Wednesday, 7 February 2024

 Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (17:07): I want to make a statement on the Select Committee on Victoria’s Recreational Native Bird Hunting Arrangements. The line over the past week or so has been that the government has ignored its own report. Nonsense. In the nine years that I have been in this place I do not think I have seen the government pay more attention to a report than they have to this one. You would not know it if you listened to the line being peddled by the animal rights lobby, but it is true. There are eight recommendations in that report; the government accepted seven of them. There are four separate reports all up; the government has given proper consideration to all of them. The irony is that the people pushing the line that the government has ignored its own report are the very people who wanted the government to ignore its own report except for a single sentence. They wanted the government to ignore most of the recommendations. They wanted the government to ignore the reports written by most of the committee members. They are not upset because the government ignored its own report; they are upset because the government did not ignore its own report.

Duck hunting had been dying a death of a thousand cuts for decades now as successive governments kicked the can of real policy reform further and further down the road. The government’s response to this report ends that uncertainty and provides a clear pathway forward. I am not sure what the Minister for Planning and the former Minister for Planning had in mind when they cooked this inquiry up, but this is what it has delivered. The two of them have done the hunters of Victoria a great service.

A couple of things about the media coverage over the past week have been particularly troubling. The first is the appalling manipulation of a member of this house by a media outlet. As the father of a young girl I stand in support of her and in condemnation of that crap. The second is the narrative that the animal rights movement has pushed about the Premier. The great thing about living in 2024 is we do not care what the Premier’s gender is anymore. I am old enough to remember when Joan Kirner became Premier in 1990. Back then, the fact that she was a female premier was remarkable. When our current Premier came to the leadership late last year the focus was on her ability, not her gender. That is how it should be. That is what I want my young daughter to see when she grows up. Why elements of the animal rights movement thought it was appropriate to accuse the Premier of taking the position she has on duck hunting because of her husband is beyond me. This woman, who has served in the Parliament for a quarter of a century, much of that in senior ministries, is nothing more than a Stepford wife according to these troglodytes. Ironically, these are the same people that argue that duck hunting would be progressive.

Duck hunting in Victoria is safe, humane and sustainable. The changes outlined by the government last week will ensure that it continues to meet and exceed community expectations. I want to finish by thanking all my fellow members of the select committee. The result belongs to all of us.