AFL PROBE TEAM ‘INDEPENDENT’

AFL chief executive Gillon Mclachlan says the league has made the Hawthorn racism investigation as “transparent and independent as possible”.

And the league said it would reveal what competition-wide action it would take around “cultural safety in the workplace, looking into our history” in December – which will be led by inclusion manager Tanya Hosch.

Mclachlan also said he did not have an end date for his role but assured fans “one day I will disappear”, saying it was likely he would be gone before the round 5 Magic Round in South Australia.

Despite the AFL Players’ Association and lawyers representing the complainants in the probe into allegations of disturbing treatment into First Nations players saying the AFL should not oversee the appointment of the panel to investigate the claims, the league forged ahead and selected a four-person panel.

Mclachlan said the league had made the four-person panel – Bernard Quinn KC, Palawa woman and barrister Jacqualyn Turfrey, barrister and member of the Yuin people Tim Goodwin and barrister Julie Buxton – as transparent and independent as possible.

“Frankly it is at arm’s length to us,” he said.

“The external panel is on foot and they are doing their work.

“It is a challenge when you are asked to put a panel together, we weren’t asked to make it independent or external, we did that.

“I’ve never met any of the panellists, they all have their own CVS, they are a diverse panel both on agenda and background, and they are all eminent professionals who have a transparent terms of reference.

“After that, they will have their own views, but if you look at it from the outside we have made it as transparent and independent as possible.”

Four of the Hawthorn past players and families at the centre of the investigation have agreed to speak to investigators.

Mclachlan said he was pleased they had agreed to take part.

“It is very complicated, the external panel has started. I’m very pleased a number of the complainants have said they will participate,” he said.

“There are a number who aren’t and that is completely their prerogative, so we are working through that.”

But the group only decided to speak to investigators after accepting the AFL’S commitment to a wider response to racism in the league.

Mclachlan said the AFL would have an update on that next month.

“We need to have conversations, and we have said that we will look at ongoing continued work around cultural safety in the workplace,” he said.

“Tanya Hosch is leading that work and we will have announcements about that in December.”