The entire board of Greyhound Racing Victoria has quit, weeks after the industry was rocked by a live-baiting scandal.
The state government has accepted the board’s offer to resign, with a three-person team to take over the running of the besieged industry.
GRV chairman Michael Harms tendered the board’s resignations. Mr Harms indicated that a new start was needed for the industry, Racing Minister Martin Pakula said on Wednesday.
In a media conference on Wednesday morning, Racing integrity Commissioner Sal Perna said the board was unaware of the practice of live baiting in Victoria and that it was a generation-old. He said changing the industry’s culture was the next step.
The board’s resignation came despite the Victorian state government’s interim report into the practice dismissing claims the industry was involved in wide-spread corruption or a cover-up and exonerating the GRV from any responsibility. The report claimed: “There is no evidence that the GRV board, CEO or senior management knew about the practice of live-baiting occurring in Victoria”.
The previous chairman of the GRV, Peter Caillard, stepped down following the live baiting controversy, which was aired on the ABC’s Four Corners program. He said he must be held accountable, although he denied any knowledge of the practice.
More to come
This story first appeared in The Age
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