Wednesday, 29 July 2026

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (19:09): (2646) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Racing, and the action I seek is for him to implement gendered violence prevention training for greyhound racing participants. Over the past few years I have reported dozens of sexist, threatening, demeaning and derogatory comments by greyhound racing industry participants to Greyhound Racing Victoria. Consistently, penalties laid by stewards have been minuscule. With each small fine or concurrent suspension which allows them to continue racing, Greyhound Racing Victoria has sent a clear message that they do not just disregard animals, they disregard women too. But for the first time ever, recently a trainer did not accept his pathetic so-called penalty and appealed it to the Victorian Racing Tribunal. He had written me two comments in quick succession, one stating that I ‘need a good root’ and one stating that I would ‘soon be taking my clothes off for old men for cash again’. When questioned about these comments by stewards, he accepted responsibility for one but claimed the more severe one was the outcome of his account being hacked. Without even bothering to come to me for further substantiation, GRV accepted his reasoning. The penalty he appealed was for the comment he took responsibility for, and the Victorian Racing Tribunal – the racing industry’s so-called independent tribunal – chose to further reduce the steward’s penalty, with the panel even saying in their decision:

He is a person of good character and is entitled to rely on his good character in regards penalty. He is entitled to a discount in penalty by his plea.

According to the greyhound racing industry, if you are a good bloke, you should be let off for sexist abuse, and even what you do admit to will not be taken seriously.

I understand that public debate is an important part of our democracy, but this is something else entirely. Targeted gendered abuse is not political disagreement, it is harassment designed purely to intimidate, silence and harm women. Research consistently shows that women in public life are more likely to experience gendered abuse compared to their male counterparts. For someone in a less privileged position than me, the risks of speaking out can be far greater. The Minister for Racing would be aware that the racing industry has a well-documented cultural problem. In 2022 the Victorian racing industry was subject to an independent review into victim support and complaint processes in matters of sexual abuse. The minister himself stated that it was time for enduring change. Greyhound Racing Victoria committed to learning from the findings. It is clear that they have not. I urge the Minister for Racing to implement gendered violence prevention training for greyhound racing participants to ensure that their culture of sexist abuse does not become as normalised as their culture of animal abuse.