Former Labor Treasurer, Michael Aird, reiterated his support for banning greyhound racing on statewide radio this morning. The architect of the Tasracing funding Deed, Mr Aird, also said it was not intended to be a forever-subsidy.
Critically, Mr Aird also revealed that following his signing the Deed, he had warned the racing industry they needed to clean up their act. He told them that changing community standards meant they should not only ban whips in horse racing, but plan to phase out greyhound racing.
Tasmanian greyhound racing has been on notice for nearly 20 years. This is not a radical reform, and it’s not out of nowhere.
Australian states are some of the few places on the planet you can race greyhounds. It’s being progressively banned around the world because of its industrial cruelty, over-breeding, high rates of unavoidable injuries on track and deaths of dogs well before what would be the term of their natural lives.
We knew Labor’s position today was regressive, but it’s nearly two decades behind not only community expectations, but their own. How can it be that Tasmanian Labor was more progressive, empathetic and socially-aware in 2009 than today’s party under Josh Willie?
Labor’s cruel position on greyhounds is clearly not sitting comfortably within their membership. Time to get with modern day standards, or at least those of 2009 Labor.
