Chris O'Keefe reveals why Racing NSW boss is being targeted over Rosehill Racecourse 09:13

There have been some very ordinary scenes and smears heard in NSW Parliament today, and it all revolves around Peter Volandes. Now, Peter Volandes fronted an inquiry, and the inquiry's into Rose Hill Racecourse being sold and turned into apartments. Now, I just want to start this by saying this, right?

The reason this is such a scandal is it's a stuff-up by Peter McGoran, the chair of the Australian Turf Club, and it's a stuff-up by the Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns. That's it. Those two are the only people who should be embarrassed by the fact that we are where we are. It was terrible management and even worse politics, but they know that already. Anyway, we all make mistakes. But the inquiry into whether Rose Hill should be turned into a 25,000-unit city...

And the stuff that has followed, well, it's turned into a kangaroo court. So the inquiry is not really into the process, but it's turned into a kangaroo court trying to kill Peter Volandes and smear his reputation. It is truly ridiculous. Listen to this. So Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst.

She put to Mr Volandes that sexual harassment complaints may have been made against him. And as CEO of Racing NSW, Mr Volandes had entered into a private settlement agreement with a former employee, the basis of which, well, there wasn't any.

A comment made around, and the exact term was scuttlebutt gossip around sexual harassment complaints. Do you have a response to that? Complete and utter rubbish. Again, it's a smear with no evidence whatsoever. I have never had a complaint against me for any situation at any time in my career. And for someone to suggest that is the lowest form of...

And the other thing it does is it takes away credibility from people that genuinely do have complaints about people that they don't bring it forward. There has never, ever, ever, ever, ever been a complaint about me.

So you have never entered into a private settlement with a former employee? No, I'd like to answer that. Absolutely not. Never, ever, ever. I have never paid assent. I'm aware before my time that there was a person at Racing NSW at a non-disclosure agreement, but I have never had a complaint. Never, not once.

So to do a settlement disclosure agreement is complete rubbish. This is not intended to smear me. This is intended to look at the sale of Rose Hill. So at the moment all it is is a smear campaign with absolute zero evidence. There's no evidence that I've ever signed a disclosure agreement with any person and I take great offence to it.

I've worked my life for 20 years. I have three young children, and they're going to hear from this inquiry that I've done this, when I haven't? Did Mr Latham do domestic violence? No, he didn't. What are you on about?

on about. You're saying that about me. You're complaining about people smearing you and that's your best response. Well, I'm just giving you an example how you can be smeared and I'm not saying you did, but you can be smeared that way. Back to the question, please. But you don't understand my point, Mr. Latham. Yes, I do. You smear me with no evidence. I've got evidence.

Mr. Volandes, Mr. Volandes, Mr. Volandes, Mr. Volandes, if I draw you back, you're being asked questions by the Deputy Chair. It didn't end there. So Mr. Volandes unequivocally said he's never ever interfered with stewards' inquiries as the CEO of Racing NSW. And the people behind these smears are powerful breeders who are potentially cruel to horses.

Now, he said that Mark Latham is in cahoots with the powerful breeders, and that's when the two men just went at it.

Now, there's no way in the world the ATC is going to take the money and invest it in Tamworth Course or Albury. Why would they do that? So any logical person reading that element of the minutes would think there must be a proposal for someone to allocate money beyond the ATC tracks around New South Wales to benefit the racing industry as a whole. But if you look at the previous minute, Mr... I know what it says about the ATC. You said they're not much chop. Mr Latham...

I'd like to respond to your question. That's one of the standing orders, is to allow the person to answer the question. If you're going to speak over me all the time, I would like the chairman to overrule you, because you can't overspeak to the witness. If you want to intimidate and bully me like you normally do, fair enough. But I've put up with bullies all my life, so I know how to handle it.

Very unedifying anyway. Peter Volandes then went on the attack while defending the culture at Racing NSW. Again, Mr Latham, you can smear me all you like, but there is absolutely zero...

credibility to what you're saying. Well, these are not my submissions. These are submissions that have been made against you to this committee and I'm raising them with you. Well, who are they? Well, my question to you is... Now, who are the submissions? Put up the evidence. Someone can say that, you know, you've got charge for domestic violence. It

I've got no proof of that. So how can you make allegations and smears against somebody with absolutely zero evidence, Mr Latham? Zero evidence. Zero. Zero. Mr Volandis, no one's made a submission about me to this committee, but many, many people... Have you ever been charged with a... OK, OK, both of you, please come to order, because... No, I'm not withdrawing it, because you have smeared me... I'm not asking you to withdraw. Mr Volandis, Mr Volandis, please. There you go. Anyway...

When it came to Rose Hill Racecourse, which is the actual point of the inquiry, mind you. Now, there was a little bit of scuttlebutt that Peter Volandis was somehow the idea behind the sale of Rose Hill Racecourse. Now, I've said countless times on this program that is false. Not because Peter Volandis told me to, because I know it's false.

It was a financially strapped turf club and a desperate and novice state Labor government that wanted a shallow headline around building housing, which they seem incapable of doing, mind you. It had nothing to do with Peter Volandes. But it was racing New South Wales' idea to sell Rose Hill.

Completely false. When I found out about Rose Hill being sold, I was actually in Washington. Unless it was Joe Biden's idea, it certainly wasn't mine. Look, he also said there needs to be a replacement track for Rose Hill for the sale to proceed. And they're looking at the brick pit at Sydney Olympic Park. I'm telling you, that will not happen. There's not going to be horse racing at Sydney Olympic Park. Maybe an updated Warwick Farm, but look, that's about it.

Look, the board of the Australian Turf Club too admitted that the $5 billion figure that was spruced by the Premier and Peter McGoran at the press conference, that figure has never been formally put to the board. I revealed that. I told you weeks ago because it's not true. They're not going to raise $5 billion. There's no developers telling them that they can.

The only dollar figure that was put to the board was $1.6 billion. Long way off five, right? Plus, the full board of the Australian Turf Club was only told about the sell-off of Rose Hill after they'd spruiked it to the Labor government. Again, amateur hour. And you can see why the members of the Turf Club will dismiss this proposal outright, as they should, too, at this point.

This is not how good governments or organisations do businesses or deals of such significance. And the lack of a critical lens being put on this proposal by people who should be is, quite frankly, very disappointing. But I've had many people ask me why Peter Volandis is being targeted. What's all this about? Even people in government, members of Cabinet, going, why are they attacking Peter Volandis? I don't understand all this. Well, you want to know what this is actually about? Power and ego.

So breeders who are worth in some instances hundreds of millions of dollars, they don't like the new races like the Everest. They don't like those races. And they don't like them because they compete with traditional races in Melbourne. And winning traditional races like the Cox Plate or the Manicato make breeders' bloodstock supposedly more valuable. And if you've got new races like the Golden Eagle, they can erode that value because they dilute the strength of the traditional races.

So to put it really succinctly, we have a fight between old and new money. That's what it is. Peter Volandes, new money. The breeders, old money. Peter Volandes has disrupted their fiefdom, and he probably thinks a bit of it is his fiefdom now. I'm aware of an email that's going around that's basically saying...

This is your chance to get rid of Volandes, so make up whatever you can, put a submission in, doesn't matter if it's the truth, doesn't matter if it's lies, but just smear him. And I don't think this inquiry is, the intention is to smear people, it's to look into Rose Hill. Well, unfortunately, Peter Volandes, they did smear you. It was very unfortunate, but today, you got your own back.