ASSOCIATES of the rebel 3P ticket seeking election to the Parramatta Leagues Club board have accused the board members of sneaky tactics to attract a large number of the estimated 10,000 Chinese members of the club to turn up and vote.
In a poll with clear racial boundaries - the board is seen as aligned to the Asian vote, and the rebels to have Lebanese connections - the number of members who turn out to vote is critical. Adding to the stakes, the leagues club controls the Parramatta Eels NRL team.
The leagues club's chief executive, Denis Fitzgerald, says the accusations, which involve the leagues club's Tingha Palace restaurant, are wrong.
He said the rebel group was spreading "disgraceful" rumours, including baseless accusations about the club's financial state.
"This is a club with $60 million in assets," he said. "The St George Bank is quite happy and they have assured us they are content with our ongoing budget and cash flow. Indeed, while we budgeted this year to break even, it looks like we will do better than that."
A spokesman for 3P (Parramatta Pride Passion), Terry Leabeater, said Chinese members of the leagues club had been mailed a special promotion offer of a $30 meal at the restaurant, which coincided with this weekend's poll. Leabeater said he believed the voucher was an incentive to turn up and vote and he was seeking advice whether its offer contravened electoral rules.
"I think it is morally offensive," said Leabeater, who also claimed the directors had spent $24,000 on promoting their prospects.
Fitzgerald said the Chinese restaurant was entirely independent of the leagues club and the board had nothing to do with the restaurant's practices.
"I am unaware of any promotion and if they are promoting their restaurant it certainly has nothing to do with me or the board," he said.
The restaurant owners could not be contacted last night.
Fitzgerald said the current leagues club directors had established a fighting fund for the election and that this was privately funded. "There has been no money come out of the leagues club," he said.
There is one point the two bitter sides in the election agree on: the election will have the highest voting turnout in the club's history. Bizarrely, there is another - that Fitzgerald has a watertight contract for another two years.
Leabeater, who has joined several former players such as Brett Kenny and Eric Grothe in supporting the 3P ticket (the former players are not standing for election but are supporting the rebel candidates) said Fitzgerald would not be paid out of his contract if the 3P seven-person ticket was elected.
"There will be no compromise whatsoever," Leabeater said. "If he can't work that way, sorry, the days of Denis the powerbroker in Parramatta are over if we win."
¡ Manly Leagues Club members last night voted 164-18 to sell the licensed premises to Sea Eagles co-owner Scott Penn for $7.5 million.
Max Delmege, who has a 38 per cent stake in the football club, spoke against the deal - as did Phil Franks, the property developer who provided the $1m guarantee that enabled Manly to continue in the NRL after the collapse of the Northern Eagles. Penn Sport will also provide a $3.5m loan to enable the leagues club to pay off its $10m bank debt.
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