Page 4606 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 November 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Canberra is also working on an improved journey planner which will be released alongside the new timetable.
While the timetable is not yet finalised, I can assure you that the feedback received through the consultation process has been taken into consideration. I believe the network balances the needs of both new and current users.
Thank you for raising this matter.
Greyhound industry transition
Ministerial statement
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (10.03): The ACT has now passed its final milestone in the banning of greyhound racing in the territory. On 30 April 2018 the ACT became the first jurisdiction in Australia to prohibit the racing and trialling of greyhounds and on 30 September we completed the transition process for those seeking to leave the greyhound racing industry. The decision to end greyhound racing in the ACT was based on the significant welfare concerns associated with the greyhound racing industry, raised both through reporting on Four Corners and the subsequent inquiry in New South Wales.
To assist with the transition to end the greyhound racing industry in the ACT, an independent consultant, Ms Mary Durkin, was engaged to provide an analysis of options to support the transition. Ms Durkin consulted widely with the greyhound racing industry, as well as the animal welfare sector, in reaching her conclusions.
The Durkin report found that while the ACT greyhound racing industry is small it is intimately linked with the broader regional network of greyhound racing activities in New South Wales. It was impossible to divorce the ACT greyhound racing industry from the industry across the border. They were inextricably linked. Consequently, we could have no certainty that dogs being brought to the ACT from other jurisdictions to race had not come from breeders and trainers engaging in practices that are abhorrent from an animal welfare perspective. We know that trainers who have been found guilty of offences in New South Wales, including doping their dogs with substances such as cocaine, regularly raced in the ACT and took home significant prize money.
The cessation of greyhound racing in the territory was designed to ensure that greyhounds from other jurisdictions, whose animal welfare arrangements are outside the control of the ACT, could no longer be brought here to race. We did not want to be complicit in an industry with such demonstrated failures of animal welfare principles and allow them to continue to race in our jurisdiction. Owning, breeding and training greyhounds for racing outside the ACT can continue here but only on the basis that it is at no cost to the ACT community and complies with new and strict animal welfare standards.
We were aware from the outset that this decision would have an impact on the small number of people in the ACT who worked in the industry. This is why the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video