09-10-2009, 06:21 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 26
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Australian Rugby Union told to show guts over Victoria
Quote:
FORMER Brumbies chief executive Rob Clarke has called on the Australian Rugby Union directors to show some courage and properly monitor the process of choosing Australia's fifth Super rugby franchise.
The ARU management last week recommended awarding the Super 15 expansion licence to the VicSuper 15 franchise backed by Kevin Maloney, and supported by Melbourne Victory owner Geoff Lord's Belgravia Group.
Seemingly that left out in the cold the Victorian Rugby Union, which had assembled a powerhouse consortium headed by prominent media buyer Harold Mitchell, former World Cup-winning Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen and a string of prominent business backers prepared to invest at least $6million in the proposed Melbourne team.
So unequivocal was the message from ARU headquarters to the VRU that it was to play no role in the new franchise other than to have one seat on the board, despite representing the grassroots Victorian rugby community, the consortium disbanded in disillusionment.
In the outcry that followed, the ARU maintained that the decision was not a decision at all, but a recommendation to be put to the ARU board early this week for possible ratification.
The VRU, making the most of its reprieve, reformed its bidding team and spent the weekend preparing its case for the ARU board, in particular pointing out it was not given a fair chance to outline its private equity credentials.
Its case has been given a powerful push by Clarke, who in a letter to the editors of a number of major newspapers, including The Australian, urged the ARU directors to exercise their powers to oversee the performance of the ARU management.
"It's clearly time for the ARU board of directors to stand up and be counted and do what they are supposed to be there for," Clarke said in his letter.
"The recent court decision in James Hardie and public pronouncements from the ASX and ASIC have heightened the focus of the personal responsibilities of non-executive directors and corporate governance generally in Australia.
"The ARU management's recommendation regarding the award of the licence of the new Super 15 team in Victoria will test whether those occupying the seats on the ARU board are willing to subject the management to the scrutiny this critical decision deserves.
"Clearly, it's too late for the board to prevent the Lote Tuqiri wrongful dismissal debacle, which cost our cash-strapped game significantly, whatever the final amount - not to mention the reputational issues for the way the ARU treats its players.
"This incident should have the alarm bells ringing in the ears of every ARU board director of the risk that their management is running out of control.
"If the clear mandate for a board to act to maintain checks and balances has not been enlivened by the apparent lack of transparency, consultation and integrity in the process of choosing a fifth super rugby team in Australia, then this board should not exist, but simply hand over the reins to the existing CEO with the new title of executive chairman."
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Source: Australian Rugby Union told to show guts over Victoria | The Australian |
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Australian Rugby Union told to show guts over Victoria
