Queensland's racing industry is making a stand against the new state tax on bets by going on strike on Cox Plate Day while the fate of Melbourne Cup Day events in Queensland hangs in the hands of the government.
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The decision to strike during TAB races at Doomben, Gold Coast and Toowoomba tracks comes after the government's decision over how a new 15 per cent betting tax would be spent and the years of neglect the racing industry body has claimed it has experienced.
At this stage, non-TAB meetings will proceed.
Australian Trainers Association Queensland spokesman Cameron Partington said there had been no news or resolution in sight, which had caused the Queensland racing industry to call off races on Saturday.
"With the current negotiations reaching a standstill, with no sign of a positive resolution, the move to industrial action by the racing participants of Queensland is unfortunately now unavoidable," he said.
"There will be no racing on Friday and the government has about 10 days until they get back to us before Melbourne Cup.
Mr Partington said the industrial action had the full support of the four industry bodies, comprising trainers, jockeys, breeders and owners.
"This new tax is not going back into the Thoroughbred industry, so the government can decide how they want to spend it," he said.
"The jockeys, the trainers and the breeders are the ones suffering from this because the betting money wouldn't be going back into the industry.
"This is their livelihood and prize money is their paydays and if we don't race, no one makes money.
"They're prepared to sacrifice their own financial gain to try to get the government to recognise the industry, an industry that has been neglected by the government."
On Wednesday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state government continued to have discussions with the racing industry.
"My government's put in over $190 million into the industry since we were elected, $70 million into country racing, we're building new race tracks," she said.
Meanwhile, LNP Leader Deb Frecklington has criticised the Premier and said the strikes showed the contempt she had for racing.
LNP Shadow Racing Minister John-Paul Langbroek said reports of additional strikes on top of the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup would cost the industry millions.
“If the strikes go ahead on Saturday, heads should roll," he said.
