Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition (Social and Community Affairs)) Share this | Hansard source

We have already lost one race meeting, Minister, and up to five more events are under threat, including the first at the new pacing racetrack. Goulburn’s association with the industry goes back more than 100 years and the first Goulburn Cup was run in 1885. Harness events have been run since the early 1900s and last Sunday the Goulburn Pony Club celebrated its 50th anniversary. But Goulburn’s eight-race program has been cancelled because of the lockdown across New South Wales, costing the club more than $20,000.

These race meetings are very important for a community like Goulburn. Much of the money raised goes back into the community, so the flow-on effect to the local charities is just one more impact of this pandemic that we are facing. The Goulburn hospital has its Melbourne Cup Day race and $10,000 or so is raised in that event for the Goulburn hospital. There is also $10,000 for the Challenge Foundation, which supports disabled children in Goulburn. All of this is now up in the air. The Spring Racing Carnival is scheduled to start on 8 October and we do not know that it is going to happen.

Let’s be real about this. Where are the terms of reference for this inquiry? Where are they? Are they going to the issue of the responsibility of Mr McGauran and Minister Truss in dealing with what has been a debacle in terms of the breaking of quarantine, the failure of our quarantine— (Time expired)

Question agreed to.