WHO would have thought that out of the monumental mess that was the NSW Government’s attempt to ban greyhound racing in this state, Bathurst would get a new employer in the CBD?
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Monday’s opening of the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission on one of the upper floors of the post office building is the final chapter of a state political story that had more twists, surprises and U-turns than a crime thriller.
It began with then NSW Premier Mike Baird’s shock announcement in 2016 that the industry was going to be shut down in this state because of what he said was evidence of cruelty to animals and other illegal activities.
It continued through a period in which the NSW Government stood firm in the face of intense, sustained lobbying to reverse the decision – and then, after the legislation had been passed and the worst of the political pain had been absorbed, decided to reverse the decision.
But the story had more twists to come: the two principal public advocates for the ban, Mr Baird and deputy premier Troy Grant, both stood down from their positions following the Nationals’ disastrous performance at the Orange by-election, won by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
In Mr Baird’s case, he announced his intention to leave politics altogether.
And then southern NSW MP Katrina Hodgkinson, who crossed the floor to vote against the legislation to ban dog racing in NSW and lost her parliamentary secretary position because of it, announced she was retiring from politics mid-last year.
In the months since, Mr Grant has confirmed he will seek a third term as the Member for Dubbo (though there had been some speculation he would not do so due to lingering anger in his electorate), and other Coalition MPs around the state have been happy just to try to put the whole sorry mess behind them.
And Bathurst?
Bathurst has managed to get a new government employer in the CBD: the headquarters of the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission that will provide secure, well-paid jobs and take up leased space that had long proved hard to fill.
It would have been a brave punter who predicted all that two years ago.
But as anyone who has ever followed racing (in any of its forms) would know, sometimes the most unlikely things happen.