The SA Greens will introduce a bill to State Parliament to ensure Greyhound Racing South Australia is subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) requirements. The move is one of the 86 recommendations of the Ashton review of the industry that received Government support.
But five months after the release of the Ashton Report, the government has so far failed to ensure the implementation of any recommendations.
The Greens Bill follows the fifth greyhound death on SA tracks in 2024, and the Malinauskas Government’s failure to appoint an independent inspector for the greyhound racing industry by Easter 2024, breaking their own promise to do so.
Quotes Attributable to Tammy Franks MLC, SA Greens Spokesperson for Animal Welfare:
It is appalling that the SA Government is providing millions of dollars annually in taxpayer subsidies to prop up this inhumane and unethical industry without even bothering to ensure integrity. The Ashton Review should have been a wakeup call – sadly, Minister Hildyard has just pushed the snooze button.
Since the Ashton Inquiry saw the Premier give this industry a two-year lifeline to reform five greyhounds have died on South Australian tracks. Not a single recommendation has yet been formally implemented and the promised Independent Inspector is still nowhere to be seen. If the Minister had kept the Malinauskas Government promise to have an independent inspector in place by Easter 2024, we might have believed they are taking these issues seriously.
I would expect the Greens Bill to bring better scrutiny and accountability of Grey Racing in our state, and to pass house houses of parliament with government support.