Canberra Racing's former CEO Andrew Clark sues for workplace bullying, harassment

It means the club is potentially facing a bill in excess of $250,000 because ex-chief executive Andrew Clark's statement of claims, which The Canberra Times has obtained, was lodged with the ACT Supreme Court.

If his workers' compensation claim was lodged with the Magistrates Court then $250,000 would be the maximum payout allowed.

That comes off the back of the club suffering a $1.1 million loss last financial year.

Any payout would be covered by Canberra Racing's insurer, whose lawyers will now contest the claim when the matter appears in court for its first directions hearing on November 27.

Clark is seeking damages and costs for "personal injury in relation to [Canberra Racing's] negligence".

The claim centres around Clark's alleged treatment by former Canberra Racing chair Tim Olive and former treasurer Duncan Edghill.

Olive was recently made a life member of the racing club, while Edghill - a former public servant - stepped down a year ago due to a "perceived conflict of interest" due to his position as head of Major Projects Canberra and the club's proposed redevelopment.

Clark claimed the pair were "harassing, bullying and 'white-anting' him" and they made repeated threats to remove him from the chief executive position.

It allegedly got to the point where he said: "I am not coping mentally ... you don't know what I have considered doing to myself."

Clark is now seeking "damages for personal injury in relation to the defendant's negligence".

The injuries listed include suffering symptoms of depression and anxiety, reduced feelings of self-worth, panic attacks, increased alcohol consumption and suicidal thoughts, which led to him taking anti-depressant medication and seeing a psychologist.

Both Olive and Edghill were contacted, but declined to comment.

Clark was appointed Canberra Racing chief executive in 2018, after acting in the role for one month, before the board removed him from the role in May last year - while he was on sick leave.

According to his claim, he met his key performance indicators as chief executive and increased revenue and cash reserves during his tenure - despite that including the period of the 2019-20 bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic.

During a meeting with Olive in February 2022, Clark alleges he felt like he was about to be fired so he offered to switch to the then vacant chief operating officer position instead.

It was an offer Clark said he later rescinded, with assurances from Olive his preference to remain as chief executive would be conveyed to the board.

"Of course I will communicate that your preference is to stay in the [chief executive] role," Olive said according to the statement.

But, according to Clark, the board was never told this before they decided to remove him from the role.

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Both Clark and his lawyer Amy Burr, a Blumers director, declined to comment.

Current Canberra Racing chief executive Darren Pearce, who arrived after the alleged bullying occurred to replace Clark, said the club disputed the facts in the claim.

"Andrew is entitled to his point of view and he's prosecuting the best case for him through the court," Pearce told The Canberra Times.

"The club disputes the facts and thinks the court is the appropriate forum to present its alternative view to Andrew's and we look forward to the day in court to do that."

Part of Clark's claim was for an unpaid $25,000 bonus, which he said Olive promised he'd be paid because he was meeting his KPIs.

It's believed the club offered to settle the matter before it got to court, but this offer was rejected.

"The club had multiple discussions with Andrew, but ultimately he resigned," Pearce said.

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