By Greyhounds Australasia

CEO CHERIE NICHOLL

As many across the industry are aware, Greyhounds Australasia (GA) has been working to review and modernise the national rules of greyhound racing.

We need to adopt a consistent approach across Australia and New Zealand and ensure rules are easily understood by current and future participants.

The aims of the proposed new Greyhounds Australasia rules are to:

• Promote, enhance, and maintain the welfare of greyhounds;
• Regulate greyhound racing so that public confidence in its integrity is upheld;
• Provide for a level playing field in greyhound racing;
• Record the rules which, together with the local rules of controlling bodies, regulate greyhound racing in Australia and New Zealand;
• Promote the long-term viability of greyhound racing and the conduct of it in a socially responsible manner in Australia and New Zealand.

At the beginning of the project, Greyhounds Australasia established a Rules Sub-Committee chaired by barrister James McLeod. The sub-committee is made up of representatives from each jurisdiction with expertise in legal, regulatory, integrity and veterinary fields.

The project has involved preparation of several drafts by James McLeod, and many cycles of comments and input from the Rules Sub-Committee, GA sub-committees (e.g. animal welfare, integrity, veterinary and analysts) or other subject matter experts within controlling bodies, and then further legal refinement made of those draft rules.

We are now ready to move to the consultation phase to gain feedback from industry, stakeholders, clubs, and participants. GRV Hall of Fame inductee Marg Long is working with Greyhounds Australasia on this project. Marg will support the jurisdictions and ensure feedback is shared with the Rules Sub-Committee for consideration and where appropriate rule adjustment.

The controlling bodies will update you regarding the process for review of the rules rework documents in the coming months. It is an important project and Greyhounds Australasia and the jurisdictions are committed to providing all stakeholders an opportunity to review the rule changes and provide their feedback.

On another subject, our team increased by two in recent months. We were very fortunate to have Georgia Wyers join us in the role of Administration Officer. Georgia came to us from Dogs Victoria and brings strong experience working with dog owners in Victoria to provide services like those we provide at Greyhounds Australasia. When you call GA, Georgia will be on the other end of the line ready to assist with DNA, naming, FSI and greyhound passport matters.

It was a challenging start for Georgia, moving to work from home in her second week under Covid-19 lockdown, but a challenge she met with flying colours. Michelle, Georgia, and Holly did a terrific job working remotely and travelling between each other’s homes to deliver kits and mail so that Greyhounds Australasia could continue to provide services to participants. In fact, the team’s typical time to fulfil a service request was 2-3 days through the lockdown, much quicker than the 7-day service commitment.

Also joining GA is Ian McKay, who started in April in the role of Project Manager. Ian has a military background and strong project management experience across state and local government. Ian has hit the ground running and kick started many of the strategic plan projects. I am delighted to have him on board and it has been good to have a male join our small team!

It is an incredibly exciting time at GA as we are now very well positioned to drive forward to achieve the objectives of our strategic plan. I look forward to providing further updates on progress next month.