No Means No to taxing the breeding industry

A disturbing proposal put to Harness Racing Australia to charge a levy of 15% on all services sold for North American shuttle stallions and/or imported semen coming into Australia sent shockwaves throughout the breeding industry earlier this year.

The whole concept was to inject $3.2 million into a couple of huge stake races for promoting Australian Harness Racing.

Following this news, breeders met with HRA and after much discussion the consensus was at that time that HRA would not go ahead with such a disastrous proposal of taxing the breeding farms.

However HRA Chairman Graeme Campbell released a rather ambiguous statement some time later, that inferred that no may not mean no. 

Harnesslink’s Amanda Rando published an article as a result of discussions with HRA CEO Andrew Kelly and he said its dead – no means no. View the story here: Stallion Tax rumours quashed.

So who are the faceless people who don’t seem to understand or acknowledge that no means no?

Is it Kevin Seymour, one of Queensland’s wealthiest men and a long-time harness racing benefactor? His whole concept was to inject $3.2 million into a couple of huge stake races for promoting Australian Harness Racing. There is a letter written by Kevin Seymour to Michael Taranto in May 2020 as “Items For Discussion”. Click here to view it.  

Here is an “Items For Discussion” by Andrew Kelly for a meeting of the HRA Executive for a 2020 June 1 meeting. Click here to view it.

Is it a journalist/media personality for hire Adam Hamilton? HRA’s ambitions to establish the world’s richest harness race is featured in the latest offering from Adam Hamilton when he caught up with HRA Chief Executive, Andrew Kelly.

The Advance Australia concept paper features slot races and enhanced Blue Riband Derby’s and Oak’s for some States is unpacked, along with some burning questions about the Inter Dominion’s future and Feature Race Calendar clashes.

Will such a race be part of the “2024 Licence betting renewal process” with Adam in the drivers’ seat?

Will no still mean no to HRNSW and Club Menangle who are being offered or who have offered to host the first slot race?

Will no still mean no to SA and TAS Harness Racing who are being offered subsidised races?

Will driving a wedge between studs who have frozen semen vs shuttling vs domestic stallions via taxing them at different or preferential rates (giving some studs a very lucrative competitive advantage over others). Now will that mean that NO will not mean NO for HRV?

It is interesting that HRA seem to be seeking to “punish” the breeding industry and in particular certain studs/stallions that have underpinned the rise in quality of horses in the Harness Industry over the last number of years and reward those who have invested little to date in comparison.

The idea of a marque or slot race is a great concept and would be welcomed by many if not all within the Harness Racing Industry. It has proved very successful in other Australian and overseas jurisdictions like the Everest for NSW, the ALL Star Mile for Vic etc but none of these have been funded on the back of taxing breeding stallions!

Getting back to No means No, this leaves Western Australia and Queensland. Who and what here doesn’t understand no means no? Are they the faceless people behind HRA’s release II.

COVID has greatly assisted nearly all horse racing and breeding jurisdictions around the world. Records are tumbling almost on a monthly basis somewhere around the world. 

On the back of this it would be very foolish to claim that ”very recent decisions” such as a push towards domestic stallions have driven breeding numbers up in 2021.

Once the “COVID” effect” wears off in a year or two’s time could we be looking at some of the worst decisions in harness history, and with a breeding stallion tax top of the list?

A mentor once told me “money easily gained is easily spent” and if such a tax was introduced or to proceed who audits or oversees its spending?

HRA?

Say no to the proposed HRA Stallion Tax, as no means no.

Here are some previously published articles on the matter:

Taxing stallions to fund a Slot race? Where’s the connection!

Another stallion TAX victim

Andrew Kelly, HRA – stop TAXING us to death

By Harnesslink Media