Page 5157 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 28 November 2017
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The Durkin report found that the ACT greyhound racing industry is small and inextricably linked with a broader regional network of greyhound racing activities. It is impossible to divorce the ACT greyhound racing industry from the industry across the border.
Perhaps one of the most striking pieces of information is that in 2016 approximately 71 dogs that raced at the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club were based in the ACT, while 1,107 were from New South Wales. That means that 94 per cent of the dogs that raced in Canberra were from New South Wales, the same jurisdiction that has been clearly shown to be struggling with animal welfare and integrity issues in greyhound racing.
The opposition has asked again to see if there is a speck of dirt. The reality is that, given the numbers, greyhound racing in the territory is but one drop in a very polluted ocean. In light of all the evidence provided by special inquiries across the country, we can have no certainty that dogs being brought to the ACT from other jurisdictions to race have not come from breeders and trainers engaging in practices that are abhorrent from an animal welfare perspective.
As recently as last week, Greyhound Racing New South Wales banned a trainer for killing a greyhound puppy by smashing it over the head with a hammer twice. This particular trainer has had 15 race starts at the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club.
In fact a look at the statistics shows that the reporting and transparency concerns identified in New South Wales are an issue here in the territory. My office has compared data from steward reports and OzChase records managed by Greyhound Racing New South Wales. Of 215 dogs checked by a vet at the track between September 2016 and August 2017, 78 were given incapacitation certificates. That means they were injured on the track. Of those, 28 never raced again as of 22 November 2017. Of all those dogs, only five were ultimately documented as retired. These statistics illustrate a very real concern that the CGRC is not living up to its public commitment to a 100 per cent rehoming rate.
Governments in other jurisdictions have taken differing approaches in response to the range of concerns that have been raised in recent years but before the last election this government decided that greyhound racing should not have a future in the territory, and we took this position to the people of Canberra.
The greyhound industry in the ACT is small and racing itself is out of step with community values. What is it that people in Canberra think? What about “mainstream Canberrans”, as the opposition asks? Phone polling on the future of greyhound racing in the ACT was conducted, with 99 per cent of respondents indicating that they had zero involvement in the industry. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said that they agreed with removing government funding from the industry, and only just over 10 per cent opposed the removal of the government subsidies.
Again the opposition today has revealed its double standards. It calls for the results, and then it tries to dodge and excuse them when they find that they are unlikely to suit their argument. Again, facts seem to bother them little. Canberrans stand with us on these values and stand with us on these principles.
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