Shadow Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing, Marie-Clare Boothby, says new Racing Minister, Chansey Paech, needs to dump Labor’s plan to recoup the $12 million gifted to the Darwin Turf Club through an improper Cabinet process, and provide certainty to the Territory racing industry.
“Labor itself is divided over whether to claw back the funds, with the Minister for Major Events, Paul Kirby, telling Mix 104.9 “It would be like motor racing, you wouldn’t want to strip a big bunch of funding out of them and put their industry at risk.”
“Meanwhile, outgoing Darwin Turf Club CEO Brad Morgan told Mix 104.9 that the decision to recoup the money is “still in limbo”, and “there’s been no correspondence from the NT Government about whether they are still intending to claw back the $12 million, or that’s not going to happen”.
“That’s despite Racing Minister, Chansey Paech, telling Estimates he has met with the Darwin Turf Club and Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory (TRNT), and that discussions remain “ongoing”.
“The funding agreement between TRNT and Government starts on July 1, and DTC CEO Brad Morgan said industry needs to hear something of a ‘definitive nature’ by then, adding it would be “slightly irresponsible for the government to lob it on our doorstep with very little time left to negotiate”.
“The 2022 Darwin Cup Carnival officially begins this Saturday with the Darwin Guineas. Our racing industry needs certainty and confidence it won’t be stripped of critical funding to continue holding one of the biggest events on the Darwin social calendar.
“The CLP Opposition fully supports the NT racing industry’s rejection of Labor’s demands to pay back the $12 million for the grandstand. “The only people who could approve the $12 million grant was the Chief Minister and his Labor colleagues. They collectively made a funding decision without following the proper process. The Territory racing industry should not be crippled because of government’s attempts to dodge, distract and deflect from its own shameful behaviour,” said Ms Boothby.
ENDS