Federal Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has urged Tasmanian politicians not to repeat New South Wales’ backflip on banning greyhound racing, as the phase-out bill remains before the Legislative Council.
Faruqi, the Greens’ national animal rights spokesperson, joined Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor in Hobart a day after the government released its draft transition plan for the industry.
“Do not be fooled by the empty promises of the greyhound racing industry that they will reform or that they will change,” Faruqi said.
“New South Wales learned the lesson the hard way.”
Faruqi said the NSW Liberal government overturned its ban on greyhound racing a decade ago under pressure from the gambling and racing industry.
She said 600 greyhounds had died in racing-related deaths in NSW since the backflip, while the state government had propped up the industry with more than $200 million of public money.
Faruqi said Tasmanian Labor was following the same path as its NSW counterparts.
“We are seeing in Tasmania the Labor Party making noises about not supporting this ban,” she said.
“That is exactly what happened in New South Wales.”
O’Connor described the draft plan as “a thorough and considered piece of draft work” and said she hoped her Legislative Council colleagues would see it that way.
She said Labor was the biggest obstacle to the reform passing the upper house.
“Regrettably, at this stage, Labor is still attached to the dying greyhound racing industry and is the industry’s biggest political backer,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor said participants should be compensated, but exit payments needed to ensure they no longer raced in Tasmania.
“We need a transition plan and funding to compensate industry participants that make sure they don’t race greyhounds in Tasmania anymore,” she said.
“Once [the bill] passes, there’s no more breeding of greyhounds for racing.”
Under the draft plan, dogs sold or moved interstate before racing ends would be ineligible for the per-dog owner payment.
Labor MP Ella Haddad said she had not yet read the plan, but it could not be implemented without the bill passing the upper house.
“The government is the one that is stalling this,” Haddad said.
“It’s Jeremy Rockliff who is standing in the way of his own plan to shut down the industry and in the meantime, everybody is in limbo.”
Asked whether the plan could change Labor’s position, Haddad said the question was speculative.
Government Whip Marcus Vermey said in a media release that the draft plan showed “every Labor delay” increased costs and meant “animals suffer”.
Vermey singled out shadow racing minister Dean Winter over Labor’s position on the bill.
“Dean Winter knows he is on the wrong side of history,” Vermey said.
He claimed Labor’s left faction wants greyhound racing to end and challenged Opposition Leader Josh Willie to stand up to Winter and back the ban.
The Greyhound Racing Legislation Amendments (Phasing Out Reform) Bill 2025 remains before the Legislative Council.
