Today, I want to talk about something we rarely hear about in this place: animals and their wellbeing. Australians love animals, yet so many of our animal welfare laws lag behind those of other similar nations. So many people have related to me stories of how their companion animals have been their saviours during the isolation of COVID-19 lockdowns. My ex-racing rescue greyhound, Cosmo, has been a loving companion to me and my husband during the pandemic as we have been separated from our children.

The NSW Government has released the draft Greyhound Racing Regulation 2019, which will replace the Greyhound Racing Regulation 2018.

While we all want to see an end to the Greyhound racing industry, we must ensure that as many lives as possible are saved by enacting stricter regulations while this cruel activity is allowed to continue. The greyhound racing industry are trying to roll back even the modest animal welfare gains that have been put in place since the backflip.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has called the reopening of the Lismore racing track a farce. Greyhound Racing NSW closed the Lismore track ‘indefinitely’ on 17 January “as a result of unacceptably high levels of major greyhound injuries and fatalities over the past 12 months.