If you’re a sports betting cheat or an elite athlete with a tendency to abuse steroids, you might want to avoid Australia for a while. That’s because the Aussie government is cracking down on sports cheating of all kinds and using its new Sport Integrity Advisory Council (SIAC) as the main authority in that fight.
The SIAC is comprised of nine members who specialize in everything from detecting money laundering to observing anomalies in sports betting patterns. In a statement reported on by CalvinAyre.com, Australian Sports Minister Richard Colbeck described the SIAC saying, ““I am pleased to announce the nine-member advisory council. Each member brings skills and knowledge to provide advice on all areas of sports integrity. It follows the Australian Government’s recent investment of $10.1 million to introduce an independent complaints handling process within Sport Integrity Australia.”
Members of the committee include World Sailing Vice President Sarah Kenny as Chair, Australian sports executives Lynne Anderson, CEO of Paralympics Australia, Golf Australia CEO’s James Sutherland and former elite athlete and governance expert Margot Foster. NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney, sports consultant Scott Draper, former National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell and public policy adviser Jason Marocchi.
Kenny summed up the SIAC’s mission in an interview with SBC News saying, “By establishing Sport Integrity Australia and the National Sports Tribunal, increasing investment into independent compliant handling and forming the Sport Integrity Australia Advisory Council, Australians can be confident everything possible is being done to keep the sport they love clean, safe and fair.”
Australia is very far ahead of the curve when it comes to sports integrity and is generally credited with helping to clean up shady activities in the world of tennis a few years back.