‘Crossed the line’: Latham reveals V’landys’ home address in livestreamed hearing

Mark Latham has been slammed for publicly disclosing the home address of Peter V’landys during a tirade against the powerful sporting administrator in NSW Parliament.

The independent NSW MP revealed V’landys’ residence while questioning Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris during a livestreamed upper house hearing.

Latham has been at odds with V’landys since they clashed at last year’s inquiry into the then-proposed sale of Rosehill racecourse for housing, but the Racing NSW chief executive said making his address public was a step too far.

“I don’t blame Mr Latham. I blame the other people in parliament who have allowed him to use this most important institution to run his personal vendettas against individuals, and there are many,” V’landys told this masthead on Wednesday.

“On this occasion, jeopardising the safety of my family has crossed the line and lacks any human decency.”

Racing NSW accused the controversial politician of using unfounded claims about V’landys’ property to publicise where he lives.

In a letter to the Legislative Council committee – a portion of which was posted by Latham on social media – racing’s controlling body said it “seems quite apparent that his motivation was to publicly disclose” the personal information.

The address will be redacted from the transcript of Tuesday’s parliamentary committee session after the industry regulator warned that its publication would “endanger the safety and welfare of Mr V’landys and his young family”.

Committee chairman Jeremy Buckingham described Latham’s conduct as “unnecessary and reckless” and “clearly an abuse of [parliamentary] privilege”.

An angry Latham defended his actions on Wednesday.

His latest shot at V’landys came after he was charged by Racing NSW over an alleged verbal spray he directed towards Australian Turf Club executive Steve McMahon, a long-time friend of Premier Chris Minns.

Racing NSW has jurisdiction to take action over the on-course incident because of Latham’s status as a registered racehorse owner.

Latham recorded in the parliamentary register of disclosures last year that he had stakes in two thoroughbred racehorses – a mare named Winning Point, which is trained by Paul Murray at Kembla Grange, and an unraced colt by Kingman, a former European Horse of the Year, which was owned by the late Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah.

According to the register, he also owned a harness racing horse and two greyhounds. He said in July he had a share in a trotter with former partner Nathalie Matthews, who has applied for an apprehended violence order against Latham, making a series of allegations of abuse against him that he denies. 

Latham and Matthews are also listed as part owners of the five-year-old gelding Dumebi, trained by Mitchell Beer at Kembla Grange, which most recently ran at Rosehill on August 2.

Latham could be fined, stripped of his owner’s registration, or, at the most serious end of penalties, banned from racecourses if it is determined he breached racing rules during his run-in with McMahon at Rosehill in April.

An independent figure, such as a judge, is likely to preside over the Racing NSW inquiry.

Latham was previously placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond by the race club over his broadside at McMahon before resigning his membership.

Away from the racetrack, the former federal Labor leader has come under fire over his use of parliamentary privilege, including to attack opponents.

Most notably, he was accused of revealing confidential medical information about independent MP Alex Greenwich, who has brought a case against Latham for homosexual vilification to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after successfully suing him for defamation last year.

The state government has also taken aim at Latham for airing details about a secret investigation into former police commissioner Karen Webb’s use of taxpayer money to purchase bottles of gin from a friend’s distillery to give as gifts.

A Labor censure motion failed in the upper house this month, but Latham, who has maintained that his sharing of the material in parliament was in the public interest, was referred to the Privileges Committee.

Leader of the government in the Legislative Council, Penny Sharpe, said the V’landys incident was “another misuse of the parliament by Mr Latham”.

“This time doxxing by sharing a private address in a public hearing,” she said. “The government will seek to add this to the exisiting privileges inquiry into Mr Latham’s abuse of parliament.”

Buckingham, the Legalise Cannabis Party member, decided the details of V’landys’ residence should not be included in the official recording of Tuesday’s committee hearing.

“As chair, I proposed and the committee agreed that the reference to his home address be struck from the published transcript and video of proceedings,” he said.

Latham fiercely opposed the sale of Rosehill, which was ultimately scrapped when ATC members voted against it in May, and has been scathing of Racing NSW’s running of the $3.3 billion industry.

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