Members vote to amend RV constitution

Members of Racing Victoria have unanimously approved special resolutions to amend the RV constitution, moving closer to an independent board.

The special resolutions relate to reforms of the appointment process of directors of the RV Board announced by Victoria’s racing minister Martin Pakula last December.

While passed by RV members on Tuesday, under the Racing Act (1958) the amendments now must go before both houses of the Victorian Parliament.

Under the amended constitution, the minister has the responsibility for appointing the directors of the RV Board on the advice of an advisory panel consisting of the Secretary of the Department of Justice and Regulation (or nominee), along with nominees appointed by the Minister for Racing, Victoria’s metropolitan clubs, Country Racing Victoria and industry body members.

The minister will also appoint RV’s chair and deputy chair from among the appointed directors.

The RV board will be reduced from 11 to nine directors, including the chief executive, with no less than three current directors to continue on a newly constituted board.

Appointments will be for terms of up to four years with a maximum tenure of 10 years for new directors and 12 years for current directors.

Giles Thompson is currently acting as RV chief executive after Bernard Saundry left the role last December while Mike Hirst is the acting chairman..