Thursday, 2 May 2024

Outdoor recreation

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (19:08): (872) My adjournment debate is for the Minister for Outdoor Recreation and concerns the fantastic campaign led by the Electrical Trades Union, the ETU, in support of outdoor recreation in Victoria. They have brought together a huge coalition of supporters to show the government once and for all that outdoor activities are an essential, healthy, traditional part of Victorian life and incredibly important for individuals as well as our regional economies. Members of the ETU and other groups involved work long hours, and I can do no better than to quote them:

For many, our way to “unplug and reconnect” with life is to enjoy the great outdoors. Whether it be boating, camping, fishing or hunting it is critical for our mental and physical health that outdoor recreation continues. It is a part of our history, culture and our right to do so and must be protected in a safe, regulated and sustainable way.

I have spent a long time since coming to this place opposing environmental activists who take an extremist position on this and who appear to believe that to protect ecology there must be no human interaction whatsoever with the environment. This has affected not just boating, camping, fishing and hunting but rock climbing, bushwalking, prospecting, horseriding – even firewood collection and much more. But this ‘Lock them up and throw away the key’ ideology will just ruin business, hobbies and leisure time. Interacting with nature makes us more likely to protect it.

Our national parks should be parks for the people. That is why they were established in times past, and it is a heritage we should fight for. As a loyal Labor member, I hope the minister will support this ETU campaign supported by – wait for it – the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the CFMEU Victoria, the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union, the Mining and Energy Union and the Australian Workers’ Union. It has been joined by the Australian Deer Association, Bush Users Groups United, Field and Game Australia, the Australian Climbing Association (Victoria), the Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria, Victorian Hound Hunters, the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, VRFish and Fowl Talkers. As they say, outdoor enthusiasts deserve the right to relax, adventure and unwind, irrespective of their particular recreational activity, without being demeaned, judged, despised and looked down upon. So the action I seek, Minister, is a statement of your wholehearted support for this worthy union-led campaign.