When the Police Minister Troy Grant was responsible for the arts, he picked up the phone on more than one occasion and called the Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron.

He had clear instructions. Once it was to promote the Wallabies (without any mention of major sponsors Qantas) on the white sails of Australia's most famous building. Another time it was to show support for Paris after deadly terrorist attacks.

The requests were in line with the Opera House's policies and Herron accepted the directions from the arts minister without fuss. The sails were lit up and there was no public outrage.

But in the latest disastrous blunder for the state government, the issue of whether a multimillion-dollar horse race should be promoted on the Opera House has dominated headlines for days.