The Minister for Sport, Wayne Berry, dismissed yesterday an Opposition attack on the Government’s appointment of Athol Williams as chair of the ACTTAB.
The appointment was gazetted in July.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Tony de Domenico, noted that Mr Williams is president of the Tuggeranong sub-branch of Labor Party.
Mr Berry said Mr Williams has been associated with greyhound racing in the ACT for more than 10 years and had been a member of the former board of the ACTTAB before its reconstitution in July.
Mr Williams said he had been at various times vice-president of the greyhound association, an owner and trainer and steward and had been associated with horse-racing since his youth.
The ACTTAB was decorpratised by the Government earlier this year and brought back to public-service control. The move drew extensive criticism in the industry. Mr Berry said it had also drawn support.
Mr Berry said the board had recommended Mr Williams’s appointment as chair and he had agreed.