The greyhound racing watchdog in New South Wales will lead an inquiry into the industry despite concern from advocates the probe’s powers are “politically constrained” and “inadequate” to address allegations of rampant animal abuse.
The state’s racing minister, David Harris, announced a new acting commissioner of the NSW Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC), Lea Drake, would lead the inquiry.
Harris said he wanted the industry to continue operating but would push Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) to focus on improving animal welfare and its governance.
“The industry is showing that they have made progress,” he said on Thursday. “This is about ensuring that they stay focused.”
Dog injury rates have reached their highest point since independent reporting began in 2018, according to GWIC’s latest quarterly injury data release.
GRNSW’s chief executive resigned on Tuesday after the release of a report by its former chief vet, Alex Brittan, alleging GRNSW was underreporting dog deaths and overlooking animal welfare violations.
GRNSW said it took all welfare and integrity claims seriously and had appointed former Victorian police commissioner Graham Ashton to review and make recommendations on the contents of Brittan’s document.
Brittan’s report also criticised the welfare and integrity commission, alleging it had failed to enforce industry rules and was “misrepresenting, under-reporting and obfuscating the facts”.
Emma Hurst, MP for the Animal Justice party, said the commission’s control of the inquiry was inappropriate and she would seek other politicians’ support for a public, independent upper house inquiry into the industry.
“The commission’s own actions have been criticised in this explosive vet report,” she said. “How can GWIC independently investigate such claims against itself?”
NSW Greens upper house MP Abigail Boyd said the inquiry was likely to be conducted in private as the commission’s legislated powers would not provide sufficient safeguards for whistleblowers, which she said “would only serve to benefit the greyhound industry”.
GWIC said it did not comment on any open or ongoing inquiries. Drake was approached for comment.
The inquiry’s procedures, including whether there will be public hearings, will be determined in coming weeks.
Harris insisted the commission’s inquiry would be more powerful than a parliamentary inquiry and would “make sure that all of those people who have issues are able to be heard [and] that they have protection”.
Drake will begin work on Monday. The inquiry will run for less than five months and report back by 13 December.
GRNSW welcomed the inquiry, with acting chief executive Wayne Billett praising Drake as “one of Australia’s most respected and distinguished investigators”.
The GRNSW board could still be sacked and replaced with an administrator, after Harris gave them until Friday evening to show cause as to why they should not be removed.