So the big news of the day is the decision by the members of the ATC to vote against the deal to sell off Rose Hill Garden's racecourse. This would have seen the state government spend five billion dollars over the course of about ten years to redevelop the land for twenty five thousand homes. The vote has been unsuccessful, so fifty six percent voted no, forty four percent voted yes, and there were more people at the meeting that had
been expected. The Chairman of the ATC as Peter mcgorran, Thank you for joining us, Peter at pleasure.
Clinton.
Are you disappointed this afternoon?
Yes, of course, I believe it was the best thing for the club, for racing and for the community.
That being the case, and you were looking to generate five billion dollars. Is the future the financial future Racing New South Wales now in jeopardy because you won't have that five billion dollars cash injection.
Certainly the ATC is I can't speak for Racing New South Wales. That's Peter for Landyes, so.
Just interrupt that the ATC is in financial jeopardy.
Oh no, no, We'll always viable, Clinton, But we've only ever got our nose above water, and oh no, we run a great club, as anyone who's attended Randwig or rose Hill would know, but we're never going to be able to upgrade our facilities what members and public enjoy at the moment. We've been doing that in twenty years. We have no funding which requires hundreds of millions of dollars given we own four racetracks three training centers to upgrade.
So that's the challenge that what is already quickly becoming a niche sport will become an even smaller sport because we don't offer a modern value offering to members or general public. We've lost twenty five percent of our membership since twenty nineteen and rose Hill has lost a half of its attendances over ten years.
That's a fairly dire prospect then. So that being the case, is this completely off the agenda or is there another way you could revisit the plan to sell rose Hill?
No, it's off the agenda. It was an all or nothing offer. Because the two drills digging the Metro begin to hit at rose Hill Gardens in the next few weeks, So the opportunity for a Metro to construct a metro station is lost. You can't put in a metro station once the line is completed.
But the government still could develop twenty fast thousand homes without a metro in the future. It's not good, but they could do it.
It would have to acquire the land and Chris Smins and I believe and will never do that. He said it privately and publicly so long as he's Premier. There will not be a compulsory acquisition, okay.
To show up the finances of the ATC and the strength of racing going forward in New South Wales? Could you sell off other assets? Could you sell off Wick Farm?
For instance? No? What Warwick Farm? Because it's one of our training centers with some eight hundred and fifty horses. We couldn't do that. Canterbury Canterbury is a possibility, but planning is complex there that it's not a sympathetic or involved counsel to put it mildly and the return whilst a few hundred million dollars not to be sneezed at, would be welcome, that's basically a band aid. We needed significant funding to completely reinvigorate and revitalize all of our major assets.
But if you need that Peter and this has been knocked over and selling off Canterbury's is to bandaid. What are you going to do to reinvigorate racing.
Well Canterbury is a possibility and through the process Clinton, a lot of members who are opposed to the sale of rose Hill are not opposed to the sale of Canterbury. But that could be a long process. Council have a very different concept for that area. They want lower buildings, they want more open space. You're not going to gain what you really need, but sure, if you're really desperate.
You could look at it. You could look at it now, you could look at it. I spoke with Gay Waterhouse and obviously she's been an opponent of this campaign for some time. She says, you should resign. Will you stay in your position?
Yes, I'm not going to resign for a couple of reasons. First, I would have been in breach of my fiduciary responsibilities if I had not brought this proposal to members. It wasn't for me to say, oh, I've decided it's rose Hills too sentimental, it's of too much value to the racing participants. I'm not even going to put this proposal all seven directors voted when they were first told about this in December twenty twenty three to put a proposal
to members. Now recently four of the seven directors supported the actual proposal that was voted and the resolution by members. So I'm a servant of the board. The board might replace me, but I'm not going to stand aside.
So those proposals for free membership for the lifetime members, free membership for five years, the thousand dollars behind the bar and at restaurants and food out let's per you for five years all off the table.
Now, yep, it's off the table. And the renovation of the members' facilities at Randwick and Warwick Farm are off the table. The upgrade of the stables at Warwick Farm and Randwick are off the table. Look, I can't hide my disappointment. Clinton. This was a chance once in a lifetime because of a metro station that will now evaporate, to revolutionize in a way every other race club in the world would give their right arm to be able to do.
I know you're the public face. This is the chairman of the ATC, but as you know, the leader of the Racing New South Wales organization Peter Velandis is very effective. He usually wins in the end. Do you think there's a way that mister and he was very supportive of this proposal. Do you think there is a way that mister Landi's can get his way through another means.
No, he accepts the members vote as I do. There's no legal way to do it because remember the ATC is governed by the Registered Clubs Act and that requires a vote of members for the dispersal of land. So it's the status quo and all the challenges that brings.
That is going to bring challenges for sure. Thank you for your time, Peter, Thanks Clinton, Peter mcgorr who's the chairman of the ATC. So there we have it. It's over. We are now told it's over. Chris Minn says there'll be no compulsory acquisition of rose Hill Gardens, so there'll be no twenty five thousand homes at rose Hill