Quail hunting
Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (16:23): (147) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Outdoor Recreation in the other place. The action I seek is for her to start treating her stakeholders like they matter. That includes me. We pay for game licences to hunt animals. For those that do not like hunting animals, this should ring alarm bells. Today, with no warning at all, with no notice and against the advice, the government basically shortened the quail-hunting season by two-thirds – no notice, no heads-up, no nothing. With this coming after the duck season, maybe the change is not unexpected. But honestly, I think when it comes down to the process of government, if you have stakeholders, particularly ones that pay game licence fees, that means the government at least has a duty of care, as far as I am concerned, to tell them what is going on. Just before Parliament rises this goes up on a website and I have to find out via a stakeholder. This is almost an abuse of power. There is just no reason why this should happen, at least not without following a process. I am completely disappointed.
The amount of quail hunters is small – I understand that – but it has got nothing to do with hunting. You have stakeholders; they have an interest in this. They pay their licence fees, which not every stakeholder does. At the very least you could expect consultation and, if not a heads-up, at least an explanation. We got none of that, and I think it is just appalling.