PROCEEDINGS AT CONFERENCE

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26516, 3 September 1951, Page 4

PROCEEDINGS AT CONFERENCE

ROTORUA CLUB CRITICAL

(New Zealand Press Association) ROTORUA, August 31. The manner in which proceedings of the annual Racing Conference are conducted was severely criticised at last night’s meeting of the Rotorua Racing Club when the president (Mr E. Trobe HUI) reported on the failure of the club's application for an extra totalisator permit. It was decided to ask the Owners’, Trainers’, and Breeders’ Association to take up the question. Mr Hill said that 10 or 12 pages of the report were handed to delegates and that was the first they knew of the chairman's report for the year.

Of the 10 new racing permits, two had been allotted to <the Franklin Racing Club, and the report had been adopted without discussion.

When it came to the general business, said Mr Hill, he had asked the chairman whether in future delegates could -have some time to digest the annual report and that it be open for discussion. “I asked," he continued, "if an explanation could not be given to the meeting of why one country club had received two permits out of 10. If not, would the chairman please expalin it to the press. I also told the meeting of the resolution passed by the Waikato District Committee. which said it had understood that two permits were destined to go to Franklin and stating its opinion that -one of the days available should be granted to Rotorua.

“I got as far as I could, but I was stopped by another delegate, who raised the point that no permission had been given by the meeting to discus* the matter. Apparently you must have a dispensation from the meeting before you caq ask a question. I could do no more in the circumstances.

“The president of the Taranaki Jockey Club (Mr Fraser) recently expressed concern at the selfishness of some clubs, and voiced alarm that political pressure was being exerted by the bigger clubs. Mr Fraser added that a permit was looked upon as a political plum, and that it would be a serious thing if the smaller clubs were going to be trampled on," said Mr Hill. Mr E. G. Guy said that Mr Hill’s remarks. were only indicative of, what had been said before, namely, that permits went by preference, and he considered the country clubs should petition for some alteration in the conduct of the Racing Conference, otherwise they would be stifled. The speaker said that he had never heard of the order of‘procedure being so pushed around that when a report was received dlscusison was stopped. Unless those people adopted more democratic procedure it was high time a Royal Commission looked, not only into the Gaming Act. but also into the administration and procedure of the Racing Conference. Northern Wairoa. which had been granted a permit, had not the facilities for a race meeting, which meant, in effect, that Whangarei received an extra day. “We know Pukekohe is just a suburb of Auckland.” Mr Guy continued, “and what does racing do there except provide revenue for transport? They might just as well race at Ellerslie and be done with it; but that does not help the country clubs.”