New Australia sports super-watchdog to target cheats

Sydney – Australia
on Tuesday unveiled a new national integrity body to tackle cheating
and corruption in sport in the wake of a ball-tampering “sandpapergate”
scandal that rocked cricket.

The new watchdog, Sport Integrity Australia, will combine the powers
of three existing agencies, including the Australian Sports Anti-Doping
Authority (ASADA), to better investigate doping, match-fixing, illegal
betting, organised crime and corruption.

“We have seen the massive fall-out from the cricket ball-tampering
scandal and the loss of belief in our national cricket team and we are
determined to prevent incidents like this from happening,” Sports
Minister Bridget McKenzie said in a statement.

“Australian sports lovers deserve to know that the sport they watch
and the teams they support are competing on a level playing field and
playing fairly,” she said.

The current agencies are set to receive a boost in funding before Sport Integrity Australia formally launches in two years.

Canberra said it was also setting up a national sports tribunal, to
be trialled over two years, to hear anti-doping rule violations and
other sports disputes.

The sports-mad nation was stunned when its two top Test cricketers,
captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, as well as Cameron
Bancroft, were caught trying to alter the ball against South Africa in
Cape Town in March.

Smith and Warner were banned for a year and Bancroft for nine months.

The changes follow a review into Australia’s sports integrity
arrangements amid the growing commercialisation of sport and the rapid
growth in sports wagering.

In addition to ASADA, the new umbrella body will incorporate the
National Integrity of Sport Unit and the integrity watchdog functions of
the governmental Sport Australia agency.