Page 870 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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forward by the review and is committed to following the expert advice provided on how to reduce the number of dangerous dogs and improve animal welfare outcomes. A government response to the review was released in September 2018. I will be releasing a formal update on progress on the review in the coming months.
Data systems improvements, the development of investigation guidelines, establishing and maintaining productive partnerships with stakeholders and promoting responsible pet ownership are some of the key recommendations from the review, all of which are being addressed and implemented. I also look forward to presenting the Canberra model for dog management later in the year.
The structural, procedural, regulatory and strategic efforts of government are proving successful and will be continuing in 2019 to reduce the number of dangerous dogs in the community and improve community safety and animal welfare. 2019 will bring about significant improvements as we implement our strategic initiatives to prevent dog attacks occurring through the promotion of responsible dog ownership.
I hope that everyone in this chamber will see the sense of the amendment which I am about to put forward and which clears up factual errors in the motion. Everyone in this chamber wants to see fewer dog attacks and more responsible dog owners. But we do not achieve that by having a ranger on every street corner or by resourcing the seizure of every jack russell that jumps on someone in excitement, as Ms Lawder’s proposed laws would actually require. Nor do we achieve this outcome by removing the discretion that DAS rangers have to assess the full circumstances of a dog attack case, which would be contrary to the findings of the expert review into dog management and would see dogs put down when it is in fact the owner who may be at fault and who should be subjected to penalties—again, an outcome of Ms Lawder’s bill that is currently before the Assembly.
We achieve a safer Canberra through strong dog laws and enforcement but also by implementing the expert advice, by improving education and by improving responsible pet ownership approaches. We are following through on law reform with enhanced compliance, enforcing the laws that we have. We have doubled the number of DAS staff and we have some of the strongest dog laws in the country when it comes to dog attacks, which have proved effective already in the short period since they were introduced in December 2017. We will continue to enforce them and DAS will continue to be resourced to enforce them.
On that basis, I support this motion, with the amendment that I will put forward today. I move the amendment to Ms Lawder’s motion circulated in my name:
Omit paragraph (1), substitute:
“(1) notes that:
(a) there was a tragic death last week of a beloved innocent domestic animal as a result of a violent dog attack;
(b) there were 485 reports of dog attacks in Canberra in 2017-18;
(c) in December 2017 legislative changes took effect which increased requirements for mandatory reporting of dog attacks;
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