Sue, I am not sure if this will work but here goes. Mal Dawson, Thanks for your words of support, the watchdog committee is being very proactive in discovery on behalf of all participants. The work Les Bein and others have done is mammoth. Queensland Watchdog Committee News Letter The Queensland watchdog Committee was formed from a group of approximately 20 greyhound racing identities following a meeting organised by Steve Hawkins. The catalyst for the meetings was probably the closure of the Gold Coast track and the grandstand problems with Albion Park. This group has been formed because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of greyhound racing in this State. The purpose of this newsletter is to bring licensees up to date with what we have learned and what our concerns are. We have had approximately 5 meetings and in that time we have met with the Directors of Greyhounds Queensland as well as a representative of the Opposition Leader Mr Springborg (Diane Balke), The Shadow Minister for Racing Mike Horan, the State Member for Lockyer Ian Ricketts, the head of the Racing Department Michael Kelly and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Member for Mt Ommaney, Julie Attwood. The meetings with these political identities were particularly encouraging and an indication of our reception with the Government representatives was that a scheduled 30 minute meeting went for an hour and a quarter. The stance of the Watchdog Committee is that the State Government has afforded Greyhounds Queensland an enormous opportunity to establish greyhound racing in this State as a world leader. But this opportunity will only be realised if it is managed efficiently. One of the most important pieces of information provided by Mike Kelly at this meeting was that the $10 million compensation from the closure of the Gold Coast and the transfer of the ownership of Cronulla Park at Logan was dependant on Greyhounds Queensland coming to an agreement with the Harness Board on the future of the Albion Park site. If a stalemate continues then it is highly likely that the government will step in to assist with a resolution. The issues: Albion Park: It is our stance that we will eventually need to leave Albion Park but as explained in the article in last months Journal by CEO Luke Gatehouse the timing of our exit from Albion Park will be crucial in obtaining our best possible financial advantage from that valuable asset. An early departure may well see us accept an amount of financial compensation well below its estimated value of approximately $112 million. Staying at Albion Park is not an option as we believe our opportunities to grow will be better realised as an independent entity. Logan: We believe in the Logan concept. We do, however, have reservations over the site at Cronulla Park being our best option. Because this site is a former dump there is environmental issues that have to be met before the construction can commence. (1) Currently there are 4 methane towers on this site to deal with the gas build up that occurs from the breaking down of refuse buried there. The Logan City Council currently budgets $40,000 per annum for the maintenance of these towers. This expense would become the responsibility of the greyhound industry once ownership is transferred. (2) The site has to be capped before construction can commence. The plan for the development of Cronulla Park includes an amount of $3.4 Million to meet the costs of capping. There is some conjecture at this time as this amount may be conditional on the fill being provided at no cost. Estimates we have procured from 2 independent sources both indicate that costs for capping a site of the size of Cronulla Park is more likely to be between $9 and $10 million. It would appear that Cronulla Park may be given to the greyhound industry for free but it does comes with an annual budget expense of $40,000 and a fee of between $3.4 million and $10 million to address environmental issues. (3) If Cronulla Park is cleared as the most practical option to build a multiuse complex for greyhound racing how long will it take? It was estimated that once commenced the Logan complex would not be operational for two years. This would be best case scenario and during our discussions in Parliament House all agreed that it will be most likely 3 years or longer depending on the priorities of the construction industry at that point in time. The questions that we ask are (A) Would it be more practical to buy a clean site for approximately $2 million with no environmental issues to address and no ongoing environmental maintenance costs? (B) Have Greyhounds Queensland made appropriate inquiries into what else is available for purchase without environmental issues? Interim Measures: Currently there appears to be no Plan B for the greyhound industry. What happens in the period between now and when the Logan complex is operational. Last year we saw the closure of Albion Park for approximately three weeks due to unforseen circumstances such as E.I. On those occasions we were able to transfer meetings to other tracks (Gold Coast & Ipswich). If that were to occur again what are our options for moving meetings? Will meetings be lost to trainers? Who will compensate them for loss of income? Will we retain our SKY race dates if something unforseen forces the closure of either track in the next three years? The Watchdog Committee has written to Greyhounds Queensland requesting that they conduct a survey on the support within the industry for the opening of a third track until the Logan complex is up and operational. We believe that this could be done on the internet so that everyone can see where the support within the industry lies. If there is support for an interim measure we believe that accurate financial estimates should be made for the re-opening of the Toowoomba and the Beenleigh track. An informed decision then has to be made as to which if any is the more practical option. This industry needs a third track not only to ensure that there are options in the event of unforeseen circumstances but also to strengthen out tenuous status in negotiations with the Harness Board. Doing nothing is no longer an option. On 11 September the Watchdog Committee wrote to Greyhounds Queensland following the meetings at Parliament House. A copy of this letter is attached (Attachment A) This letter was responded to by Greyhounds Queensland and it indicated that the issues raised would be dealt with at their meeting on Thursday 25 September. To date there has been no information as to the result of that meeting. A phone call made to Greyhounds Queensland on Thursday 2 October requesting the results of those meetings had not been responded to. Therefore the Watchdog Committee resolved at their meeting on Thursday 2 October to write to Greyhounds Queensland expressing their disappointment at the lack of communication and restating the need for a web poll so that all members of the industry can record their support or otherwise for the provision of an interim track whilst the Cronulla Park and Albion Park issues are being resolved. The Watchdog Committee will undertake to keep the industry informed as to the progress of that request.
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