Look, it's been speaks freme disappointing that
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: he the request for this telve dollars to fee to
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: be repaid to the government, but it's clear to everyone
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: that appears to be clear everyone except the Chief Innistry
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: maybe that Darmat Turf Club is not in a financial
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: position to we pay back that twelve million dollars. So
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: if the Darwin Turf Club were forced to pay that
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: through whatever means an order territory government posed, it won't
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: just be the Darwin Turf Club that suppers, will be
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: the entire racing industry that stuffers, a bit of the jockeys,
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: the strappers, the trainers, everybody will suffer because Darwin Turf
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: Club just does not have that the financial resources to
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: pay back twelve million dollars debt. Okay, the grand stand
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: was only built in June twenty twenty. Now, if the
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: Darwa Turf Club had twelve million dollars or I had
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: the capacity to finance twelve million dollars, they would have
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: financed themselves at the time rather than buying for a
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: grant to build that particular grand stand, which I must
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: say has provided everything that they said it would in
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: the way of assisting the new and territory economy. So
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: we would have a answer question. Directly, we have a
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: devastating effect on racing in the Norman Territory.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: And brad look I know that there'll be some people
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: listening this morning who will obviously refer to the IKAK
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: report and will be thinking to themselves that twelve million
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: dollars should never have been handed over to the Darwin
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Turf Club. But the fact of the matter here is
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: that it was, and you know you obviously received that grant.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: The turf Club has from what I can gather, fulfilled
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: their end of the bargain in terms of building the
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: grand stand.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Like they said they would build.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: So there's plenty of people questioning now how the government
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: can actually ask for this money back.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: Well, we were asking the same thing as I said.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: It's been extreme disappointing to hear through the media out
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: that the government going down that road in effect the
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: nowhere any IKK report does it ask for that for
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: that money to be to be repaid. Must also be
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: pointed out that the Dallan Turf Club, since the k
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: report landed, has completed all the recommendations of that k report.
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: The previous board is no longer there, new boards being
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: elected via a special general meeting. All of that board
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: have undertaken some training in governance and delegations and constitutional
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: issues and conflicts of interest obligations. There's been an order
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: done on the governance of darwin'sur Club with some very
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: minor findings. He must be said, a load of moderate
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: risks of work. A lot of those run away in
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: the first place. So, as I keep reiterating, I'm just
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: not too sure why the sorry the Northern Tertiary of
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: Government keeps making noises about paying twelve million dollars back
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: when And the other thing it must be said is
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: that there's been known as use of funds. The twelve
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: million dollars that was given to the Doe and Turf
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: Club to build a grand stand is exactly what happened.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: The grand stand was built.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: I know when I asked the Chief Minister about this
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, he had said that you
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: know that there hadn't been honesty and that the IKAK
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: report had found that you know, the appropriate information hadn't
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: been given, or that there was you know that there
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: was information which had been left out. I mean, taking
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: into account the IKAQ findings. What would you say to
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: anybody listening this morning who's thinking to themselves, well, no,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: I think it's fair enough that the Turf Club has
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: to pay this money back.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: Well, look, it can easily make that statement. It's an
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: easy statement to say, I don't know where the twelve
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: mind dollars going to come from. Katie the Silks. While
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: it's been the success Silks Licensed club, we have a
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: financial obligation to it. To her financier, no give end
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: will be paid until those lanes have extinguished, which is
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: for another five years. So look, I can understand the
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: public sentiment in saying that. So again I must say
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: that that all the funds we use for the completion
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: of that grand stand, it's completed. All of its obligations
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: that are said, there's been a fantastic boost for the
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: Northern Territory economy. Racing provides about one hundred and thirty
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: million dollars to the Northern Territory economy over twelve month period.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: That could be put a jeopardy if the twelve million
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  Speaker 3: dollars has to be repaid.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Brab what will happen?
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  Speaker 1: I mean if they dig their heels in here and
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: say that twelve million dollars has to be repaid, We're
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: going to reduce your funding annually until it is repaid.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: What's that going to mean for racing?
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come
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  Speaker 3: to Obviously, I'm just not too sure that the border
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: clearly very concerned about this, about this threat that seeing
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: the Darlan Turf Club said, as I keep reiterating, it's
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: not just Darlan Turf Club, it's the entire Lan Territory rating.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: So we will we would need at in some sort
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: of negotiations with the government if they pursue this. We
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: needed in some sort of negotiations how this could be
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: done at the level between the two parties.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Brad has an Audent Territory government.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Have they approached you about having that kind of discussion
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: at this point?
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: No, they have not. We haven't had any conversations Darlent
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: Turf Club have not had any conversations with an all
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: the territory government or received any correspondence to this point.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Oh look, it's sortainly, it certainly sounds like it's a
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: it's a you know, it's an interesting situation to.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: Say the least.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Brad, I know that you have or I understand that
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: you've actually resigned from your role.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: When do you finish up?
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we've got we've got some things to take care
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: of over the next few months. Katie. So I'll be here.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: We've got a ten general meeting on May twenty three,
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: so I'll be here at least until then. We'll get
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: past the general meeting and that'll just about to be
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: the end of my tenure day on Turf Club and.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Brad has has all of this had an impact or
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: had a part to play and you're deciding to end
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: your tenure with the Darwin Turf Club.
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I'd be lying, Katie. I said it didn't
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: the last two years. I started in January twenty and
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: it's just been a very turbulent period for Darwin Turf
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Club over over that time with the IKA investigation, some
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: other big issues that are at the day and Turf Club,
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: and then you throw COVID on top of that and
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: a couple of personal matters. Yeah, I'll be lying to
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: say that hasn't added to that do that mental burden?
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so it's still a little while ago, though, Brad.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: It sounds like you're there for a bit longer yet.
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: A few months ago.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Well, we appreciate your time this morning, Thank you very
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: much having a chat with us, and you know, we'll
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: stay on to this issue and find out what the
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: government's take on it is and exactly what steps they're
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: going to be taking next. But we appreciate your time
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: this morning, brad Ok.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Thank you,