Three rebel board members fear the Melbourne Racing Club is hauling them before a disciplinary hearing this week as part of a strategy to prevent them from voting for a new club chairman.
Caulfield agitator John Kanga says the trio – which includes himself, Caitrin Kelly and Alison Saville – have been asked to front the club’s disciplinary committee on Thursday to answer allegations of breaching the club’s code of conduct.
Melbourne Racing Club board member John Kanga.
Kanga has been critical of the club’s recent $160 million upgrades at Caulfield, while Saville and Kelly accused the MRC board of having a “longstanding poor culture and toxic atmosphere” as well as previous instances of bullying. The MRC denied the allegations.
The bitter board stoush comes as the MRC conducts an election process ahead of Thursday night’s annual general meeting.
With chairman Matt Cain and executive committee member Mark Pratt stepping down, two new board members will be announced at the AGM, and a new chairman will be voted in on Friday.
But Kanga believes the three rebels, who are part of the Save Our MRC group, are being set up to be suspended so that they cannot vote for new office bearers.
The group believes Kanga will be elected chairman if all board members are allowed to vote.
“This so-called ‘disciplinary hearing’ is an attempt by the very people whose performance the members and the racing industry are heavily criticising, to set up a kangaroo court to retain their positions,” Kanga said.
“These are the same board members we have sought to remove at a special general meeting of members, which unfortunately they have made every effort to avoid and delay at enormous cost to the club.
“They know they cannot win a vote of members and are now potentially seeking to subvert the democratic process by suspending us on the very day when the members look set to elect two new committee members that are likely to support us.”
Caufield’s new-look mounting yard was unveiled in February.Credit: Getty Images
Kanga’s motion for a special general meeting to spill the board was declared illegal by the MRC last week.
“They have sought to threaten and censor us by weaponising and misusing this code of conduct, which clearly should not prevent us informing members of serious problems and issues of which they need to be aware when they are being asked to vote at a special general meeting to remove board members,” Kanga said.
“They are clearly not legally entitled to do so. This is a continuing pattern of behaviour and those sort of threats have been made a number of times previously.”
A spokesperson for the MRC nomination, remuneration and governance subcommittee said the club was “committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance”.
“The committee is concerned that a series of actions from three executive committee members may have breached the code of conduct,” the spokesperson said.
“The code of conduct has been accepted by all committee members and was established to ensure the highest standards and proper conduct at the committee level are followed.
“No determination has been made at this stage and the relevant individuals have been invited to respond to those concerns, as is appropriate. No further comment can be made at this stage while the proper process is ongoing.”
Kanga said last month the club was in “disarray” following stage one of its masterplan – which included a new mounting yard, subterranean tie-up stalls, an inner track at Caulfield and jockey-trainer-broadcast facilities.
Kanga pushed for change on three key issues: moving Caulfield’s new mounting yard back to its original position, scrapping the proposed new $250 million “white elephant” grandstand and retaining racing at Sandown.
Save Our MRC called for the removal of executive committee members Matt Cain, Nick Hassett, Mark Pratt, Brooke Dawson and Scott Davidson. They also asked for a representative of the Mornington advisory group to replace Jill Monk on the eight-person MRC board.
Members have until Tuesday to vote for the coming board election. The MRC’s master plan has been a central issue.
Three of the six candidates – Sheamus Mills, Peter Brown and Cameron Fisher – have outlined in their statements that they are opposed to a $250 million plan to replace the glass-fronted Rupert Clarke grandstand at Caulfield. The three also support racing continuing at the MRC’s Sandown Racecourse.
The three remaining candidates are Craig Gardner, Paul Johnson and Colin Madden. Johnson says he will support the members’ decision on Sandown as well as the future development of Caulfield.
Madden says his focus is ensuring the MRC has a board that works “cooperatively for the benefit of the club members”, while Gardner says he wants “strong governance and continued improvement to achieve excellence at all three racecourses”.
The MRC will host its two biggest meetings – the Caulfield Guineas and Caulfield Cup – next month.
