New South Wales Deputy Premier and racing minister Troy Grant has been forced into an embarrassing back down just hours after former NRL official Grant Mayer was publicly announced as a member of the Harness Racing NSW board..
Mr Mayer has moved to Adelaide to a position as chief executive of as A-League side Adelaide United and as a consequence the Racing Minister has had to do a backflip.
Mayer would have represented country areas on the board and that his appointment was met with disbelief within the industry. The cost of his attending board meetings from Adelaide would have had to be met by HRNSW.
“The independent selection panel was not aware of Mr Mayer’s intention to live or work outside of Sydney at the time the he was recommended for appointment to the Harness Racing NSW Board,” a spokesman for Mr Grant said.
Mayer was appointed on Tuesday and attended a HRNSW board meeting the same day before being appointed to the Adelaide United job on Wednesday, surely he knew or at least had a good idea he was about to be appointed and relocate to South Australia.
Grant was quoted in a media release, which also acknowledged Mayer’s position at Adelaide United.
“Mr Mayer’s substantial business management experience and skills from across different sporting codes gives me the confidence he will make important contributions to the growth and popularity of harness racing,” Grant said in the release, which was sent at 4.30pm Thursday but quickly taken down.
Mayer seemed the ideal candidate with more than 20 years in sports administration, including working in senior roles at Manly Warringah, West Tigers and Canterbury before moving to the Greater Western Sydney Giants.but once again another sports gain is harness racing’sloss.
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