Which of our councillors have owned a racehorse?

The simple question of which Warrnambool City councillors have owned a racehorse has thrown up all sorts of hurdles. Image: sportspix

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about how hard it has become to get to the truth, and for people to get answers to even straight-forward questions, like how many Warrnambool City councillors have owned shares in a racehorse in the past four or five years.

This question was put to the CEO as part of public question time at last month’s council meeting and also asked by me directly to each councillor, and we still don’t have a full answer.

Here is what we know so far:

Cr Sue Cassidy told me via email that she had shares in two horses: one, trained by Michelle Payne, she dipped out of in early to mid 2018 and the other, trained by local Matthew Williams, she divested in 2017.

Crs David Owen and Tony Herbert said they have had no such interests.

Crs Kylie Gaston and Mike Neoh didn’t respond to either me or the CEO.

Cr Robert Anderson didn’t respond either, but I chased him up with a phone call because I was told he did – and does – have interests in a racehorse. He told me in no uncertain and angry terms that it was none of my business, that it was personal, and that the question was on par with asking whether he had three girlfriends, or lived with a man, or owned four houses…..err, not quite.

As it stands, under the Local Government Act 1989 (written on parchment), none of the above is considered a direct conflict of interest, even though the councillors have been hotly involved in the racehorses on beaches debate.

Under the new Act, going through State Parliament as we speak, it will be. It is also a conflict under IBAC guidelines, but guidelines are not rules or laws: they just encourage public officers to name it up. (The old ‘pub test’.)

I can’t help but wonder how things might have unfolded around the whole racehorses on beaches battle if we had known about these interests from day one.

As it now stands, the council may still have to make one more major decision, even though the majority of trainers have agreed to no longer pursue Levy’s.

Racing Victoria/Country Racing Victoria is apparently coming the heavy on the Warrnambool Racing Club to press on with Levy’s, because to back out now could set a precedent to close off other horse training beaches like Balnarring and Barwon Heads.

We always suspected W’bool was a pawn in a much bigger game.

Surely our council would never succumb to such pressure….would it?

This article is part of an ongoing series supported by the Walkley Foundation, including funding Freedom of Information applications and other research tools. If you would like to help The Terrier keep digging, you can find the Tip Jar here.

Highly respected researcher wades into racehorse debate

Highly respected environmentalist and academic Dr John Sherwood is preparing a report on the area of Levy’s Point designated for large-scale racehorse training . Image: Deakin University Research.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Now this is some serious clout: top-gun academic Dr John Sherwood, from Deakin University, is preparing a report on the Levy’s Beach area which has been earmarked for large-scale racehorse training.

Dr Sherwood, a member of the State Government’s new Marine and Coastal Council and the 2017 Warrnambool City Council Citizen of the Year, has been keeping a quiet eye on the plan to allow up to 160 racehorses a day into what is part of the Belfast Coastal Reserve.

Dr Sherwood is now looking closely into the so-called “Hoon Hill” area, which has been woefully under-researched in terms of its potential environmental and cultural importance.

Respected local ecologist Jodie Honan is also preparing a report on the plants and animals in the area, because – once again – we don’t really know what is there.

Despite this gaping hole in the data, the Warrnambool City Council and State Government intend to allow up to 120 racehorses a day on the beach and 40 a day on the dunes, five days a week, from November.

As you do…in a coastal reserve.

Both reports have been commissioned by the Belfast Coastal Reserve Action Group which, as we know, has been fighting commercial racehorse training on beaches for almost four years now.

Dr Sherwood entering this issue is, to me, monumental because he comes with decades of experience and a tonne of respect.

His most recent work, in case you have been hiding in a cupboard, gained international attention after it raised the possibility of humans living at Moyjil/Point Richie in Warrnambool up to 120,000 years ago – 50,000 years longer than previously thought.

I will be fascinated to see his and Jodie’s reports.

Free kick: Is Labor backing Purcell over its own candidate?

By Carol Altmann

Is Labor backing Independent James Purcell to win this seat at the next election and not its own candidate in Kylie Gaston?

Why else would Premier Daniel Andrews give Mr Purcell a giant free kick in allowing him to announce $7 million for the Reid Oval upgrade in Warrnambool?

I am going out on a limb here, but in all my years of political reporting, I never saw – *ever* – a government miss a chance to announce big bucks for an electorate in the run up to an election.

And yet Labor hand-balled, pardon the pun, the opportunity straight to Mr Purcell who ran with it – of course – and kicked a major goal by giving the local paper the “exclusive” right on the eve of the Hampden League Grand Final.

Bang! Six points to Mr Purcell!

Weeks earlier, Mr Purcell had promised he could get the funding by the footy final and – voila – he did!

I smell a plot, which has only thickened.

The Premier’s dept confirmed today that yes, Mr Purcell had been told about the funding first because “he had campaigned hard locally on the issue”.

They knew “he would probably go public” with the news before they did, but they didn’t seem overly fussed by this.

Wow! What a kick in the proverbials for their own candidate, Ms Gaston!

Mr Purcell, as he has said before, is still thinking about whether to move from the Upper House to the Lower House for the next election. (He has to decide by November 8.)

I reckon the $7 million smackeroos just about seals the deal, which is why Labor is jumping on board.

After all, if Mr Purcell wins the seat, they will have him all buttered up before he arrives.

Mr Purcell will be a vote they can count on – obviously – much more than sitting Liberal MP Roma Britnell.

For Labor, it is almost as good as winning this safe ol’ Liberal seat in the south-west.

And Mr Purcell has shown he likes the power that being a key independent MP can bring. He may not have that same power in the Upper House after the next election – how boring – so why not have a crack at the Lower?

Need more proof? He has even opened an electorate office in Portland, for heaven’s sake!

And let’s be frank, Mr Purcell, who presents like a Liberal and is all tied up with the racing industry, will attract a lot of votes from the conservative side.

When he first ran for the Lower House in 2010, he drew almost 12% of the primary vote, despite being up against Liberal mega-star Dr Denis Napthine.

This time around Mr Purcell has a bigger public profile, a much more vulnerable sitting member in Ms Britnell and now – thanks to the Andrews’ Government – some serious runs on the board in delivering what he says he will deliver, be it funds for a footy oval, or racehorse training on beaches.

If he pulls it all off, Ms Britnell will look like a Melbourne player wondering what in the heck just happened.

Let the game begin!

(Image: www.jamespurcell.com.au)