Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (22:43): (2541) It is fortuitous that the Minister for Environment is in the chamber tonight, because my matter relates to East Gippsland and the community there. In particular the action they seek is an urgent intervention by the environment minister on the proposed kangaroo cull that is associated with the East Gippsland Water permit. Now, this probably comes as no surprise to you, Minister, but usually I like to make light of these kinds of issues at the end of the day. We have all had a long day, particularly today, but there is no light to be made here of these matters because, sadly, the reputation of your government is in tatters when it comes to the environment portfolio, having had four ministers in four years – you being the fourth. I congratulate you on being the minister. I hope you succeed, perhaps where the others have failed.

Perhaps you can start with this, because these particular constituents from East Gippsland rightly raise a number of matters which I will now reiterate and raise with you. The first and foremost relates to the lack of evidence regarding kangaroo population numbers. This should not be a surprise to you, because consistently in this state in the last four years the state as the actor, in fact – much less giving permits to others – has consistently used a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach when it comes to our native wildlife. I need only remind you of Budj Bim as one terrible example of that. I need only point to French Island, where currently as we speak there is another example occurring – another massacre of our native wildlife under this government’s watch. Point 2 is that there is no demonstrated evidence of significant harm or proper trial of nonlethal alternatives. This is required under the conditions of the permit, but there is no evidence that that has actually taken place – that they have looked at relocation. I will continue. Point 3 is the lack of transparency regarding the alleged property damage. This is important because this permit not only conflates the purported damage done by kangaroos but also relates it to deer and foxes and other animals without ever actually citing the evidence that supports that point. Point 4 is the concerns raised regarding the previous kangaroo kill numbers in Gippsland. There are serious issues here in respect to the health of those populations but also the actual kangaroos that ended up being killed, literally. Point 5 is there is no transparency regarding permits or nonlethal management measures. It remains a serious concern for those locally. Point 6 is the lack of meaningful community consultation. This has become the hallmark of this government, sadly, when it comes to the environment. There is no meaningful consultation with those that would be affected, those who know the land the best, those who own the land, those who see it every day and those who do have some legitimate concerns with respect to foxes, with respect to deer and other invasive species that are non-native. In particular and in addition to that, some of the questions put by the community are: if the cull proceeds, where are the shot kangaroos proposed to be left; what will be done with the shot kangaroos; how much taxpayer funded money is being allocated to this cull; and would these funds not be better spent on low-maintenance wildlife exclusion fencing and long-term mitigation measures? These are legitimate questions that demand answers.