‘A range of measures and actions aimed at strengthening the governance, integrity and animal welfare standards of greyhound racing industry in NSW’ has been announced by the NSW Labor government.
In a media release, they say, ‘These measures respond to the findings of the inquiry led by the Hon. Lea Drake, appointed by Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris, to address concerns regarding Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW)’.
‘Acting Commissioner Drake identified significant governance and operational failures within Greyhound Racing NSW under previous management, including deficiencies in procurement and recruitment practices, financial mismanagement, wasteful expenditure and a poor workplace culture.
‘In response to this report, the Government is taking action to ensure the industry lifts standards and practices by reforming the industry’s operating licence and issuing a Statement of Expectations to the regulator.
New Operating Licence for Greyhound Racing NSW
‘The NSW Government will issue GRNSW with a new Operating Licence that sets out conditions legally requiring the organisation to address key recommendations of the Drake Inquiry to ensure its operations meet the highest standards of governance and animal welfare, including:
- increasing oversight of greyhound rehoming programs run by GRNSW and third-party groups to significantly improve rehoming pathways, including prioritising domestic rehoming programs where possible
- ensuring sustainable and transparent funding for animal welfare
- improving reporting on greyhound rehoming data
- improving reporting to the Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission (GWIC) on greyhound deaths from unknown causes
- ensuring updates to the minimum track standards are actioned appropriately and implemented across all clubs
- improving a suite of internal GRNSW’s policies, Board Charters and Code of Conduct to lift standards around organisational management, human resources, procurement process, financial and human resource management and workplace culture
- setting requirements for reporting by GRNSW on progress with implementing these reforms.
‘As is required in Section 25 of the Greyhound Racing Act 2017, Minister Harris will consult with the industry’s regulator, GWIC, on the updated licence before issuing it to GRNSW’, the statement reads.
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