It is contempt for us shown by continuing to peddle facts that they must know are false.

The LNP got us into this mess. GWIC said at the roadshows they have to have the puppy bond because the government told them they had to. That is this LNP government. Their actions make it quite clear they want to shut us down.

I get that you will continue to push for the LNP and hated for any union. However the way I see it is that the LNP were in government and we were without a union when the ban happened. The LNP were in government and we were without a union when the Reform Panel recommendations were decided upon.

Ill try my chances with a union and a push for a change of government rather than stick with the current model.

The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK (18:10): Tonight I continue where I left off on Tuesday nightchampioning the interests of the greyhound industry. Before I do so, I make the following observation: The Liberal-Nationals Government keeps telling everyone that it is getting on with the job of delivering for everyone. We all know it has delivered for the big end of town and for itself. The list of whom it has failed since March 2011 is so long that I dare not even begin. Suffice to say it has failed our elderly, who can neither heat nor cool their homes because of rising electricity and gas prices; the seriously injured at work, who are now having difficulty getting medical treatment; our nurses, who are understaffed and underpaid; working mothers, who can neither find a childcare centre to send their kids to nor afford to send them anyway; many small business operators on George Street here in the city, who are bankrupt or on the verge of bankruptcy because of road closures; and even 7-Eleven workers, who are being treated as slaves. As I said, the list is endless.

What is most disparaging about the Liberal-Nationals Government is that it has not only turned its back on small business owners and ordinary people on the street trying to make a living, but also gone out of its way to destroy those people's lives. That is what it has done to the mum-and-dad taxi-owner licensees; that is what it has done to our hardworking farmers, who are pleading for help; and that is what it is now doing by having another crack at greyhounds and all the people involved in the industry. In my adjournment speech on Tuesday I said that the Liberal-Nationals Government was trying to strangle the industry and close it down by stealth. It is death by a thousand cuts, and our party will not have a bar of it.

I also touched on the issue of cobalt. Cobalt is a substance found regularly in a dog's natural diet and feed supplements. If a dog is deficient in cobalt it will die. It is as simple as that. The maximum urinary threshold for the presence of cobalt in racing greyhounds was set at 100 nanograms per millilitre. It was introduced by Greyhound Racing NSW in 2015 without any scientific or evidence-based study. In fact, there is no evidence to support the banning of this substance or, at the very least, the imposition of a maximum threshold of 100 nanograms. We have asked for the evidence to be tabled. Let us see whether the Government can properly justify this limit, let alone explain how it will help breeders and trainers comply with the limit. Dogs have a limited capacity to absorb certain nutrients. Cobalt is regularly required in small amounts in a dog's diet, which the body uses to create vitamin B12. In fact, dogsparticularly greyhound racing dogsuse many nutrients to fight infections and repair injuries.

These dogs are athletes, not pawns to be used by the Government and Greyhound Racing NSW to destroy the industry. Most people take therapeutic drugs in one form or another at some point in their lives. Trainers handle dogs and, unfortunately, dogs can sometimes become contaminated by sweat when they are handled. It is not some sort of conspiracy; it is a fact of cohabitation between humans and animals. A greyhound dog owner who contacted me recently has been in the industry for decades. His trainer had an impeccable record for 40 years. However, 18 months ago a dog owned by this person and trained by his trainer tested positive. The trainer had been taking medication. They pleaded not guilty and contested the case. The stewards' panel agreed that it was a case of contamination and not administration, but found the defendants guilty and fined them anyway. That is an absolute disgrace.

Despite no scientifically based evidence that could justify this maximum threshold, owners, breeders and trainers with impeccable records are now being falsely accused of doping. This is nothing more than a disgraceful attempt to destroy the greyhound racing industry by slowly, systematically and vindictively targeting owners, breeders and trainers up and down the State. It is about time Greyhound Racing NSW started doing what was promised by this Government. It should be spending the money where it is needed, instead of worrying about how to fit out its new offices at 1 Oxford Street. I have a copy of the layout of the office, including the corner sun‑drenched office marked out for Madeleine Love, who, I am told, lives only a short walking distance away. The last thing the industry needs is a cushy ivory tower for Greyhound Racing NSW rented from Liberal Party cronies and donors. Where is the "industry centre of excellence" that was promised well over 12 months ago?

You and others are giving us your personal political views. No worries.

I am attempting to offer a reasonably objective appraisal of the situation in the interests of the industry at large.

In the event that the Lib/NP mob are in charge for the next five years, which is entirely possible, what will you do?

Any campaign has to be directed at changing the hearts and minds of the ruling government. In that context, let me add that it has three weak points right now - Baird, Grant and Toole are all on record as (a) using false data to support their case and (b) all three have displayed personal objections to the right of greyhound racing to exist. As Ministers of the Crown they are not allowed to do that.

Added to which are doubts as to whether GRNSW are sticking to their charter under the Racing Act.

PS: Note that some participants are already members of another union, so they cannot join with you, while others will not like supporting any union at all.

The new spending on oversight will ensure prizemoney stagnates or goes backwards, the new taxes on corporates will see them drop out & TABs lack of support will all ensure our great industry will stay down in the dumps. I hope you all vote for SFFP where you have a candidate. They are the only party that has been vocal in their support for greyhounds over horses.

I am still trying to work out the purpose of your rant. You seem to be saying that the public don't matter but then you offer no proposals to bring about forward progress.

I have suggested here some ways to attack the political problem. You seem to have difficulty understanding that. I don't because it is an area where I have been dabbling for several decades - with some success (but not in this industry). And I "see the light" in greyhound racing because I switched it on some 20 years ago and have written about it extensively ever since.

My success rate in greyhounds is dismal for two reasons. First, I am a lone ranger. Even back in the 1990s, when addressing the NSW GRA, the CEO told me "You're the only one who complains". Second, it is hard to talk to people who do not want to listen and are wedded to an ancient and outmoded system of governance and operation (which is exactly what you are striking now).

That is why I propose chucking out the entire system and starting again with a new one, better structured to move in the modern world - independently and commercially.

To do that it is first necessary to convince government, which is what I said in the first post, and how.

The public. The government. Nothing else matters. Guarantee it.

Stop being so condescending.

We are as objective as the next writer. Let's not waste our time campaigning to the Coalition who closed the Industry and are still playing politics. We should be concentrating our efforts on stopping them from getting back into power as they appear to not want us around anymore. At least we know what they stand for.

The SFF party certainly need a name change but in order to attract city voters (and they cannot get elected or have major representation without them) they need to drop the word "SHOOTERS" from their name & replace it with something like FAMILY FISHERS & FARMERS PARTY.
They owe allegiance to the gun owners but probably 90% of them are Regional dwellers & Farmers who are covered by the word Farmers.

City & some large town Regional dwellers don't like the word Shooters and don't understand the need for Farmers to have guns & I don't think many will vote for a Party that has Shooters in their name.

Having said all that I am a member & admire Mr Borsak for standing up to the Libs & gutless, unrepresentative of Farmers, useless tag along, National Party.

I believe SFF will receive a lot of votes that previously went to the Nats as they have not represented the Regional towns & Farmers well because they have just become extra seats in the Liberal party in this & the last term.They have voted with the Libs on all issues & most of those issues involved selling off anything they could think of from both city & country areas & putting 80% of the money into city projects.

This should reduce the Lib/Nat coalition vote & a party like SFF with a name that showed representation of & appealed to both City & Regional voters would increase their votes enormously in the next election.

My guess is that participants have as much faith in this guy as they would in Brenton Scott.

So how can that be good for the industry?

Interesting point - and you are probably right in general.

But where does that get the industry in the next 10 months and what will happen after the election?

Without some substantial contrary effort, the first major risk is that for the rest of the year Lib/NP will solidify their fundamental campaign to limit greyhound racing potential and underpin what GRNSW is doing. They see this as catering to public distaste for the abuses by some participants. This is an overhang from Baird and Grant. So what you have today can get worse, save only for some rearguard action from Borsak.

The second problem is that the "good" part of the industry is neither united or organised. Without numbers, any noisy objections will get picked off one at a time. Further confusing the issue is the presence of GBOTA which is seen to be supporting the current approach - hence its presence on the Reform Panel and its failure to agitate for a better deal. (Ignore its support for the removal of the ban - that was necessary to maintain their jobs).

Third, what are we asking people to vote for? There is no plan, no concept, no platform, no flag to fly, no greyhound Army. All we have is a stream of negative moans and groans about what GRNSW is doing - out of which a couple get a run from Borsak in Parliament. That's nice but it will not cut the mustard if it is not attached to a broadly based appeal for justice, fair dealing and a "new" industry.

Fourth, what might happen in the next election? At the moment the odds are said to be 50-50 but this far out it is normal for people to be critical of the government just because they did this or that annoying thing. Come the election, voters take a longer view and tend to return to the mob they usually prefer. It is true that SFF might pick up an odd seat from the Nats, or that Greens and Labor will have tight battles in one or two seats. Either way, there will still be two major parties way out in front and one will win. SFF will be there to keep them honest.

For the short and medium term, that means the greyhound Army has to address the Lib/NP majority while keeping Labor informed. In turn, and accepting that Grant and Toole are a dead loss personally, the target has to be individual MPs around the state. They will talk to Gladys.

In doing that, remember that Baird's big weakness was to attempt to kill an entire industry. Most people, including disinterested observers, objected to that. So did governments in Queensland and Victoria, as well as some local MPs.

Apparently you agree with 95% of what I wrote, which is a start.

To explain further for you, a general example of disinterested observers would be some of the Orange voters who gave SFF another seat in parliament. These would have been folk with no particular involvement in greyhounds but who disliked the high-handed actions of the government and took it out on the NP (thereby leading to Grant's "demotion", so to speak).

Another I can recall was the Emeritus Professor of Law at Griffith University, a Buddhist who dislikes any killing and is not in favour of greyhound racing but who was scathing in his criticism of Baird's executive actions in a lengthy article in The Australian.

Yes, the public. The wider public, if you like.

There is no contradiction - you just made that up.

Another way of describing them might be the people who will decide whether there is still a greyhound industry in a few years time.

Pardon the straying somewhat from the subject matter but it is relevant:.....Bruce, I have a question.... What do you know, and what is your understanding of a "Trojan Horse" ????.....

If you keep the water surrounding the subject matter muddy and cloudy enough......it is very hard to see the crux of the problem.....I have difficulty believing that you aren't aware of the true issues and more importantly......How it is possible to tackle them.

NO Brucey, Its not the general public, joe public, the wider public or Disinterested observers, NO , it will be a couple of Bureaucrats with an agenda and there slimy friends the greens and anti's..

I received four `likes' for my dot. TY supporters.