Page 1201 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 29 March 2017

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(k) in February 2016 the Government set up a working group to investigate dog attacks and their management that would “give feedback on the process and procedures out at Domestic Animal Services” (Mr Perram, The Canberra Times, 22 February 2016), but its findings have not been made public; and

(2) calls on the ACT Government to:

(a) allocate more resources to investigate serious attacks by dogs;

(b) allocate more resources for education about obligations and responsibilities of dog ownership;

(d) immediately report on changes made to dog management processes following feedback from the 2016 working group;

(e) review the law that allows a dog that has committed a serious attack to be classified a dangerous dog and report by the last sitting day in June 2017;

(f) review the law that allows dogs that have been found responsible for vicious attacks resulting in serious injury to members of the public, to be returned to owners and report by the last sitting day in June 2017;

(g) review the law that allows dogs that have been found responsible for vicious attacks resulting in the death of other dogs, to be returned to owners and report by the last sitting day in June 2017;

(h) improve the penalties on the owners of dogs that have harmed people or animals to ensure they are held legally responsible for consequential medical, veterinary, legal and related costs;

(i) increase penalties imposed on owners where their dog has been found to have been responsible for vicious attacks resulting in serious injury to people and/or the death of other animals; and

(j) be proactive in ensuring that dogs that cause serious injury to people and other animals, and the owners of those dogs, are treated under the law with the seriousness that the community expects.

I rise today to address a matter that is becoming a significant concern to Canberrans and which the government and all members can do something about today. I am not going to talk about theoretical plans, artists’ impressions or legislation that may or may not be enacted by lawmakers in other places, other cities or other countries. I am going to talk about something that each member here can do to look after the wellbeing of Canberrans in our city today.

The issue of dangerous dogs, injuries to people from dogs, injuries and death to pets by dogs and the general fear created by poorly managed dogs is something that is of growing concern in our community. A lack of resources, a lack of urgency to address

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