Racing boss to clash on Rosehill mini city

Questions have been raised over the $5bn figure for the proposed sale and major redevelopment of Sydney’s Rosehill Racecourse into a 25,000 home mini city complete with a metro station and entertainment precinct.

During a parliamentary probe into the proposal on Friday, Australian Turf Club (ATC) chairman Peter McGauran and the group’s head of membership and corporate affairs Steve McMahon faced tense questioning over the yet-to-be confirmed plans that were first proposed in December.

The sale, which is at stage 2 of the unbinding unsolicited proposals process and still faces a vote from ATC members, is expected to net the racing club about $5bn.

Mr McGauran said the club had obtained the written valuation through property consultants MostynCopper, later adding the ATC had already spent about $320,000 on the proposal.

Asked if he could table the valuation report, Mr McGauran said he would first obtain legal advice due to “commercial confidence”.

“The figure has been worked through by the property consultants who engage other consultants who are experts in this field,” he said.

“Since that time, and it’s subject to the USP process … it’s been tested further by other appropriate organisations that do that kind of work. So the methodology behind it is sound and depends on how you cut the pie at the end.”

Questions were also raised over why Mr McMahon had previously said the land was valued at $2bn.

Independent upper house MP Mark Latham also questioned why Mr McMahon told a members’ consultation meeting in July the land was worth about $2bn “if it went on the market today”.

While he clarified the land would be worth “$5bn or even more” over time, Mr Latham said it was proof the $5bn figure was “not credible”.

Mr McGauran dashed the claims and said the figure didn’t factor in the creation of a new metro station.

“The best advice we’ve had is that if you wanted to sell Rosehill Gardens as is, (with) no rezoning (to include a metro station is that it would get) $1.6bn. Of course that’s a paltry return for the loss of a premium racetrack,” he said.

“We wouldn’t even let that bid through the door.”

Mr McGauran said there were a number of steps until the plan was fully realised and double downed that it would be contingent on a vote by ATC members set to take place either later this year or in the “first quarter of next year”.

“This stage 2 is non-binding and will assist us to determine whether to proceed to negotiating binding agreements with government at stage 3. If it doesn’t stack up, then we won’t proceed beyond stage 2,” he said.

“If we don’t negotiate what we need from the government in stage 3, we won’t proceed.

In June, the project progressed to stage 2 of the unbinding unsolicited proposals process, which means it will go through “further development and progression.”

The update found the racing group was “uniquely positioned to deliver a significant housing outcome” and “achieve a value for money outcome which will be confirmed through quantitative due diligence in stage 2”.

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has previously said Racing NSW will have the final say as to whether the proposal goes ahead and stressed it had “got to be in the best interests of the thoroughbred racing industry”.

“The majority of revenue the ATC gets comes from the NSW racing industry, not from its members,” he told reporters in May.

“We licence the club, and we’re the regulator, so there would have to be some agreement.”

Mr V’landys is set to give evidence to the committee at 11.45am on Friday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the inquiry, NSW Premier Chris Minns refused to predict whether the proposal would go ahead.

“We’ve really made it clear from the very beginning that this is a decision for ATC members. We don’t own the land, the land’s owned by the members of the racecourse, and there’s no compulsory acquisition,” he said

“But we’d be crazy just to walk away from a proposal that could see more housing for young people on a brand new public transport line for Sydney.”

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