Barnaby Joyce barking up the wrong tree ?!

This situation highlights how estranged I feel from Australian politics and (if true) perhaps a fair portion of the Australian people.

For those unfamiliar, some backstory... It came to light that the officials in charge of dog racing were not only aware that there was widespread abuse of animals, including prohibited use of live rabbits for bait, but were fairly complicit in the ongoing violation of rules over which they were charged with enforcing. For this reason the State Premier Mike Baird *banned* greyhound racing.

Now, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is blaming this ban for the Liberal Party losing several seats in local elections.

Personally, while I'm not a dog racing fan, I'm for the humane treatment of animals, and I believe laws that people disagree with should be changed, not just ignored; overall, in the grand scheme of governmental policy, I see dog racing as a *side issue* not something to make or break a candidate.

I would like to think that the constituents of a major party base their decisions on something more than dog racing. Granted, I don't agree with many of this party's policies. I should be glad to see them losing seats. I agree that a sport that has demonstrated widespread corruption should be ended, especially since it is more about gambling than love of the actual sport. But what Barnaby Joyce is saying here is that a lot of Liberal supporters care nothing about general governmental policies and everything about the continuance of a sport that has demonstrated corruption top to bottom? That they would throw out their politicians due to ending dog racing and no other reason? Barnaby is making the supporters of his party sound like incredibly unintelligent punters (Australian-speak for someone who spends much of their spare time drinking in a gambling establishment). This also speaks for the American method of making voting optional, not mandatory, if the only thing voters are enthusiastic about is dog racing?

I want to give the voters more credit. I'd also like to give the people they elect more credit. I don't like a number of Baird's policies (in spite of his good decision on dog racing), and would like to think that's the reason people are voting his party out. Maybe Joyce doesn't want to admit the voters are bothered by something more substantial? Maybe I should realize this is a guy who made international headlines for barking at Johnny Depp's dog??

side note: the marks on his face are for skin cancer treatment, not getting punched. At least he is showing some common sense in getting treatment.

Barnaby Joyce blames Mike Baird's greyhound ban for local election results