New Commission Hits The Ground Running

A bright future for NSW greyhound racing took a giant leap forward on July 1, with the newly formed Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission (GWIC) commencing operations from its regional base in Bathurst.

Charged with the responsibility of overseeing and enforcing the integrity and welfare standards of the industry in NSW, following a separation of powers from the industry's commercial arm Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) under the Greyhound Racing Act 2017, CEO Judy Lind told the Recorder in a candid interview that she's satisfied with the progress being made in the Commission's infancy.

"I sent a message out to the staff just the other day saying we're out of the starting boxes and have hit the ground running, we're not yet at the first turn but things are on track but there's a lot of work to be done," said Lind earlier this week.

"It's been absolutely full-on right from the get go. The main aim for the July 1 start date and transition was to ensure as minimal impact to the basic day-to-day racing functions and I can safely say we achieved that.

"The Commission's basic administrative processes are in place and one thing that has caught me by surprise is the sheer volume of transactions – in July alone we processed 839 and as time goes on, and the more we understand, I'm certain we can streamline and relieve the administrative burden on participants considerably."

Earlier this year during February, Lind, along with Chief Commissioner Alan Brown and fellow Commissioner's Clare Petre and Dr. John Keniry AM, embarked on a Roadshow Tour across regional NSW, garnering the thoughts and feelings of stakeholders and participants after what's been a turbulent and uncertain two years.

"What we learnt during that time was that there was a real consistency in participants' areas of dissatisfaction – we came away from that tour with a lot of valuable information," declared Lind.

"We also got a very strong understanding as to just how low many participants were feeling, for me personally in many instances you could see people visibly upset and just how much they had suffered throughout this whole journey. They felt they'd been portrayed in a horrible light and made to feel that as an industry, everyone had in the past, been doing the wrong thing, and that's just wrong.

"Our message to them was very clear. We are here to build the right culture for the industry going forward and those that embrace that will have the Commission's full support, but for those that don't; the Commission will impose the appropriate responses and interventions.

"A lot of the Commission's focus for the future will be directed towards early intervention, with a focus on help and support. With the level of data and technology we now have at our disposal, we can begin identifying emerging issues and risks and assist participants wherever possible."

Over the past 12-18 months, since the Greyhound Industry Reform Panel issued NSW Government with its 122 recommendations for direction on the industry's future, discussion around the imposition of a bond-like system for NSW-bred pups has been causing significant concern and angst among stakeholders, fearful that it would cripple any breeding future in NSW.

"I can't talk all that specifically on the matter given its sensitivity but what I can say is that at the current time the Commission is conscious of the fact that Racing Queensland has postponed the idea of implementing a similar scheme and we've communicated that fact plus other thinking that can inform how best to monitor and respond to any concerning trends on the breeding front.

"We are monitoring and getting a better understanding on breeding levels all the time and Greyhounds Australasia (GA) are making considerations around a National breeding approach, which we are involved in also."

The separation of powers between GRNSW and GWIC was always going to pose a difficult task, an administrative nightmare to be frank, and although just six weeks in, Lind says she's pleased with how things are taking shape.

"We have a way to go, there's no denying that, and as I said earlier the main objective has been to ensure there was no interruption to racing and services.
As we work through things we are starting to get a better understanding to where the boundaries are on certain tasks and issues," informed Lind.

"Like with anything of this scale there are points of imperfection. An analogy I could use is similar to what occurs with corporate mergers and acquisitions, where it takes some time for the newly reconstituted organisations to settle ongoing working arrangements.

"There is a resounding willingness for both bodies to work together and cooperatively. We've made approaches to make formal briefings to the GRNSW board as its essential they know what we're working on and towards and vice-versa."

One of those key inner-workings at the Commission is the much anticipated Code of Practice, with Lind expecting a draft to be released to the industry midway through September.

"The Animal Welfare committee has met quite a bit since its formation and we expect to go to broader industry consultation on the Code of Practice later next month," said Lind.

"The Code of Practice really is the foundation pillar of the reform journey. It will detail minimum standards on things like nutrition, welfare and training practices. We are focused on all stakeholders receiving the correct education and training moving forward."

In early July, just days into the Commission's commencement, some distressing news hit mainstream media about a greyhound property in Marsden Park being the subject of an RSPCA inquiry, with the discovery of several greyhounds in poor health.

Industry talk through that time was that while the industry couldn't, nor shouldn't defend any mitigating circumstances around why the situation materialized, the industry could have provided balance to the reports that surfaced and some better context.

"Yes, there was an incident that came to light on July 3 which resulted in a partner agency taking the lead on that particular investigation," declared Lind.

"The Commission accepts that in hindsight we could have been better prepared with our messaging on that particular matter but I ask those in the industry to be mindful that we'd only been up and running for three days.

"We tried to give the situation some greater perspective, but given the exposure it had received and generated, it was too little too late. I'm confident if the same issue arises – and we're hopeful it won't – we are much better placed to represent the industry on such issues. It is also important to understand that there will be circumstances where the Commission's work on certain matters cannot and will not be revealed until a later point in time.

"What I'd also like to say is that it's vitally important that if those in the industry find themselves in troubled times or in difficult circumstances, the Commission is here to provide help and assistance wherever it can. We are here to help, be it health issues or alike, and we will be very strong in promoting that message."

With Lind and her 60-strong staff six weeks into operations, with that staff receiving rave reviews from participants given their desire to help and go on and above the call of duty wherever possible, she left industry stakeholders with the following message.

"I've met some fantastic people over the past six months and whilst there are no magic wands and no quick fixes, I just want to assure your readers the Commission is here to help and support those that do the right thing and love this industry. For those that don't however, the full force of the Commission's enforcement capabilities will be applied to bring to account wrongdoing.

"We're setting the right culture for the industry and look forward to everyone coming along with us!"