“The Rebels directors believe that the simple reason for this is that there is no defence to their conduct.”
The statement of claim includes allegations Rugby Australia broke several company laws in its handling of the financial problems besetting teams in the competition and unfairly preferenced the financial needs of other clubs, most notably the NSW Waratahs. The directors also allege that Rugby Australia is obliged to indemnify the directors for the tax debts accrued by the club and now assigned as personal debts to the directors.
The directors said they wanted an independent person to review the dispute.
“The Rebels are a member of Rugby Australia and had a legal expectation that they would not only be treated fairly but that they would be treated equally to other members,” they said.
“Amongst other things, the Rebels will assert that Rugby Australia has breached various sections of the Corporations Act, has unlawfully oppressed the Rebels and is obliged to indemnify the Rebels for liabilities to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) (as well as other broader employment liabilities) incurred when Rebels players were playing for Rugby Australia teams.”
Loading
The directors are also seeking an urgent order granting them the right to inspect Rugby Australia’s books, including documents relating to loans and accounting processes, to determine whether Rugby Australia had breached its fiduciary duties and to what extent.
“The constitution requires that the assets of Rugby Australia be applied for the benefit of all members,” the directors said in their statement.
“The Rebels believe that this has not been the case and that there has been unacceptable and unauthorised spending (perhaps best exemplified by the unauthorised and excessive spending at last year’s Rugby World Cup and the subsequent suppression of the Rugby World Cup independent report).”
The directors allege that when Rugby Australia secured an $80 million loan facility to prop up the league, it chose to only support its clubs in NSW and the ACT only, and not the Rebels.
“The Rugby Australia Board and executives don’t seem to understand that Rugby Australia is a union of members. The Rugby Australia Board has a legal obligation to act in the interest of all members, they do not have the ability (or legal right) to pick and choose the Clubs and/or States they wish to survive and those that they wish to destroy.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
