Rosehill rejection: Why did ATC members look a gift horse in the mouth?
Not since 100-to-1 outsider Prince of Penzance defied the odds to win the 2015 Melbourne Cup has a result so deeply confounded established racing logic. The rejection by members of the Australian Turf Club of a $5 billion proposal to sell Rosehill Gardens Racecourse to the NSW government comes close.
The prospect of 25,000 new homes on a site situated in the heart of Australia's fastest-growing region were stakes Premier Chris Minns had no option to mount. Under the National Housing Accord he has committed to delivering 377,000 new homes across NSW by 2029. Weigh up the racecourse's adjacency to a newly-constructed light rail network, a coming metro line and a surging jobs hub in Parramatta, and the odds looked impossible to ignore.
The NSW government has made no secret of the centrality of housing supply to its agenda. From its establishment last year of the Housing Delivery Authority, through to its pursuit of its Transport Oriented Development initiative, its colours were clear and unambiguous.
Recent measures by the premier to upscale the state's production of modular homes – and the contingent manufacturing jobs boost – only upped the stakes. As did the commitment from Peter V'landys, chief executive and board member of Racing NSW, to 'ensure the revenue derived from the [Rosehill] proposal is reinvested to benefit the racing industry as a whole'.
Even these assurances couldn't get the proposal over the line. Nor did the prospect of around $2 billion in upgrades to other racetracks, or the sweetener of food, beverage and membership fee concessions. If I know punters' logic, the reason might lie in sentiment, rather than logic. Let me tell you why.
Loading
My grandpop, Harry, was a veteran of the 1945 New Guinea campaign. He would forlornly recall he was 'too tall' to be a jockey. Still, he remained a lifelong horseracing devotee. He lived in a fibro housing commission house in Granville, due to the state's last great housing shortage post-World War II. It was only five minutes from Rosehill racetrack, where he would periodically venture to, 'see a man about a dog'.
Normally unassuming, Harry would harshly shush all of us grandkids when the races came on his 'transistor'. Either that, or he'd send us to the corner shop to buy him a packet of Rothmans Extra Mild cigarettes. 'Get some lollies' with the change he would add.
When I was older, I asked Harry in gambling parlance what the 'tells' were in backing a horse trackside. 'Form be damned', he would rail. 'If you see a horse in the mounting yard sweating too much on a chilly day, give it a miss', he advised. 'Ears up, ears up!' That was his favoured sign. An alert, edgy horse was a sure bet, pop assured me.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
33 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Meghan and Prince Harry set up court of advisers to give them sense of 'royalty' after Trump's election derailed her political ambitions
In January 2020 Harry left his UK royal home to meet up with Meghan and baby Archie, who had left for Canada two weeks earlier. He and Meghan didn't like the royal routine. They wanted to be free and do things their way, rather than follow the requests of their royal aides. A royal author even alleged that Meghan once said "it's not my job to coddle people" when confronted by a senior aide over her treatment of staff. Meanwhile royal aides accused Harry of 'breathtaking arrogance' after he claimed he wanted to 'protect' the Queen. Five years later Harry and Meghan now appear to have created their own royal household, and launched their own mini 'royal court' of staffers, all of whom white, to take on the demands, according to The Mail on Sunday. It won't be easy and their royal household is likely to take generations to create. It is also likely to be a cheap knock-off of the real thing. Even if Meghan tries to show she's more modern and suitable to be a royal than Princess Catherine. It's something I know Harry once suggested to the late Queen Elizabeth. It all sounds rather pointless as Meghan doesn't listen to advice - she believes she always knows best and that Harry only listens to her. Some staff might not last long. The motivation for setting up her own 'court' of advisors could be that with Donald Trump as US President she realises she has no chance to get a senior political role. So she might as well try for her own brand of royalty. Prince William will no doubt be irritated and angry should the Sussexes attempt to in any way surpass the Royal Family. He won't be happy either if they start using their HRH title, which they promised they wouldn't do back in 2020. One reason for all this is that Harry is furious that he has dropped down the royal list of popularity. Only 27 per cent of UK adults have a positive opinion of him, according to a recent YouGov poll – his worst rating in more than two years. Meghan's popularity has hit a record low of 20 per cent. Maybe, just maybe, he could stop being so unpleasant about his family. Instead, he seems to want the new staff to behave like the aides who raised him in Britain and make sure he and Meghan are well protected from the media he rages against. Shortly after relocating to California back in 2020, the Duke and Duchess vowed to never again deal with the British tabloids – taking an approach of 'zero engagement' except when absolutely necessary. At the time, the couple hit out at stories he felt were 'distorted' or 'invasive beyond reason'. It's an approach that has earned the couple no favours with the press over the past five years. Meghan is probably wishing they were a bit more willing to drum up publicity for the clothes and goodies she wants to sell. Regular journalists with opinions that might get under their skin weren't given access to their fake royal tours of Columbia and Nigeria on their fake royal trips. One magazine journalist, who had very restricted access, was the only one given that honour. It didn't do them much good. Harry felt 'trapped' in the Royal Family - a word he used when Oprah Winfrey interviewed them once they'd left and a word Harry used to put down Prince William and the then-Prince Charles. Could Meghan now expect people to bow or curtsy to her? She used to think it was ridiculous when she had to curtsy when she met the Queen for the first time. Might they even honour their visitors who have done what they were told with a gentle tap on the shoulder with a sword? An American has just written to me that Harry and Megan setting up a royal court within the United States will be a 'problem for the American Government, who have never wanted English royals trying to be in control'. Angela Levin is an award-winning British journalist and royal biographer. Her biography Harry: Conversations with the Prince was published in 2018. Her work has been commended twice at the British Press Awards.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
'Really positive' vibes as Tigers begin post-Galvin era
Benji Marshall says the energy is "really positive" around Wests Tigers as the rebuilding NRL club finally forges into its post-Lachlan Galvin era. On Friday, Marshall sidestepped questions on whether he was disappointed to lose Galvin, whose immediate move to Canterbury is expected to be confirmed this week. The teen star was excused from Tigers training for Round 13 and omitted from the team to face North Queensland on Saturday while the Bulldogs and Tigers finalise a transfer fee for his mid-season switch. Social media footage appeared to show Galvin already on the field at the Bulldogs' Belmore headquarters on Friday, signalling the culmination of a saga that began when he rejected the Tigers' offer of a contract extension last month. Since then, Galvin has been subject to social media ridicule from teammates Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva, served the Tigers with a legal letter over bullying claims, and dominated rugby league headlines amid the State of Origin period. Marshall is eager to move on from the soap opera. "I guess everyone's probably a little bit sick of talking about it and it being reported," the coach said. "But we're just focused on the game. I know it's a cliched thing to say, but we have to be. "It's been a great week at training. Everyone's looking forward to just playing. We had a week off last week with the bye. The energy around the place has been really good, really positive." "I don't know if disappointment's the word," Marshall said. "We like the players we've got, we love the squad we've got, we're excited about some of the young players coming through and for us. "We want to try and make a mark on the competition this year. The squad we've got, we're confident we can do that." Marshall has named Heath Mason for his first start in the halves at NRL, with the 19-year-old to replace Galvin in the halves next to co-captain Luai. "We just need our halves to do their job and control the field position," Marshall said. "We've seen some great glimpses of play from some of our players this year, and we're coming up against a pretty good Cowboys team that have got a lot of great attacking players." Benji Marshall says the energy is "really positive" around Wests Tigers as the rebuilding NRL club finally forges into its post-Lachlan Galvin era. On Friday, Marshall sidestepped questions on whether he was disappointed to lose Galvin, whose immediate move to Canterbury is expected to be confirmed this week. The teen star was excused from Tigers training for Round 13 and omitted from the team to face North Queensland on Saturday while the Bulldogs and Tigers finalise a transfer fee for his mid-season switch. Social media footage appeared to show Galvin already on the field at the Bulldogs' Belmore headquarters on Friday, signalling the culmination of a saga that began when he rejected the Tigers' offer of a contract extension last month. Since then, Galvin has been subject to social media ridicule from teammates Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva, served the Tigers with a legal letter over bullying claims, and dominated rugby league headlines amid the State of Origin period. Marshall is eager to move on from the soap opera. "I guess everyone's probably a little bit sick of talking about it and it being reported," the coach said. "But we're just focused on the game. I know it's a cliched thing to say, but we have to be. "It's been a great week at training. Everyone's looking forward to just playing. We had a week off last week with the bye. The energy around the place has been really good, really positive." "I don't know if disappointment's the word," Marshall said. "We like the players we've got, we love the squad we've got, we're excited about some of the young players coming through and for us. "We want to try and make a mark on the competition this year. The squad we've got, we're confident we can do that." Marshall has named Heath Mason for his first start in the halves at NRL, with the 19-year-old to replace Galvin in the halves next to co-captain Luai. "We just need our halves to do their job and control the field position," Marshall said. "We've seen some great glimpses of play from some of our players this year, and we're coming up against a pretty good Cowboys team that have got a lot of great attacking players." Benji Marshall says the energy is "really positive" around Wests Tigers as the rebuilding NRL club finally forges into its post-Lachlan Galvin era. On Friday, Marshall sidestepped questions on whether he was disappointed to lose Galvin, whose immediate move to Canterbury is expected to be confirmed this week. The teen star was excused from Tigers training for Round 13 and omitted from the team to face North Queensland on Saturday while the Bulldogs and Tigers finalise a transfer fee for his mid-season switch. Social media footage appeared to show Galvin already on the field at the Bulldogs' Belmore headquarters on Friday, signalling the culmination of a saga that began when he rejected the Tigers' offer of a contract extension last month. Since then, Galvin has been subject to social media ridicule from teammates Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva, served the Tigers with a legal letter over bullying claims, and dominated rugby league headlines amid the State of Origin period. Marshall is eager to move on from the soap opera. "I guess everyone's probably a little bit sick of talking about it and it being reported," the coach said. "But we're just focused on the game. I know it's a cliched thing to say, but we have to be. "It's been a great week at training. Everyone's looking forward to just playing. We had a week off last week with the bye. The energy around the place has been really good, really positive." "I don't know if disappointment's the word," Marshall said. "We like the players we've got, we love the squad we've got, we're excited about some of the young players coming through and for us. "We want to try and make a mark on the competition this year. The squad we've got, we're confident we can do that." Marshall has named Heath Mason for his first start in the halves at NRL, with the 19-year-old to replace Galvin in the halves next to co-captain Luai. "We just need our halves to do their job and control the field position," Marshall said. "We've seen some great glimpses of play from some of our players this year, and we're coming up against a pretty good Cowboys team that have got a lot of great attacking players."
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Apartment approvals slide depresses total number of houses signed off in April, ABS data shows
A steep fall in demand for apartments depressed the total number of dwellings approved in April, with industry warning the numbers will need to pick up to meet housing targets. Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed private attached dwellings fell 19 per cent to 4999 — the weakest result since September 2024 — on the back of a 'normalisation' in apartment approvals. The total number of new dwellings approved fell 5.7 per cent to 14,633, according to the seasonally adjusted data released on Friday. NSW (-7.8 per cent) and Victoria (-6.5 per cent) had the steepest falls for total dwelling approvals, while Tasmania (12.7 per cent), WA (9.6 per cent) and South Australia (9.5 per cent) continued to gain. Oxford Economics Australia lead economist Maree Kilroy said the fallback in apartments was not a shock. 'We have been expecting a normalisation from the strong start to the year,' she said. But the Property Council of Australia warned apartment approval numbers needed to pick up. 'While apartment approval numbers are volatile, this is two months in a row of significant falls,' said Matthew Kandelaars, the group's executive of policy and advocacy, said. 'Just 5612 apartments were approved in March and April. This is a far cry from the 15,029 green-lit during March and April in the apartment boom of 2016. 'We will not meet our housing targets without the heavy lifting that needs to come from apartments that can deliver homes at scale close to transport, existing infrastructure and amenities. Australia must build more than 20,000 homes each month to reach the Federal Government's National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029. The ABS showed a different story for national private house approvals, which gained 3.1 per cent to 9349 off the soft result in March. NSW and Queensland drove the gains, while other major States held relatively flat. Ms Kilroy said a number of policy supports for housing — including social housing stimulus and low deposit loans — were in place and would help to boost supply. However, she said it would take time to reflect in dwelling approvals figures. 'Additional support is likely from the RBA,' she said. 'Two more cash rate cuts are forecast before the end of the year that will further support mortgage affordability and project feasibilities. However, it usually takes about year for lower mortgage interest rates to support approval volumes.'
