Deal gives more power to anti-doping authority - Sydney Morning Herald

Suspected sporting drug cheats will be forced to submit to interviews after an 11th-hour deal was struck between the Gillard government and the Greens to ratchet up the powers of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

The law – to be rushed through Parliament by Thursday – will give ASADA the power to grill Stephen Dank, the sports scientist implicated in the so-called ''blackest day in sport'' investigation.

Getting the ASADA Amendment Bill through Parliament is expected to give the stuttering investigation new life, with up to 50 NRL players now in the sights of ASADA.

Fourteen Cronulla Sharks players are yet to be interviewed despite the ''blackest day in sport'' matter dragging into its second month since it was announced.

But Fairfax Media understands a deal was struck late on Tuesday in which the government agreed to water down key aspects of its ASADA Amendment Bill in return for the support of the Greens.

That should speed up inquiries into Manly, Newcastle, North Queensland, Canberra and Penrith - all clubs so far named by the Australian Crime Commission in its report into doping and potential links to underworld figures and match-fixing.

The proposed law to beef up ASADA's powers had been derailed last week when the Greens and the Coalition declared the government was reaching for ''invasive'' powers, including the removal of the privilege against self-incrimination.

Greens senator Richard Di Natale, who led negotiations with Sports Minister Kate Lundy, complained that suspected rapists and murderers would have more legal rights if the law was passed.

Under the amended bill, players would be compelled to front up to answer questions or face fines of more than $5000. But they will also be afforded the right to not answer questions if they would incriminate the interviewee. They will also be able to take legal representatives with them to interviews.

A further protection has been added in which the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel, which was established at the same time as ASADA as a check on the authority, would have to agree before investigators could approach players.

Senator Di Natale said compulsory interview powers would allow investigators to widen the scope of inquiries to the ''suppliers'' of performance-enhancing drugs.

ASADA declined to comment but chief executive Aurora Andruska said in an interview with Fairfax last week that 25 per cent more convictions would have been recorded in the past year alone if the authority had been able to compel compliance in its investigations.

ASADA was given a further ten investigators after complaints by the hierachy of the NRL that the investigation was taking too long.