Perth Voice Interactive

PAUL COLLINS is fighting to overturn his two-month suspension from the WA Cricket Association board.

The ban was dished out on January 4 during a pivotal time for the governing body.

Mr Collins is one of five board directors voted in by WACA members, along with five appointed directors, and there’s been a range of disagreements among board members and WACA management in recent years, including a high-profile spat over mens urinals (‘Slash on the off side,’ Voice, August 26, 2023).

In a social media post this week, Mr Collins said that “On 4 January 2024, I received a letter from the Deputy Chair of the Western Australian Cricket Association Limited (“WACA”) which purported to provide a notice of suspension of both my membership of the WACA and my position as a director of the Board of the WACA.”

He says the investigation that led to this outcome was started just 10 days after the story broke.

Mr Collins wrote: “I have engaged legal representation to protect my interests and remedy the situation.

“Accordingly, I have nothing further to say publicly other than to encourage all Members of the WACA to continue to ask questions about the design, costs and funding of the WACA ground redevelopment.”

Mr Collins has been critical of some of the directions taken in the massive WACA East Perth ground upgrades, and in August last year he spoke out against the decision not to include urinals in the new mens’ bathrooms.

He said the decision had been made on the grounds of addressing “inclusivity”, but he argued that the gender-neutral bathrooms would cause chaos on game days as the mainly-male audiences would have to queue for cubicles in lieu of using more efficient urinals.

Within a day of the Voice breaking the news, the story blew up in national media, and we’ve heard some of the WACA higher ups were furious that Mr Collins had gone public. The former Stirling councillor gave us a brief update this week, telling the Voice: “The advice I’ve received is that my legal remedies to have this purported suspension set aside in a court of law are very strong.”

This all takes place during a key period for the WACA: Along with the ongoing redevelopment of the East Perth grounds, the board is currently searching for a new CEO as Christina Matthews announced her resignation in December 2023.

We contacted the WACA to ask what mechanism Mr Collins had been investigated and suspended under, asked who decided on the suspension, and queried the timing given the search for a new CEO, but a spokesperson says they weren’t able to provide any more information about the matter this week. 

by DAVID BELL