THE Honourable Justice Margaret White has been appointed as Commissioner of the Racing Inquiry.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Jarrod Bleijie said the Governor In Council approved the appointment today.

“Serious allegations have been raised about the activities in the racing industry under the former Labor Government and the Newman Government is committed to getting to the bottom of it,” Mr Bleijie said.

“Queenslanders deserve to know where and how their tax dollars were spent and Justice White is the right person for the inquiry.

“Justice White is one of the most senior judges in Queensland and has served on the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal respectively for more than 20 years.”

Justice White presided as a Judge of the Supreme Court (Trial Division) between 1992 and 2010 and currently sits on the Court of Appeal.

Her Honour will retire from the Court of Appeal on 4 June upon reaching the statutory retirement age, and will commence this important role soon afterwards.

The wide-ranging Inquiry’s Terms of Reference are to examine:

• The tender process adopted by racing control bodies, including how contracts were awarded, in particular to Contour Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd
• The adequacy of corporate governance arrangements and financial controls, including whether conflicts of interests, both actual and perceived, were identified and appropriately acted upon
• The reported renegotiation of employment contracts of senior executives of Racing Queensland Limited
• Potential conflicts of interests between any of the directors of Racing Queensland Limited, Queensland Racing Limited, Queensland Race Product Co Limited and the Tatts Group regarding arrangements for revenue collection
• The transfer of $20 million by the former Government to Racing Queensland Limited in February 2012 immediately before the caretaker period for the State Election.

The Racing Inquiry will commence on 1 July 2013 and will report to the Premier with recommendations by 30 September 2013.

MEDIA RELEASE FROM ATTORNEY-GENERAL & MINISTER FOR JUSTICE JARROD BLEIJIE.