Maverick Nationals backbencher Andrew Fraser is trying to ramp up the pressure on Premier Mike Baird and Deputy Premier Troy Grant over the greyhound racing ban, warning in a letter to cabinet ministers it has made the government "unelectable".
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In the letter to Mr Baird and Mr Grant, copied to other cabinet members and leaked to the media, Mr Fraser, the MP for Coffs Harbour, says the decision has "has completely reversed our political fortune".
Mr Fraser urges the cabinet to not proceed with the ban legislated from July 1 next year and proposes an alternative plan put forward by the greyhound industry.
The NSW Greyhound Industry Alliance plan would "reduce the number of races, the number of dogs and the number of tracks," Mr Fraser writes.
Mr Fraser also proposes "any person in the industry who wastes a dog inhumanely or live baits is subject to a very large fine, a jail term and a life ban from the industry".
As well, he proposes that the industry would be advised that if there was "the inhumane destruction of dogs or live baiting" then the industry would be shut down.
He suggests that "there is no shame in taking this action, we can clearly indicate that as a government we have listened and acted accordingly".
"We have to resolve this issue as we are facing a political disaster," he writes.
Mr Fraser suggests that the November 12 byelection in the Nationals-held seat of Orange "at this stage appears unwinnable and I believe that the greyhound legislation has been the catalyst which has put us in this position".
Polling has indicated a large swing against the Nationals in the seat but that it would not be lost at this stage.
A spokesman for Mr Baird declined to comment.
Opponents of the greyhound racing ban have been focusing on the Orange byelection to increase pressure on Mr Baird and Mr Grant's leadership over the issue.
Several Nationals MPs broke ranks to publicly oppose the ban before legislation was passed last month, warning it will devastate local communities.
Three Nationals MP – Barwon MP Kevin Humphries, Cootamundra MP Katrina Hodgkinson and Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis – crossed the floor to vote against the bill, which was supported by 48 votes to 35.
The move by the Baird government follows the report of a special commission of inquiry which found up to 68,000 greyhounds were slaughtered as "wastage" in the past 12 years "because they were considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing".
It recommended the NSW Parliament decide whether the industry has lost its social licence and should be no longer able to operate.
The government is awaiting a report from John Keniry, the Coordinator General of the Greyhounds Transition Taskforce, on a package to guide the industry through the closure.
