Wednesday, 18 October 2023

Duck hunting

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (18:07): (521) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Outdoor Recreation in the other place. The select committee’s final report on Victoria’s recreational native bird hunting arrangements was handed down seven weeks ago, and we are now waiting for the government to act on its clear recommendation to ban recreational duck shooting in Victoria. Being a member of the committee was an honour. The depth of feeling and passion for protecting our native wildlife in many of the 10,402 submissions we received was humbling. It broke the record for submissions to a Victorian parliamentary inquiry, and the evidence of those submissions formed the firm basis for the committee’s recommendations.

Those findings and recommendations are very clear. They are driven by the considerable evidence of long-term decline in our native bird populations and a worsening environmental outlook as our climate continues to change. The appalling animal welfare issues associated with shooting are stark and shocking and are reason enough to ban hunting now. But what became very plain from the evidence is how many other benefits will flow from this decision. Going into the committee hearings, I did not realise just how much public land is locked up every year and closed off from everyday Victorians.

The committee’s recommendations were eight in number: (1) that the Victorian government ends the annual recreational native bird hunting season opening on all public and private land from 2024; (2) existing exemptions to hunt and control native birds are retained under the Authority to Control Wildlife framework to control bird populations that are impacting on agricultural and other land; (3) traditional owner hunting rights are retained under existing legislation; (4) state game reserves used for duck hunting should be converted to outdoor recreation reserves to provide greater access to outdoor recreation for all Victorians, with appropriate investment in camping, boating and related infrastructure; (5) additional resources are provided to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Parks Victoria to better control non-native invasive species; (6) the Victorian wildlife framework is amended to discontinue the use of lead shot for all types of bird hunting and undertakes further investigation into plastic pollution and other forms of wetland degradation that result from hunting; (7) the process to report damage or destruction of Aboriginal cultural heritage is reviewed and additional protections for these sites are introduced, including appropriate signposting and a review of the current penalties for cultural heritage destruction; lastly (8) hunters are required to participate in an Aboriginal cultural heritage awareness education program.

The committee ensured that these recommendations were grounded in fact and in evidence. They are clear and they are unambiguous, and I ask the minister to act without delay on the committee’s report and ban duck hunting in Victoria from 2024.