Hooper v Racing Queensland - [2012] QCAT 346

CITATION:

Hooper v Racing Queensland [2012] QCAT 346

PARTIES:	Darren Hooper (Applicant)
v
Racing Queensland (Respondent)

APPLICATION NUMBER:

OCR170-12

MATTER TYPE:

Occupational regulation matters

HEARING DATE:

15 June 2012

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

R King-Scott, Presiding Member
K Buxton, Member

DELIVERED ON:

10 August 2012

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

ORDERS MADE:

1. The decision of the Stewards of 16 May 2012 is affirmed.

CATCHWORDS:

RACING – AHR 243 and 247 – Whether, when attending before control body the Applicant’s conduct was intimidatory – Penalty – relevant antecedents

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

APPLICANT:

Mr Hooper was represented by Mr Farrell of counsel instructed by Gabriel Ruddy and Garrett

RESPONDENT:

Racing Queensland was represented by Mr Wade Birch

REASONS FOR DECISION

Mr Hooper is a 40 year old Trainer and Driver with a harness racing licence. He was the subject of a Stewards Inquiry which took place on 16 May 2012 at Deagon into and incident which took place on 5 May 2012 at the Redcliffe Harness Racing meeting. He seeks review of the Steward's decision to disqualify him for two charges under the Australian Harness Racing Rules.
Mr Hooper pleaded guilty to the first charge under AHR 243, which provides:
A person employed, engaged or participating in the harness racing industry shall not behave in a way which is prejudicial or detrimental to the industry.
The particulars of that charge were that Mr Hooper used obscene language in the public areas of the track following the withdrawal of a horse trained by him called Teddy's Girl.
He was disqualified for a period of four months for that offence.
The second decision under review is the decision to find Hooper guilty, under AHR 247, an offence to which he had pleaded not guilty. That rule provides:
A person when attending before the controlling body, its members or employees, the stewards, officials or at any proceeding under these rules shall not speak or behave in a malicious intimidatory or otherwise improper manner.
The Stewards found that he conducted himself in an intimidatory manner towards the Steward in charge, Ms Kwan Wolsey, whilst in attendance at the Stewards Room. He was disqualified for a period of three months to be served concurrently with the other penalty. He was also fined $500 which was the suspended portion of a fine from a previous incident at Redcliffe on 4 April 2012.
The purpose of this application for review is for this Tribunal to reach the correct and preferable decision. In doing so, it must hear and decide the review by way of a fresh hearing on the merits.[1]
[1] QCAT Act, s 20.
Mr Hooper submitted that the findings made by the Stewards, both in relation to the offence under AHR 247, and the penalties imposed for both offences, did not take into account the available evidence and were not properly available on that evidence.

Evidence of the offence – AHR 247

The particulars of the offence were:
“That whilst attending before the Steward K…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2012] QCAT 346
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Tribunal reviewed the case of Darren Hooper against Racing Queensland, where Hooper, a harness racing trainer and driver, sought to challenge the Stewards' decision to disqualify him for two charges under the Australian Harness Racing Rules. The charges were related to Hooper's conduct at the Redcliffe Harness Racing meeting. The first charge, under AHR 243, pertained to Hooper using obscene language in public areas of the track, for which he pleaded guilty and received a four-month disqualification. The second charge, under AHR 247, related to Hooper's conduct in the stewards' room, where he was found guilty of behaving in an intimidatory manner towards a steward, Ms. Kwan Wolsey, resulting in a three-month disqualification, to be served concurrently with the first penalty. Additionally, Hooper was fined $500, which was the suspended portion of a fine from a previous incident.

The legal issues before the Tribunal included whether the Stewards' findings and penalties were justified based on the evidence presented. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if Hooper's conduct amounted to an intimidatory behaviour as alleged, and if the penalties imposed were appropriate given the circumstances and Hooper's history of similar infractions. The Tribunal reviewed the evidence, including Ms. Wolsey's statement detailing Hooper's agitated and aggressive behaviour, and concluded that his actions indeed amounted to intimidatory conduct. Regarding the penalties, the Tribunal considered both parties' submissions and found that the penalties of concurrent three and four-month disqualifications were appropriate, reflecting the seriousness of the charges and Hooper's relevant antecedents.

In conclusion, the Tribunal affirmed the Stewards' decision to disqualify Hooper for both charges and to impose the specified penalties. The Tribunal found that Hooper's conduct met the criteria for the charges under the Australian Harness Racing Rules, and the penalties imposed were commensurate with the nature of the offences and Hooper's history of similar disciplinary issues.

Orders