While many of you will be familiar with GRNSW’s reform agenda, GRNSW is not the organisation it was before February 2015. GRNSW is changing and must change to ensure it is capable of effectively supervising the industry and providing the Strategic direction and leadership of greyhound racing.
The overhaul of GRNSW’s organisational structure has seen a refresh of leadership and achieved much needed staffing additions to support GRNSW establishing itself as a modern and effective regulator. These new appointments include:
1. Chief Veterinary Officer
2. General Manager Compliance
3. General Counsel
4. Principal Investigator
5. Manager Education and Industry Development
The work to build GRNSW’s capability is ongoing and will involve recruiting additional veterinary, education, compliance and investigative staff to ensure the lessons learned from past failures translate into improved welfare and integrity outcomes, contribute to the recovery of community confidence and assist in realising a sustainable future for greyhound racing in NSW.
The ongoing focus on enhancing animal welfare and compliance capability and targeting wrongdoing in the industry is appropriate and necessary but is only one part of the important work underway.
GRNSW is committed to broader industry reform including addressing key sustainability issues facing the industry. GRNSW also has an important role in speaking on behalf of the majority of responsible participants to ensure their story is told and their individual contributions as well as the overall social and economic contribution of greyhound racing to NSW is recognised.
Accordingly I am excited to share with you GRNSW’s embracingchange.com.au campaign which introduces a number of ambassadors for greyhound racing and tells a positive story about their genuine regard for their greyhounds and deep passion and commitment to the sport. The campaign also helps communicate the range of reform initiatives underway and assists in dispelling some of the misinformation about the industry and bring a human face to the significant social and economic contribution greyhound racing makes to NSW.
I encourage you to visit embracingchange.com.au and promote the campaign to ensure the community at large benefits from a greater understanding of the sport and we can showcase a handful of ambassadors for the industry.
Strategic">Strategic direction
GRNSW has done considerable work in consultation with KPMG mapping a Strategic approach for the industry to better position the sport for a sustainable future.
The Strategic approach recognises three significant issues impacting on the sustainability of the industry:
1. current level of oversight and standards in the industry need to be raised.
2. the current structure of the club network is not sustainable in the long-term; and
3. industry has an ageing participant demographic and is not attracting new participants.
While a high level strategy has been prepared, more work is necessary to build on the proposed approach and further develop the detail of the associated action plan.
To support this work GRNSW will be establishing a Joint Working Group with industry representatives to ensure the industry is engaged and contributes to the vision for the sport.
The Joint Working Group will be established in the next few weeks and will be asked to develop the detail of an action plan, including defining the centre of excellence concept, options to enhance the governance model and the reward landscape for participants. The Joint Working Group will provide advice to GRNSW on key issues, potential approaches and implementation options.
Education and industry engagement
GRNSW’s new Manager Education and Industry Development, Cecelia Huynh, will be undertaking an industry training needs analysis with a focus on addressing the competency gaps highlighted in the recently released Working Dog Alliance report.
By the end of November, we will know if the revised training package prepared by AgriFood Skills has received national endorsement after which, a new team of trainer-educators and assessors will develop the license-specific industry skill-sets for vocational training programs.
Flexible-delivery (i.e. options to learn face-to-face, online, and correspondence) is a priority to cater for our varied and widespread participant base. GRNSW will partner with registered training organisations to ensure participants receive accreditation (or full qualifications) for their efforts. In the meantime, the first step is building learning capability within the organisation and industry.
Lure design research
Optimal lure type and design has been debated as it may affect racing injury rates, a greyhound’s willingness to chase and the public perception of the sport. Previous studies have had inconclusive results.
The NSW Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) has submitted a proposal to test a new lure system to investigate the various hypotheses. In order to yield results which are evidenced based and valid, research scientists from the Working Dog Alliance are being consulted to provide independent and expert advice in research design and implementation.
The recent Best Practice Review advised that decisions related to lure design must be informed by knowledge of what motivates greyhounds to chase and reasons why they do not chase. Proposals will soon be sought to address this critical research question. Results will not only guide decisions related to lure design but will be crucial to establishing best practice in breeding, rearing and training greyhounds.
Race Fields Information Usage fee
In late July, the NSW Government announced that it would vary the Racing Administration Regulation 2012 to increase the maximum fee racing bodies can charge wagering operators.
The variation means GRNSW can charge wagering operators a fee of 4% of turnover derived from wagers laid by operators at ‘totalisator derived odds’ and 2.5% from wagers laid by operators at odds other than totalisator derived odds.
As GRNSW already entered into Race Field Information Use Approvals with all wagering operators for 2015/16 prior to the variation, the organisation will continue with its current fee model for the remainder of the financial year. This fee model is equal to either 15% of the wagering operator’s gross margin or 1% of their turnover, whichever is greater.
Despite maintaining its current fee model for the remainder of 2015/16, GRNSW will see greater returns from wagering on NSW greyhound racing by applying this new raised cap from 1 September 2015 until 30 June 2016. This will mean that GRNSW will no longer be subject to the restrictive 1.5% cap previously in place.
As such most wagering operators will pay 15% of revenue rather than the 1.5% of turnover that they were paying when the more restrictive cap was previously in place.
GRNSW will engage with all wagering operators and industry stakeholders in the coming months to help develop an appropriate fee structure for the 2016/17 financial year and beyond.
The decision to increase the maximum fee follows the announcement in June that the NSW Government would cut the amount taxed on wagering revenues to reflect levels currently in place in Victoria.
In announcing that move, NSW Minister for Racing Troy Grant said any funds available to the greyhound code would be quarantined subject to the findings and recommendations of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the NSW Greyhound Racing Industry have been determined.
Submission to the Commission
On 24 August 2015, GRNSW provided its written submission to the Commission. The submission addresses the key issues identified by the Commissioner and other matters within the scope of the broad Terms of Reference that GRNSW believes to be of significance. Specifically, the submission:
(a) articulates the economic and social contributions made by the greyhound racing industry and how these contributions benefit NSW;
(b) critically analyses the scope, breadth and capacity of GRNSW’s governance arrangements and suggests improvements to build a robust governance framework for GRNSW to effectively discharge its functions under the Act;
(c) examines GRNSW’s industry supervision and regulatory capabilities and proposes changes that will enable GRNSW to adopt a contemporary intelligence led, risk based and outcomes focused approach to compliance and enforcement;
(d) outlines the animal welfare strategies and initiatives GRNSW has been developing and investigating to address the over production of greyhounds, provide more opportunities for greyhounds to race and enhance rehoming options for retired greyhounds;
(e) articulates GRNSW’s proposed roadmap for the sport and its Strategic Approach that will enhance integrity and welfare outcomes but also consider systemic industry issues to reposition the NSW greyhound racing industry as a high-quality and commercially viable sport; and
(f) examines the financial challenges that have impacted on GRNSW’s ability to effectively discharge its functions under the Act and examines whether GRNSW is financially viable in the short to medium term.
The NSW Government has announced that the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NSW is to be extended until March 2016. This is a significant announcement and recognises the enormous task the Commission is wrestling with and signals the Government’s commitment to ensure a robust and comprehensive Inquiry.
While the Commission continues its important work and the future of greyhound racing in NSW remains subject to its findings and recommendations, GRNSW must maintain momentum with its reform agenda and further encourage industry commitment towards its Strategic direction for greyhound racing in NSW.
Conclusion
The failings of GRNSW to adequately supervise greyhound racing and the absence of an authentic and coherent leadership voice within industry were stark and will be relevant to the work of the Commission.
The misconduct and callous mistreatment of animals by a number of industry participants as shown on the Four Corners program ‘Making a Killing’ abruptly thrust greyhound racing into public scrutiny. The nature and extent of the misconduct may yet be revealed by the Commission, and individuals found to have engaged in such practices should be subject to serious consequences arising out of criminal proceedings.
It is important for participants to acknowledge and actively condemn any instances of animal cruelty to ensure the environment that enabled such misconduct to persist is removed. While eradicating mistreatment of animals is fundamental, the reform agenda to ensure the sport recovers community confidence, establishes a credible voice and can secure its social licence is sizeable.
While important to recognise the failures and where we have come from I am encouraged by voices emerging from within industry advocating real change. GRNSW recognises legacy industry representative structures must be reviewed to better support the sometimes muted voices of responsible and dedicated participants to be heard and contribute to the future direction of the sport. The embracingchange.com.au campaign highlights a handful of greyhound racing participants that are well positioned to be ambassadors and can be a positive influence in the community.
I can also advise that GRNSW is partnering with the GBOTA to review the Metropolitan Racing Strategy and is establishing a Joint Working Group with industry representation to investigate the next steps in the Strategic direction for greyhound racing in NSW.
GRNSW is changing. GRNSW is not the same organisation that administered the sport prior to February 2015. GRNSW is implementing substantial organisational reform to become a modern and capable regulator and recognises there is much more to do. Importantly the leadership of GRNSW is committed to driving the necessary reforms and delivering a vibrant and sustainable future for the sport that can grow its social and economic contribution to NSW.
While a difficult and challenging time, out of this crisis comes tremendous opportunity for renewal and the promise of a better future for greyhound racing. I commend the embracingchange.com.au campaign to you and ask you to commit to the positive reforms for the sport to engage with the change agenda.
