Racehorse TALK

PATRICK BARTLEY
February 11, 2010 .
THE Victorian racing industry has endured a number of indifferent appointments over the past decade but the announcement of the head of Victoria's inaugural Racing Integrity Commissioner has been hailed as a coup.

Sal Perna, 54, a former high-ranking Victorian policeman of 20 years who has worked extensively with huge corporations since leaving the force, will shortly begin his unique role to strengthen the fight against corruption.

His appointment follows the release in August 2008 of Judge Gordon Lewis' report on integrity assurance in the Victorian racing industry, and legislation to establish the commissioner was passed by Parliament in October last year.

Judge Lewis' report on integrity stemmed from a series of stories written exclusively in The Age after the discovery of former Racing Victoria chief executive Stephen Allanson betting under a false name.

Perna said yesterday that he was excited to be taking on the new role and believes it is the first of its kind in Australian racing. ''It's a co-ordinating job between the three codes,'' he said.

''I've been given the mandate and now I've got to establish my staff and a base to work from, but at the end of the day the three codes are certain to be the better for the new innovation.

''It's a role against crime and corruption, it's a multifaceted role, it's one of review, it's one of enforcement and you could say one of a quasi ombudsman.

''It will be a role that will liaise not only with the government but the Australian Crime Commission, the regulators, the Australian Tax Office and of course state and federal police forces. Because we must never forget that racing is much of the fabric of what Victoria is all about.''

After a decorated career with Victoria Police, Perna was headhunted by Australia Post to work in its corporate security division, and his success prompted an approach from Telstra.

After working with Tennis Australia, his reputation as one of Australia's most polished investigators landed him yesterday's position.

The Minister for Racing, Rob Hulls said Perna was ideally suited to the role and would strengthen probity to Victorian racing, which is recognised as one of the best racing industries in the world. ''With a strong background in law enforcement … and extensive experience as the head of corporate security with Australia Post and Telstra, Mr Perna is an outstanding candidate,'' he said.

''Mr Perna has an outstanding record in both public and private security … and has a wealth of investigative experience to draw on. He has also developed an anti-corruption program for Tennis Australia.''