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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-17 Daily Xml
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Greyhound Racing

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17:27): I move:

That this council notes that—

1. Greyhound racing is currently legal in only eight countries across the world, specifically being Australia, the USA, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, China, Mexico and Vietnam;

2. While there are over 50 active tracks in Australia, there are only two operational tracks in the USA, six in New Zealand, 21 in the UK, 17 in Ireland, one in Mexico, and none in Vietnam;

3. New Zealand announced a bipartisan phased ban on greyhound racing in 2024 to take full effect in 2026;

4. Scotland and Wales have recently announced they will soon ban greyhound racing;

5. Tasmania is set to end its funding to greyhound racing by 2029;

6. The ACT banned greyhound racing in 2018; and

7. South Australia is now in the second half of the two-year timeframe first given in late 2023 when the Malinauskas government gave the greyhound racing industry notice to clean up or be shut down; and that to date slow progress is being made to that goal.

This motion notes that greyhound racing is currently legal in only eight countries across the world, specifically being Australia, the USA, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, China, Mexico and Vietnam. While there are over 50 active tracks here in Australia and dwindling—I note the end of the Dapto Dogs in the last month—there are only two operational tracks in the USA. In fact, there is an effective ban right across that nation, except for two tracks in that country. There are only six in New Zealand, 21 in the UK, 17 in Ireland, one in Mexico and none in Vietnam.

I also draw the attention of the council to the fact that New Zealand announced a bipartisan phased ban on greyhound racing last year, in 2024, to take full effect in 2026. That ban, which was originally announced by Winston Peters when he was minister—a conservative member of that New Zealand parliament, but he acknowledged the bipartisan approach to which New Zealand was undertaking that work—has led to a phase-out plan through a committee where they are ensuring that the greyhounds who were being raced are being rehomed. But it draws concern from many here in Australia that some, if not many, of those dogs will be exported from New Zealand to Australia. There appear to be no contingency plans in Australia to address that particular concern.

Scotland and Wales have in the last two weeks announced that they will be banning greyhound racing, so the UK may not be as united in that kingdom when it comes to the support of those particular races there.

Tasmania, as we know from the state election, is now set to end funding to greyhound racing in that state by 2029 when the current round of funding expires. That Tasmanian case will be a really interesting model for South Australia to observe. We have seen greyhound racing defended by Labor governments when conservatives have attempted to ban it, as Mike Baird did back in the late 2010s with a concerted campaign against that by a Labor opposition who then became government and that ban was overturned through the Labor Party's campaigning.

In Tasmania, that campaigning did not quite have the same effect. In fact, while Labor was staunch in their support of greyhound racing to continue in that state, they were bereft of numbers in the parliament to do so. I think the Tasmanian government will be a really interesting case in point of where the supposed lessons of a conservative government taking leadership on this sort of issue will receive a backlash, and that Labor will somehow lock in and defeat it may not necessarily be a playbook for the future.

The ACT of course banned greyhound racing in 2018, which was when New South Wales first did, and it has remained in place without controversy and without any attempts to repeal. Today—this morning, in fact—Western Australia, upon the receipt of over 26,000 petition signatures, has announced an inquiry into greyhound racing in that state. New South Wales, through controversy and the loss of the Greyhound Racing NSW chief executive officer, has also announced an inquiry in that state and a call for certain documents to be handed over for full transparency.

I will have quite a bit to say about this issue. I recognise, however, that the hour is drawing a little later than I would have thought for when I was going to get to this speech. I will seek leave to conclude my comments and finish my speech then.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Game, before I call you this bill is a very important bill. It will attract attention and emotion from all sides of the bill. I will expect all members to listen in silence to other members' contributions and I certainly will not tolerate any distraction from the gallery. With that, I call the Hon. Ms Game.

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