Wednesday, 17 June 2026

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (18:10): I am pleased to rise today to speak on the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill 2026 and, in doing so, state that this bill has been a little while in the train. It was first read in the lower house on 1 April, second read on 2 April and then sat for some weeks and indeed months until June, when it passed through the lower house and we find it here today. Now, just to put it on the record, the Liberals and Nationals do not oppose this bill, but we do seek to amend and strengthen and ensure for stakeholders who feel aggrieved at the lack of consultation that their concerns are addressed and that this bill is strengthened.

Let me say from the outset that if more people go outside, get in the car, get on the bus, get on the horse, get in the four-wheel drive, get on the pushbike, get on their motorbike and go out into the regions, go out into our outdoor spaces and our public spaces, and they do those traditional pastimes such as recreational fishing and hunting, which have been around for as long as Homo sapiens have been around, then I am of the firm belief and the Liberals and Nationals are of the firm belief that there will be less machetes on our streets and less people lining up with severe mental difficulties and seeking mental health services, and we believe that more families and communities will be strengthened and stay together.

Just by way of a little bit of background on this, there was a gentleman who worked very hard and was told that he had six months to live. He was a light smoker and he had had two strokes, and he was told by his doctor, ‘You have six months to live.’ So at 60 years old he retired on the spot. He packed up and, with six months to live, he went to live in a little fishing village in Gippsland. Every day thereafter, or almost every day, he surf-fished. He made his own rods using bamboo, he made his own lead weight sinkers in his garage and he fished. That man also, when he was young, used to fly fish. He used to fly fish up on the Mitta Mitta and on the Mitchell River, take his young family and his German shepherds, go up on those rivers and fly fish. He had had a love of fishing all his life, and that man who was given six months at 60 lasted 19 years. I believe that the likes of recreational fishing, recreational hunting and other pastimes that get people out in nature and experiencing all the amazing sensations and understanding of what the outdoors really means actually support longevity. And we saw that man, who was my grandfather, last until he was 79 years old and get to know his granddaughter. That is what our recreational pursuits can do for people.

Also, last month, I upheld a commitment both to myself and to the Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria. The president of the mountain cattlemen is a woman, and she is a dynamic woman. I made a commitment and I went up Mount Stirling with the mountain cattlemen. We parked down near Mansfield, and then we drove up a little way and rode our horses up to what is now famously known as Craig’s Hut at the top of Mount Stirling. When we were halfway up, with the horses in the back and ready to go, we passed hunters with deer on board their vehicles. They were incredibly polite to us as we passed. They had all the equipment. They had walkie-talkies – and there is probably a far more technical name than that. They were communicating with each other, but they were also behaving in an incredibly respectful and safe manner. These were hunters. When we got a bit further up and got the horses out, we then worked our way through the most magnificent scenery up to the top of Mount Stirling. We passed hikers. We got up there, and there is a car park, so you can drive your Tesla up near the top of Mount Stirling and near to Craig’s Hut, the very famous place from TheMan from Snowy River. The people who know the bush, who live in the bush and who understand it – the mountain cattlemen, for example – know that we should never have put Craig’s Hut where it is, because it does not serve. It is actually a really windy place. But what we know is there were campers out hiking and school groups out hiking, and there were hunters as well as horseriders, all on Mount Stirling, enjoying the great outdoors.

That is what the Liberals and Nationals want to encourage more of, and this is why this sector is a really, really important one. Not only that, it is vastly important, significantly important, for the regional economies that it stimulates and it creates vibrancy and those regions thrive. I could speak to that at great detail, but just know that the local service station, the local pub, the local IGA, the local camping and outdoor shop and the fish and chip shop along the way – all of these places thrive during duck-hunting season, which I am very passionate about and have gone on record in relation to, and in hunting season, which is more in the winter, and also certainly for recreational fishing. My electorate – and I know that Acting President Bourman is from the same electorate, Eastern Victoria Region – has an amazing array of recreational fishing opportunities. The Liberals and Nationals want to see these opportunities grow and develop.

Speaking specifically to this bill, it amalgamates or merges the Game Management Authority (GMA) and the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA). It consolidates them into one entity, and it also establishes a thing called the Land Access Panel and makes a whole lot of consequential amendments. This consolidates regulation, promotion, compliance and access to functions within one centralised body. Where has this idea come from for the government? It has come from the Silver review, which says to:

… create a unified regulator body for wildlife management, improving coordination and reducing administrative duplication. Over time, a single entity would enhance data sharing, streamline enforcement, and provide a more consistent regulatory experience for recreational and commercial users, while supporting a holistic approach to ecosystem and species management.

That is a big mouthful; that is an aspirational piece. Various elements within that seem not only reasonable but, as I said, aspirational.

But there is a little bit of devil in the detail that I do want to go into in relation to the bill itself. As I said, it repeals the GMA and the VFA. It defines outdoor recreation as some specific activities, and I want to move some amendments later on to expand that. It also creates a corporate body with full powers. It provides ministerial directions, and I am also foreshadowing that I want to look at some amendments to that just to provide some better governance, as we see it. I also would like to look at, as I said, board governance and conflicts of interest. The bill also talks about reporting standards and creates this Land Access Panel.

Some of the areas of concern that we hold relate to outdoor recreational interests. I might just put on record that there are people out there in Victoria who were very frustrated, first of all when the Minister for Environment was Lily D’Ambrosio. There are people that feel very aggrieved about her quite leftist stance. I have had over my time in this place many hundreds of emails in relation to the closure of the Wombat State Forest, now a national park, and the exclusion of prospectors and miners. Both from my personal experience and anecdotally and through reading and understanding the work that they did and how they left the places that they have fossicked and prospected in over decades – indeed for 100 or more years – in Australia, they are very frustrated that they have been locked out. They feel that they have been overlooked in this piece of legislation, and I want to make some remedies to that. As I said, they have been a very important group that want to leave that place, their outdoors, in a better place than when they found it. They have certainly over time removed a lot of debris and rubbish and, on occasion, some nice little nuggets of gold, which under licence they are quite entitled to do.

I have made significant inroads into consultation. I put on record that up until mid-April it was Minister Dimopoulos and now we have Minister Erdogan. So Minister Erdogan has inherited this, as it were, and I am sure he will speak to how delighted he is that he has inherited it. But there has been a significant issue with the lack of consultation with the commercial fishing industry, a very significant industry in our very wonderful state. They feel quite aggrieved that they have not been consulted, even indeed with the name of this bill. We see it is ‘outdoor recreation’. It is the merging of fisheries and the GMA, but there is no reference in the title. Where do they sit in all of this? They feel quite aggrieved by that, but they have been constructive. They have spoken at length with me, and I thank them for that, and I am happy to go into the detail. They have been constructive in their conversation, and I know that they have reached out to the minister in relation to the concerns that they have in the bill. That is one avenue.

I have also heard back from a variety of people. Indeed recreational fishers have said overwhelmingly that they are quite pleased. There are a few who are concerned and have some specific issues, but they are quite pleased with the change. Commercial fishers, not so; they feel aggrieved. There are some environmentalists who of course – as we have all been, I would say – deluge me with a flood of anti everything basically: anti hunting, anti fishing, anti eating fish and specifically anti duck hunting. There was a bit of a flood coming into my inbox and I am assuming others’ inboxes, and when I looked at it, it was generated from members of the Animal Justice Party. Well, there are no surprises there. Certainly people, if they are going to make a protest, can make a comment. I read the first one and then I read the second one, and then I realised that the rest of them were all the same. They should at least take the opportunity to be creative and think of their own comments.

Anyway, having said that, I want to go into the importance of our seafood industry. I really want to thank Seafood Industry Victoria and Matt Wassnig and also, from my electorate, but not because it is in my electorate, Wolfgang from the San Remo Fisherman’s Co-op, a really important group of people down there creating the most amazing product fresh from our Gippsland shores to San Remo and then dealt with and transferred to your pub – a fantastic opportunity to eat local fish. Let me just give you some detail around this, because I think it is important. The studies show that most Victorians consume it regularly, about 90 per cent believing that seafood should be produced locally – so overwhelmingly we want to eat local fish.

This provides an opportunity here, but what we see is that unfortunately the volume of seafood caught has dropped. Wild seafood has dropped from 40 per cent in 2015–16 down to I think only 5 per cent, and overwhelmingly it comes in from overseas. We have got an industry that has few miles, by comparison. It is caught offshore – it is caught out in Bass Strait – and whether it be from the Corner Inlet, Lakes Entrance or further round in the west, fresh fish carved up on ice in the local shops is the most beautiful, sweet, locally grown, healthy product, and Victorians should be eating more of it. We should be supporting that industry to the nth degree. The Victorian seafood industry has the potential to play a greater role in strengthening regional communities, providing local, healthy alternatives to overseas and sustainable protein. These are some of the communities that are there creating local jobs, and we support them in their entirety.

Some of the other comments that I think are really important in this relate to duck hunting. We know that there has been a significant campaign against duck hunting. In 2022 and the beginning of 2023 there was a select committee inquiry into duck hunting. Indeed Mr Bourman was on it and Mrs McArthur, Mr Mulholland and I, and then we had a Green and we had three Labor members, from my recollection. We heard very wideranging advice. We heard from hunting organisations – the Sporting Shooters Association Victoria and Field and Game Australia – and even ADA, the Australian Deer Association, put in their view on hunting and the importance of it. We heard from a broad range of people, but we also heard, very importantly, from one professor. His name is Brian Hiller. He is a professor of wildlife ecology at a state university in Minnesota. He is a professor. He understands ecology. His words were:

Habitat is key. If you have habitat, you have birds.

It is about water in the landscape and healthy landscapes. At that time it was the interim harvest model. Now the government has the harvest model, and this is a really important model that hunters and particularly some ecologists agree on. It was designed by ecologists. During one of the hearings we heard from a particular professor, Marcel Klaassen, and I asked him this question about the then interim harvest model he had both worked on and formatted:

… how robust is the science and are you convinced of the sustainability of this model …

And he said:

Yes … Regarding robustness, I think it is robust …we did a good job there.

He then went on in quite some detail to explain that, in short, hunting does not make a dent in populations. It is all about water in the landscape and making sure that the assessment that goes through to the minister from this adaptive harvest model provides the context by which the minister can then endorse and open up a harvest season.

Speaking of duck hunting, in my electorate of Eastern Victoria Region we have a thing called Heart Morass. Twenty years ago it was a wasteland pan. It had been overgrazed. It was unhealthy – a salt pan. Moving forward, after hundreds of thousands of hours by volunteers and hunter–conservationists – I repeat, hunter–conservationists – it is now recognised around the world, and scientists come and assess the biodiversity, from the bugs to the birds to aquatic life. It is a very special place, and lo and behold, annually it provides opportunities for duck hunters to enjoy a recreational pastime that has been there for many, many years.

In relation to some of the parts of the bill that the Liberals and Nationals would like to improve, it is a targeted package. There have been some in the industry that have said that they are do not want this to occur. Many do. Many of the recreational fishers, the GMA and the hunters are quite happy with this being merged and the opportunities that it provides. We have listened to and spoken with those commercial fishers, and they feel that ‘outdoor recreation’ does not provide the context in which a very important industry operates. They would like to see a name change that includes something with fishing in it. I have spoken to other hunters, and they would really like to see the word ‘hunting’. We know that in New Zealand there is an example where that exists: fishing, hunting but also outdoors and making sure that you can walk and chew gum at the same time. These elements can be incorporated and provide that confidence, that certainty, that no-one is getting left behind in this merger.

Other parts that I would like to improve are the protection and acknowledgement of the commercial fishing sector: licences, quotas and management entitlements that exist under the Fisheries Act 1995. I also particularly want to recognise in the bill – and it starts in the definitions – outdoor recreational activities. It puts some in but leaves some out, and when you start to do that, people start to get concerned that they will be left out. The government will probably say to me that this is part of the first tranche. I understand that, but why not put them in at the same time? If you have got a vision, if you have got an aspiration, why not put in trail bike riding, prospecting, fossicking, horseriding and the like? So I am seeking to make some amendments that improve that, to say, if this is going to be a new vision, we keep the mature industries and pastimes and make sure that no-one is left behind.

I also want to look at ensuring that the Land Access Panel covers land and water where it is on land. That would be rivers and streams and lakes and the like – dams. But what about coastal areas and marine aquatic areas? How is that being addressed? An access panel, if it works well, and here is part of my concern, can be a huge asset to the minister of the day, providing localised and important information – and the minister can speak to the terms of reference – but also really digging deep and seeing what some of the key issues are that may need altering and tweaking and enhancing. They are some of the parts that I would like to look at.

The other part that I would like to look at is ministerial operations and ensuring that any minister, whoever that may be in the future, cannot drill down and make interventions in terms of specific licences, specific people and specific enforcement matters. I want to just make sure that there are policy and direction but individuals are not being targeted or changed in any way. That needs to sit above the structure of that new entity to let it do its work. Also, we heard last year there was a cut of 44 per cent of fisheries enforcement officers and it was quite a big issue, without a doubt. I want to make sure that we talk about the importance of our environment and we talk about the importance of access by Victorians and international and interstate travellers to experience these things. But we want to ensure that there are adequate numbers of authorised officers and that they are doing compliance work and education work and that they are really doing that on-the-ground work to stamp out any illegal harvesting – I am thinking of pipis or abalone or the like, for example – to ensure that there is adequate coverage to protect biodiversity and protect the honest people who are doing the right thing but not those people who are acting outside the law.

I also want to ensure that the board has real-world experience, and I think this is really, really important. Some of the feedback we heard in relation to that was that as it is written – and I will ask this in the committee stage of the bill – the board could technically have, as a reference, somebody who is a hiker, for example. I am a hiker, so it is no disrespect to hikers. But they could acquit the element of the board that has outdoor recreation, commercial industry or aquaculture. They could acquit that. The Liberals and Nationals believe that there need to be assurances that there will be greater real-world, practical representation, ensuring that commercial and recreational sectors are included in that. These are some of the changes that we have been talking about.

I want to acknowledge that we have been having conversations today with the minister to see a way forward in enhancing the bill. Ultimately, the role of the opposition and the role of members of Parliament not in government and of this house specifically is to strengthen a bill, to tease out elements that stakeholders, real Victorians, feel are not being addressed and to ensure that there is far more rigour and that it does what it is designed to do.

In relation to the recreational fishers, there are almost a million – 900,000 licences. I have got my licence for three years. I very much enjoyed going out from San Remo the other day, and I caught some flatties. It is a fantastic pastime. As I said, there are 400 licence holders. We could go into great depth about the Silver review. We could go into great depth about the Ken Lay review. I think I will park that there. There might be some questions, because that is a significant body of work. I have been travelling around, visiting and speaking at a variety of forums on firearms used by farmers, used by pest controllers, used by clay target shooters, used by outdoor rec, used by deer hunters, used by wild dog hunters, as I said, in pest control and used by a variety of hunters, and they have been feeling very nervous about the government. I will say that there is a smidgen more relief that the government – indeed, probably the Premier – came to their senses and rejected the cap, and that has to stay, that rejection of the cap. Even in the report there is no quantifiable evidence – and it was stated – that caps have any material action to stop criminals and stop tragedies like we saw in December.

As I said, I am foreshadowing some amendments. They will appear tomorrow if we debate the bill tomorrow. The Liberals and Nationals are very passionate about seeing more outdoor recreational pursuits, seeing more families get together and more individuals get out there to throw a line in and to enjoy that part, seeing more hunters and creating safe hunting environments, seeing that commercial fishing groups and aquaculture groups are able to do the work they do to provide beautiful food for our tables and enhance our lives and seeing a vision come through where land access continues and is not further shut down by a government that is dealing with ideology. I hope that ideology is gone, but also the Liberals and Nationals certainly commit to open access, good governance and outdoor recreation where people are out enjoying themselves. With that, I end my comments there, but we will have much more to say when the amendments come through tomorrow morning.

 Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (18:40): Many Victorians want more opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy our natural environment. The bill before us this evening makes that easier, and that is something that is very much supported by many Victorians. The bill establishes Outdoor Recreation Victoria as a new statutory authority and the sole regulator for fishing and game hunting, and I will go into that in a bit more detail in a minute. It does so by consolidating the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the Game Management Authority into a single streamlined body, repealing the separate acts that established each of those.

The scope that Outdoor Recreation Victoria, or ORV, will support is broad: fishing, hunting, camping, boating, bushwalking, hiking, mountain bike riding and four-wheel driving. The new authority will be governed by a board appointed by the Minister for Outdoor Recreation, with members bringing relevant expertise, including knowledge of First Peoples’ culture, community leadership and a broad range of other perspectives. This reform has been carefully designed to ensure continuity from day one. All staff, with the exception of the current CEOs, transfer to ORV on their existing terms and conditions. There are no job losses. Powers, assets and legal arrangements transfer seamlessly into the new authority. This is not a disruption; it is a sensible consolidation that makes the system work better.

The bill also establishes a Land Access Panel to identify new opportunities for community access across public land and waterways, with six to 12 members representing traditional owners, public land managers, ORV and external stakeholders. The panel will advise government on how to open up more of Victoria’s extraordinary natural environment for outdoor recreation. I must admit I was inquiring as to how mountain bike tracks would be expanded under this model, and I am assured that that is possible. The Minister for Outdoor Recreation will be required to share the panel’s advice with all ministers responsible for public land. This will embed a whole-of-government approach to these decisions.

Importantly, the bill does not start from scratch. It builds on more than a decade of genuine investment in outdoor recreation. Since 2014 more than $226 million has been invested into fishing and boating infrastructure, habitat and participation across Victoria. In fact anywhere you go where there is a waterway or an ocean you will come across those grey floating or fixed pontoons that allow people to fish and recreate on waterways. Recreational fishing alone supports close to 20,000 jobs and contributes $2.3 billion to the Victorian economy. More than 1 million Victorians go fishing every year. In my region stocking the Merri River from Grassmere to Wollaston Bridge and then below the old weir to Dennington has resulted in thousands more estuary perch and brown trout inhabiting our waters, providing increased fishing opportunities and improving the general health of the river. This is perfect for children participating in our little anglers program. This program has brought fishing into schools, and 95,000 free fishing rods have been delivered to Victorian primary students. It has been an absolute delight visiting schools to give kids their rods previously. When I asked classes, ‘Have you ever been fishing before?’ I was very surprised to see more than half often put their hands up – incredible. It takes them away from screens, it takes them outdoors and it encourages that enduring love of fishing and the natural environment. In addition, $1.6 million has supported Victoria’s 330 angling clubs to modernise and attract new members, ensuring that the community infrastructure remains strong.

For people in western Victoria, outdoor recreation is part of life. Families spend their weekends outdoors. It draws visitors to our region and helps sustain local economies. The Better Boating Fund, established in 2020, has committed more than $170 million to boating projects across the state, and 415 public boat ramps, as I mentioned, are now free to launch and retrieve in parks.

Another example of the commitments made to outdoor rec has been substantial investment in mountain biking. It has grown into one of Victoria’s most popular outdoor pursuits, and I must admit, I am a mountain bike tragic, although I do not get on my bike as often as I would like. It gets me and many other Victorians into the bush, building fitness and mental health and wellbeing. For families it is something that everyone can do together. The trail network near Forrest in the Otway Ranges – certainly my patch – is a perfect example of what this kind of investment does for small towns like Forrest that used to live off logging revenue but where the logging has now stopped. Funding from the Victorian government alongside investment from Colac Otway shire has extended and improved the trail network, and the economic flow-on for Forrest has been remarkable – accommodation, cafes, bike hire and guided tours, not to mention the brewery and the pub. So outdoor recreation done well is also regional economic development done well.

Just to mention some of the towns that also have mountain bike trails in western Victoria – and I am systematically trying to get around them, and I am mortally disappointed in myself that I have not yet been to Creswick – Forrest, Creswick, Castlemaine, Harcourt, Narrawong, Warrnambool, Anglesea, You Yangs, Ballarat and Buninyong all have mountain bike trails. Outdoor Recreation Victoria, or the establishment thereof, will play an important role in supporting further trail development across the state, identifying opportunities on public land, coordinating access and ensuring that communities like Forrest are not the exception but the model.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that outdoor recreation contributes enormously to this state economically, socially and for the wellbeing of Victorians who simply need time outside. This bill consolidates where consolidation makes sense, protects the environment where it needs to protect the environment and opens up new doors for community access to public land, which, after all, is Labor’s commitment. Victorians are heading outdoors more than ever, and this legislation helps make that possible. I commend the bill.

 Lee TARLAMIS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:48): I move:

That debate on this bill be adjourned until the next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned until next day of meeting.