Tasmania’s plan to phase out greyhound racing has hit a roadblock after the Legislative Council voted to refer the bill to a committee for further review.
The Greyhound Racing Legislation Amendments (Phasing Out Reform) Bill, which passed the lower house last week, will now not face a final vote until March 2026 at the earliest.
The legislation proposed ending greyhound racing by June 2029, with immediate bans on destroying greyhounds for non-welfare reasons and breeding dogs for racing.
Independent MLC Ruth Forrest, who moved the motion to refer the legislation, cited procedural concerns rather than opposition to the ban itself.
“I’m not here to talk about whether the policy should be adopted and the legislation passed. I’m here to talk about a proper process and a proper process that wasn’t taken,” Forrest said.
Forrest criticised the government’s approach, noting that industry participants “had 100 years of bipartisan political support and three weeks after the election they were told the industry would be shut down by phone call from the minister’s office.”
Greens Animal Rights Spokesperson Cassy O’Connor expressed disappointment but remained determined.
“While this decision defers the passage of the bill, the fact has not changed that this industry is on its last four legs,” O’Connor said.
“We’ve been fighting to end greyhound racing for a decade and we won’t stop just because of this delay.”
However, Shadow Minister for Racing Dean Winter claimed the delay represented a significant setback for the government.
“Before the election, Jeremy Rockliff told the greyhound racing community they had his full support,” Winter said.
“But just a few weeks later he announced he would shut their industry down.”
The Racing Integrity Commissioner had reportedly urged swift passage of the bill to begin the transition plan in January, with concerns that delay could lead to increased breeding and euthanasia of racing dogs.
The committee is expected to begin its review process early next year.
