Today, the news broke that over a dozen dogs in Bourke Shire were put down. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that they were shot dead. While ABC News has reported that "staff became concerned for the welfare of the dogs, due to overcrowding at the pound, and two of the dogs attacking one other", the facts are clear enough. What happened was unacceptable, and shows a need for stronger animal welfare standards.

But was that being talked about? No. Because of the fact that these dogs could not be rehomed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw social media users blaming this tragedy on "the cruelty of Australian lockdown policy". Let me ask this - would these dogs have been put down if the name of the town was not Bourke, but instead Bankstown? The answer is clear.

The issue here is not that our governments are being overzealous in the name of public health, but rather a consistent neglect of regional animal welfare. Under state law, the responsibility, in this case, laid with Bourke Shire Council. In a shire of 2630 people, which is larger than Switzerland, animal welfare can often get pushed to the side.

This is not to denigrate the residents and council workers of Bourke Shire, but the fact of the matter is that regional councils do not have enough funding to handle this, and rural shelters can often be only accountable to a few people who operate it. Just nearby my residence of Rosedale, we have seen dozens of dogs poisoned and some unfortunately even killed after horse meat was minced into dog food by a Maffra knackery.

While our politicians twiddle their thumbs and ping-pong the issue back and forth between state and federal government, our pets are being put at risk. We need a national standard on pet food that is enforced nationwide. We need to ensure that regional councils are not throttled with animal safety, and that we have a government-run organisation that can properly resource shelters across the country.

This is an issue that should be uncontroversial. Left-wing or right-wing, white or black, gay or normal, we all have an interest in ensuring that our furry friends stay safe and are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, and we deserve politicians who will fight for these common-sense issues in our Parliament. I hope that our government will work to take action on this tragedy and ensure there is never another like it.