Petition to end public funding of Tasmania’s greyhound racing industry attracts record signatures
A petition urging the state government to stop funding greyhound racing has achieved a record number of signatures, prompting the industry to hit back at its detractors.
Tasmania
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A petition calling for an end to the public funding of greyhound racing has attracted a record number of signatures, prompting campaigners to declare there is “strong” community opposition to the industry.
But the state’s peak racing body has hit back at its detractors, defending itself against claims the code is cruel and stressing that more money than ever is being invested into welfare measures.
Cygnet resident Deb Bauer’s e-petition to the Tasmanian parliament – sponsored by Greens leader Cassy O’Connor – urges the state government to stop subsidising the greyhound racing industry, which she says is founded on “inherent animal cruelty”.
Ms Bauer said campaigners were delighted the petition had broken the record for most signatures on an e-petition to the parliament.
The record had previously stood at 11,699 signatures, achieved by the End of Life Choices petition, which was tabled prior to voluntary assisted dying being legalised in Tasmania.
At the time of print, Ms Bauer’s petition had attracted 11,540 signatures. It closes on Thursday, June 9.
“I think the response that we’ve had is indicative of how strong the sentiment (against the industry) is,” Ms Bauer said.
“When we talk to people, they’re just astonished because they don’t know about the subsidy, they have no idea that taxpayer dollars prop up dog racing and they’re horrified.
“I think (Premier Jeremy) Rockliff has shown … since he’s taken over that he’s willing to listen to the community. I think he’s sending signals that he’s got his ears open to community sentiment.
“So I hope he will listen and pay attention.”
Ms Bauer said she and other like-minded campaigners hoped to commission independent polling on attitudes towards dog racing in Tasmania.
In 2020-21, the greyhound racing industry received $5.2m in funding from the government
Tasracing chief executive Paul Eriksson said that while there were other costs associated with the industry, including track maintenance, administration and welfare, it ultimately generated economic benefits to the state of $53.2m and supported 433 full-time equivalent workers.
“Greyhound racing continues to be very popular in Tasmania – any suggestion to the contrary is false,” he said. “Wagering on the code has grown substantially over the past five years.”
“Further, Tasracing is investing more money than ever into welfare initiatives and key reforms to ensure the protection of greyhounds, both during and after their racing life.”
Recession claims “talk Tasmania down” - June 2
OPPOSITION claims that the state economy was shrinking amid a technical recession were “talking Tasmania down”, Premier Jeremy Rockliff says.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on Wednesday show Tasmania’s economy has shrunk in two successive quarters, meeting the economic definition of a recession.
Describing Labor Treasury spokesman Shane Broad as “Dr Doom”, Mr Rockliff accused the opposition of “talking down the economy”.
State Final Demand fell by 1.5 per cent in the December quarter, and 0.6 per cent in the March quarter.
But Mr Rockliff said dwelling on negatives was not good for either business or consumer confidence.
“I don’t know why you continue to talk down Tasmania, Dr Broad,” Mr Rockliff said in parliament.
“We’ve had some particularly challenging times over the course of the last couple of years. “It’s been considerable disruption and that has impacted on business confidence.
“I am concerned that you get up here in this place every day as I understand it and speak publicly around a ‘technical recession’ or whatever you might have said recently which is completely way over the top, undermines confidence in the Tasmanian community and business community and frankly, I would expect more.”
Mr Rockliff said that the state economy was in robust health: “retail trade up, exports up, unemployment down, lowest on record,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Broad had asked the Premier why the state economy was shrinking.
“It’s pretty clear that the cost of living crisis, which your budget failed to address, has forced households to tighten their belts: household spending was down half a per cent, private capital investment was also down by a massive 16 per cent compared to September,” he said.
“Respected economist Saul Eslake like has said Tasmania; s economy has slowed and he also he also points out that Tasmania is the only state going backwards.
‘Why is Tasmania the only state economy going backwards?”
Data breach affects local NDIS and care clients, Minister confirms
IT was unclear how many Tasmanians were affected by a data breach of sensitive personal information held by a disability services provider, parliament has heard.
Responding to a question from Greens leader Cassy O’Connor during Question Time on Thursday, education, children and youth minister Roger Jaensch confirmed the incident had affected a provider in the Tasmanian market.
“I’m advised and on 17th of May, the Department of Communities Tasmania was notified of a cyber attack on CTARS, a client management system for one of their service providers,” he said.
“It’s subsequently became a data breach.
“The Department of Communities has one contracted service provider which was affected by the CTARS data breach.”
The Sydney based company provides client management services for the NDIS and out-of-home care services.
It said not all NDIS or out-of-home-care participants have been impacted by this data breach.
“On the evening of 15 May 2022, we became aware that an unauthorised third party had gained access to our systems,” the company said in a statement.
“Although we cannot confirm the details of all the data in the time available, to be extra careful, we are treating any information held in our database as being compromised.
“This data includes documents containing personal information relating to our customers and their clients and carers.
Mr Jaensch said the breach was being investigated and support would be provided to those affected.
“I’m advised other states and territories have also been impacted by the data breach.
“It’s currently not clear how many Tasmanian citizens are impacted by the breach, however, the department is working with suppliers involved to determine this.
“The Australian Cyber Security Center and the office of the Australian Information Commissioner have been notified and CTARS have engaged ID Care by the care to support victims of the data breach.
“Our government will be assisting as required to provide support to any Tasmanians, affected.”
Earlier this week, Tasmanian super company Spirit Super confirmed it had been the victim of a phishing attack which gained access to the personal data of over 50,000 customers.
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