"You'll be next." They were greyhound racing's words of warning when they were banned in the ACT.
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And it turns out they were right. The Greens have made their intentions known loud and clear as they make moves to shut down Canberra Racing.
Yeah sure, Jo Clay said the Greens wouldn't ban horse racing.
And I'm sure she meant that. It's something she's told me before for previous stories as well.
Instead, they plan to strangle it out of existence by simply cutting off its money.
Clay's opinion piece in The Canberra Times makes for interesting reading. But mainly for all the facts she conveniently omitted.
The ACT government simply giving $40 million to Canberra Racing over the next five years does seem excessive if portrayed how she has - as a gift.
Clay and the Greens walked away from discussions over the five-year memorandum of understanding for the racing industry because they didn't think the government should fund them.
But Clay conveniently omitted how much money the Greens, as part of the government, has been quite happy to accept from the racing industry.
The government introduced a point-of-consumption tax at the start of 2019. It's a tax that has already raised $43 million.
It's a tax that's been introduced around Australia to ensure online bookmakers pay tax in the states and territories where they're making their money.
Hence the name. Point of consumption.
And the way that tax works everywhere else - apart from the ACT - is a certain percentage is then distributed back into the racing industry.
In some states it's as high as 80 per cent. It's how Peter V'landys has been able to reinvigorate racing in NSW, with big-money races like the $15 million Everest.
But not in the ACT. None of it's been handed handed back over the past three-and-a-half years.
That's $43 million Clay's already got in order to put on her free concerts. (A quick whip around the office has asked for ABBA, Taylor Swift, ACDC and Billy Joel to be among the first free bands you bring to the capital thanks Jo.)
So she's already $3 million ahead of the $40 million she doesn't want to "give" to Canberra Racing.
It also doesn't include the $100 million the PoC tax was expected to raise over the next five years - the term of the MoU.
So the Greens are happy to accept $143 million in revenue from the racing industry and not give back a single cent to whence it came.
This all could've been avoided if the government had set things up properly when they sold ACTTAB.
Traditionally, before online gambling became a way you could blow your dough while looking at your phone, a percentage of all the revenue for ACTTAB and trackside bookmakers was distributed back to the racing industry.
It was a payment for the services rendered that allowed the bookies to make money.
When ACTTAB was sold to Tabcorp, Canberra Racing lost that source of revenue. It was replaced by the MoU instead.
The government promised they wouldn't cut off that source of revenue. Now that promise is looking shaky.
There's legitimate concerns within the ACT racing industry this will be the last MoU the government signs.
It's why they're hoping to secure their financial future with the redevelopment of Thoroughbred Park.
Because they know the greyhound people were right. They are next.
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