Well, it was fun while it lasted.
The Daily Telegraph reports today that Mike Baird, who has been under siege over his controversial greyhound racing ban, is likely to reverse his decision as early as tomorrow.
He’s expected to overturn the Greyhound Racing Prohibition Act on the proviso that the industry promises to stop the slaughter of dogs, and will introduce tough new penalties for animal cruelty to ensure that remains the case. It is expected that a proposal from industry group Greyhound Alliance – which was tendered just before the ban was put in place – will be the core of Baird’s revised approach.
“It won’t be a green light (to) go back to where it was three months ago,” one source told the Tele.
The greyhound issue has been toxic for Baird – though many (including us) thought it was a good, progressive step against a cruel practice, many in NSW disagreed. Baird’s support absolutely cratered in many regional areas where greyhound racing is an important local industry, and it’s been difficult for the Premier to recover.
NSW Labor, who rarely seem to have public opinions about essentially anything, used the greyhound issue as a cudgel against Baird, with leader Luke Foley repeatedly hammering him on the issue. Baird’s also faced a lot of opposition within his own Coalition ranks – the Nationals hate the ban with a passion.
Sorry, dog lovers – looks like racing’s back on table. Time will tell just how serious Baird is about cracking down on the industry.
Source: Daily Telegraph.
Photo: Getty Images.
