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Protesters have clashed outside the ACT Legislative Assembly ahead of debate on a ban on greyhound racing. Legislation to outlaw the sport is expected to pass the ACT's Parliament on Tuesday. Busloads of protesters from NSW and Victoria joined members of the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club at a rally in Garema Place before marching on the Assembly building. Labor staffers were seen watching from the top floor windows as more than 100 greyhound racing supporters chanted in Civic Square below. While Canberra Greyhound Racing Club chairman Alan Tutt accepted that the legislation would pass, he foreshadowed more protests as the industry ramped up its campaign to topple the ban. Flashing a question on notice signed by ACT racing minister Gordon Ramsay in July acknowledging there had been no animal welfare breaches in Canberra, Mr Tutt said: "This is the most unfair thing I've ever known since self-government was introduced in Canberra." "We're going to take it to the courts and we'll take it as far as we can. We'll go all the way to the top," Mr Tutt said. "No consultation, no freedom of choice, nothing but a witch hunt to shut an industry down based on no evidence whatsoever. "I think they have underestimated the greyhound power and the people." However the rally was marred by conflict between those who were opposed to the ban and those who backed it. Supporters of the greyhound racing industry hurled abuse at about 10 animal welfare activists who turned up with banners in favour of the ban. One woman yelled "got undies on today love" at an activist. Police and security staff kept an eye on the protesters. An ACT Policing spokesman said no one was arrested or cautioned, although ACT Legislative Assembly general manager Ian Duckworth said police asked a man to leave the Parliament during the protest for an unrelated matter. The protest was organised with the right-faction Australian Workers Union and was attended by their aligned union the Electrical Trades Union and the non-aligned Professionals Australia union. The Canberra Liberals sought to play up the union connection as leader Alistair Coe and gaming and racing spokesman Mark Parton received raucous cheers from the crowd. "I imagine there are a lot of people here who haven't voted Liberal before and probably don't care for the Liberals very much. But when you have Liberal members of the Assembly standing side by side with the [Australian] Workers Union you know that things have changed," Mr Coe said. "Whilst you may not be Labor supporters it's not because you left the Labor party, it's because the Labor party left you. I imagine there are many Labor founders turning in their graves right now to think about this elitist party and what they have become." Mr Parton received a rousing response when he said their opposition to the ban was not about the sport itself but "freedom". The Liberals will seek to delay the ban for two months but do not have the numbers to block the bill's passage. "This isn't even about greyhound racing any more. It's not. It's about complete lack of process and complete lack of natural justice," Mr Parton said. Australian Workers Union NSW/ACT branch secretary Daniel Walton said workers came "from right around the state" to tell the government "we're not going to sit quietly and cop it". "We fought the campaign in NSW and we won and we're going to fight it again in Canberra and we will win," Mr Walton said. However a spokeswoman for Mr Ramsay said the strong interstate numbers "affirmed what the government has said all along in that the NSW industry cannot be divorced from the ACT industry". Professional Australia director Dave Smith, who is also the right convener for the Labor Party, said there was concern that the ban had been based on emotion rather than evidence. "We're happy to support our colleagues and fight for their jobs," Mr Smith said. Electrical Trades Union official Mick Koppie said banning greyhound racing was a "fashionable diversion". "We're worrying about everything but what we should be concerned about and that's running the place," Mr Koppie said. The ACT will be the first state or territory to ban greyhound racing after April 30. The proposed legislation will also make it more expensive to own a racing greyhound, although breeding, keeping and training dogs for racing will remain legal. It will also still be legal to bet on interstate greyhound races.

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