Today I would like to congratulate Mike Baird for finally showing NSW how little regard his government has for the public’s opinion. At the same time he has also shown us just how much his government will bend to the will of a lobby group that represents huge property development companies, you know, the kind that they can no longer accept donations from.

On Thursday morning he was posing for pics to be used on social media with Uber shelter puppies, in the afternoon his government was signing off on a decision to leave puppies utterly stranded, just like those he posed with, to rot away in squalid conditions all over the state.

Yesterdays the Baird government announced what findings from the Parliamentary Inquiry into Companion Animal Breeding Practices it would be adopting.

It is fair to say that the measures to be adopted has left most underwhelmed, and include even more reviews. Although all across the Inquiry’s chair Adam Marshall’s electorate, the sound of champagne corks popping at puppy factories can apparently be heard.

Now I don’t want to say that the Minister in charge of the Inquiry, Niall Blair is slow or incompetent, readers can judge that for themselves. However the only measures being adopted yesterday were part of the recommendations handed down following the last parliamentary inquiry this government held on the subject.

That was five years ago, half a decade. For female dogs in puppy farms, that can mean 10 litters ago. It would appear Niall Blairs office is powered by Valium and Mogodon with a follow up rate that moves at a pace a turtle wouldn’t envy.

Niall Blair – Faster than a disabled turtle, well almost…
Image – The Weekly Times

This Parliamentary Inquiry was set up off the back of the exposure of several puppy factories where conditions were so deplorable and disgusting that the public outcry was deafening. These puppy factories are still operating to this day, and some have deteriorated even further.

Those thinking that the parliamentary inquiry was going to be the silver bullet to rid NSW of puppy factories will be left sorely disappointed.

There is absolutely nothing that has been accepted by Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair that will improve conditions for a single dog in the state.

The whole inquiry seems to have been an expensive exercise in lip service to a state that Mike Baird seems to think will swallow anything. There will be those who say the Inquiry cost taxpayers nothing anyway. This is rubbish. The MP’s and their staff’s time has to be worth something as their time could have been spent doing other things I’m sure. I’m also quite certain that flying the committee members and their staff to Armidale and accommodating them as well as feeding them in the Inquiry chairman’s electorate didn’t come for free.

The Inquiry Chairman himself seemed a strange choice by Minister Blair, although the amount of tweets Chairperson Adam Marshall sends out talking about grants, funding and donations that bear the sign-off ‘Thx Niall Blair’ may provide a clue or two.

Yesterday the countries leading authority on puppy factories, Oscar’s Law Founder Debra Tranter stated;

“While this Inquiry may have been a step forward in the career of its chairperson Adam Marshall, it is nowhere near being a step forward for the animals suffering in these puppy factories, many of them in Mr Marshall’s electorate.”

Ms Tranter who along with her organisation have done the heavy lifting on this issue for the best part of twenty years struggled to hide her frustration at the lack of concern for the welfare of the animals that the inquiry was supposed to protect.

“This insidious industry has long governed itself. Under the current legislation puppy farmers can even legally shoot their dogs, and yet this inadequate Government has not been able to give breeding dogs in their state even the most basic care and protection.”

Ms Tranter remains upbeat however citing the work of Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford as an example for others to follow.

“Jaala Pulford has shown politicians in other states that you can place the publics concerns ahead of the desires of industry lobbyists and deliver progressive policy that benefits the entire state.”

It is not only Ms Tranter and her colleagues disappointed at the outcome of this seemingly pseudo-inquiry. All over NSW animal advocates will be hanging their heads, and prospective pet owners will be left scratching theirs as they were seeking to ensure they purchase a companion animal ethically, something the Coalition govt in NSW seems determined to leave the states citizens hanging on.

Yesterday Former Senator Sue Mackay, Convenor of the newly formed Labor Animal Welfare Network stated;

“It is a shame that the Baird Government has failed to recognise that it is elected to serve on behalf of the NSW people, and instead ignored public sentiment regarding animal welfare concerns. Other states are starting to move forward in this area without the need for two Inquiries and fortunately with Daniel Andrews at the helm, those in Victoria can proudly say they are leading the way.”

However despite the disappointing outcome from this inquiry the Baird government still has an opportunity to salvage something from this whole exercise as Shadow Minister Mick Veitch puts forward amendments to the act that will allow the RSPCA to seize animals from unregistered and non-compliant puppy factories.

Image – First Dog On The Moon via The Guardian

That amendment, which I covered earlier in the week, was drafted due Veitch’s frustration at the direction the Inquiry was taking and based on the further research he undertook independently of the inquiry. While some Parties, some who weren’t even part of the Inquiry, saw this a media opportunity to pile onboard the “Lets Bag Baird” bandwagon and exaggerate their position, Veitch made the decision it was far more important to seek to put something into the Act which would actually protect the dogs and animals everyone else was using for photo ops and social media rants.

Let’s hope the Uber puppies in Mike Baird’s office on Thursday have softened him up a bit and he realises that animals are not just born for exploitation and photo opportunities and his government support the amendments.

They may only be minor amendments to the act but they will make the world of difference to the welfare of dogs all over the state.

I for one hope Mike Baird actually has the heart his PR machine want us to think he has.

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