Dr WOODRUFF question to MINISTER for RACING, Mr ELLIS
Tasmanians were appalled by the footage of greyhound trainer Anthony Bullock's property released by Animal Liberation Tasmania last week. The footage shows dozens of dogs forced to endure freezing temperatures and sleep on bare dirt or concrete slabs. It showed gruesome piles of animal carcasses and horses severely malnourished. We welcome Mr Bullock's suspension but have no confidence in the Office of Racing Integrity to conduct a fair investigation.
ORI's failings have been the subject of repeated debate in this place this year and industry participants and animal advocates have raised concerns about the cosy relationship between the head of ORI and Mr Bullock. It took a caring member of the community to publish drone footage of Bullock's property before ORI would take a proper look at the trainer. It is obvious from their repeated failures that they are in a compromised position.
You said before that integrity in the racing industry is essential. Do you recognise the legitimate lack of confidence the community has in ORI to do this work, and will you immediately act to take the investigation out of ORI's hands and bring in someone with genuine animal welfare credentials who has no connections to the racing industry to undertake the investigation?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I spoke about his before. There is an investigation under way. We take these allegations very seriously and I refer the member to my previous answer.