10 July 2024
The NSW Government has ruled out shutting down the greyhound racing industry, despite promising an
‘independent inquiry’ amidst allegations of appalling animal welfare practices.
The Greens have called out this preemptive constraint on the findings of any review, and labelled any process
that is initiated within those terms of reference as nothing more than a political cover up and distraction.
Quotes attributable to Abigail Boyd, Greens NSW MP and spokesperson for Animal Welfare:
“It’s hard not to be cynical when this Minns Labor government says it is sending an issue off to inquiry or
review - they have done that with every difficult political issue since they were elected, trying to give the
impression they are doing something about an issue the public cares about while actually sweeping it under
an increasingly-lumpy carpet.
“Minister Harris said the inquiry will be independent - but how can we take that seriously when the Premier has
already pre-empted its findings and ruled out bringing this cruel industry to an end.
“We already had an independent special commission of inquiry into the greyhound racing industry - it
recommended in 2016 the industry needed to improve transparency and reduce greyhound deaths, or it
should be shut down. Why should we have any confidence that NSW Labor will take the recommendations of
any new inquiry any more seriously than the last one?
“The Minister needs to stop being cute with the public and spell out exactly what he means by an independent
inquiry. The absolute minimum prerequisite is that any inquiry is genuinely independent of the control of the
NSW Labor government, that it is open-ended and public, and that it provides adequate safeguards for
industry whistleblowers. Anything else would be a continuation of the protection racket afforded to this
corrupt industry that has been allowed to run by its own rules for far too long.”