Wednesday, 26 August 2026

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (19:34): (2743) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Racing, and the action that I seek is for a commitment that not one single greyhound exported to Australia from New Zealand will be raced here in Victoria. On 1 August New Zealand’s ban on commercial greyhound racing came into effect following years of animal welfare concerns, including horrific track deaths and injuries. Part of New Zealand’s plan included a transition plan for workers and a rehoming program which had capacity to rehome 1400 dogs. But instead of letting these dogs retire safely to the couch, where they belong, Greyhound Racing New Zealand organised and paid for charter flights for up to 150 dogs, or about 10 per cent of the country’s total racing dogs, to Australia, where they will continue to be exploited and raced at breakneck speed. There is no other reason to do this than pure greed, and as soon as these dogs enter the country, they then become Australia’s responsibility to rehome at a time when we are already facing a rehoming crisis. Just last week harrowing footage emerged from Animals Australia which showed some of these dogs in crates waiting to be put on a plane and flown here. The sound of their cries and wails in that video is haunting, and it has stuck with me and everyone else who has watched it.

The majority of these dogs will be raced in Queensland, where a recent investigation by AnimalKIND Australia and the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds exposed the story of 3½-year-old greyhound Tarawi Minnie. Twelve days after her final race, undercover footage showed a seemingly healthy and mobile dog being dragged into the Rosewood vet clinic by her trainer. The trainer was seen leaving the vet clinic with her muzzle but not her. Investigators later found her body in a freezer. Tarawi Minnie deserved to live a long life post racing, and so do these 150 dogs from New Zealand.

New Zealand recognised that greyhound racing no longer has a social licence. Rather than becoming their industry’s escape route, it is time Australian state and territory governments conceded there is no such thing as ethical dog racing. Yet the Victorian government continues to throw taxpayer money at this industry to keep it alive, despite our state carrying the mantle of the deadliest state in the nation. There are already enough dogs being raced to death and injury in our state. The minister must provide an assurance that Victoria will be off limits for any dog that is exported out of New Zealand.