Greyhound ban: Mike Baird admits he ‘got it wrong’ on racing ban

MIKE Baird has admitted “I was wrong” as he said he was giving greyhound racing “one last chance” and overturning the controversial ban.

• Trainer Chad Achurch refused bail over live-baiting claims
• Mike Baird and Brad Hazzard meet with Alan Jones

PREMIER Mike Baird has admitted “I was wrong” as he said he was giving greyhound racing “one last chance” and overturning the ban he had controversially put on the industry three months ago.

In a breathtaking mea culpa yesterday, Mr Baird confessed he had made a “mistake” in declaring on July 7 that based on the Special Commission of Inquiry report by former High Court judge Michael McHugh on animal cruelty in greyhound racing, there was no option but for the industry to be shut.

The McHugh inquiry had given two ways forward — that “parliament consider” that the industry be shut down or another 79 recommendations on a way forward for the industry with tougher regulation.

Deputy Premier and leader of the NSW National Party Troy Grant, (left), speaks to the media as NSW Premier Mike Baird watches on today. Picture: AAP

Mr Baird yesterday said he was acting on “feedback” from the public, colleagues and the man the government had asked to develop a transition plan for the ban, Dr John Keniry, in coming to his stunning backdown.

It is understood a key turning point was when Dr Keniry resigned from the taskforce, as revealed by the The Daily Telegraph last week, saying that he was opposed to the ban.

Since then, Deputy Premier Troy Grant, whose leadership was under threat from Nationals colleagues over the ban, has been urging the Premier to overturn it, and Mr Baird agreed last week.

Yesterday Mr Baird and Mr Grant appointed former Labor premier Morris Iemma to head up a panel featuring the greyhound racing industry to come up with a new structure for a reformed industry.

Deputy Premier Troy Grant denied backing down to save his political skin. Picture: AAP

Mr Baird said he “got it wrong" on banning greyhounds. Picture: AAP

Mr Baird said industry reforms would include:

* “Mandatory life bans as well as increased jail terms for live baiting;

* Registering all greyhounds for their entire lives;

* An independent regulator with strong new powers to ensure transparency and accountability; and

* Substantially increased resources for enforcement and prosecution as well as animal welfare”.

It is set to be modelled on an industry plan in which some racetracks would be closed and a cap on breeding in NSW could be put at 2000 dogs a year.

Mr Baird said the Greyhound Racing Prohibition Bill, which passed parliament in August, would be repealed early in the new year and legislation would also be introduced then with the new greyhound racing regimen.

That will be just four months before the industry was due to close under the original decision.

Mr Baird said the industry would have to agree to the “strictest regulations that exist anywhere in the country”.

That new legislation would be subject to statutory review, like all legislation “to have an opportunity to consider how industry has performed ... and that will be presented back to the public”.

The Baird government had called for an end of dog racing in NSW by mid-2017. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

Dogs in action at The Gardens in Newcastle this afternoon. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

Asked if there was a chance that the industry could be banned again down the track, the Premier said: “That’s not up to me, that’s up to the industry.

“The feedback I have received, my cabinet colleagues, MPs across government, from the community is that yes they are horrified by the findings of the special commission of inquiry but they have also said ‘why did you not give the industry one last chance’,” Mr Baird said.

“We got it wrong, I got it wrong, cabinet got it wrong, the government got it wrong.

“We did not give the good people in the industry the chance to respond, a chance to reform. On behalf of that, I am sorry. The industry will be given one last chance — it will be given an opportunity to reform.”

As the Baird government announced the backflip today, greyhound owners were hard at work at The Gardens in Newcastle. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

The Facebook post, which has received hundreds of comments.

In a later Facebook post, Mr Baird said: “Thousands of people have written to my office, the majority in support of the ban. However, the opposite is true for many of my colleagues. One regional member of the government told me last week that, when he returned to his home town, people he has known for over 20 years were so angry about this that they were crossing the street to avoid him.”

Chief executive of the Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers’ Association Brenton Scott, who will sit on Mr Iemma’s reform panel, said the greyhound industry would adopt “world leading” standards.

The ban was in response to proof of widespread live baiting being carried out across the industry. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

The NSW government copped considerable backlash in the wake of the ban. Kendra Byrnes, Brianna Jackson and Alyssa Jackson with their nan's racing greyhound Magic Gem at Kempsey racetrack. Picture: Lindsay Moller

“There will always be isolated failures that need to be dealt with. But we propose stronger regulation, stronger supervision, the toughest possible penalties and a shift in the operating culture,” Mr Scott said.

“Industry participants have been pushed to the very point of the cliff face. They will accept reform and commit to it. I am confident we will go forward with appropriate behaviour.”

But RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said his organisation was “absolutely gutted” by the U-turn and said he may not serve on the panel.

“The Premier and I met this morning. We were asked if we would be prepared to be part a future panel. I’m not convinced at this point that RSPCA should or could be part of that,” he said.

Mr Baird outlined a “last chance” for the greyhound industry in NSW. Picture: Adam Taylor