Thursday,20 June 2024
Adjournment
Duck hunting
Duck hunting
Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (19:17): (992) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Outdoor Recreation, and the action I seek is for him to launch an investigation into the behaviour of the Game Management Authority throughout the 2024 duck-shooting season. I have been a volunteer duck rescuer for over 10 years now, and I have never seen behaviour like this year’s. It is no secret that I was issued with a banning notice on the wetlands, but I am not here to talk about myself, I am here to raise the systemic mismanagement of duck hunting overseen by the Game Management Authority, which saw a disproportionate number of rescuers sought out, targeted and fined.
The Game Management Authority has shown its clear incompetency to ensure widespread compliance by shooters, even though the turnout was so much smaller than usual. It also showed us that its focus this season was to ensure that those who report, document and publicise incidents of shooters breaching the law are not only banned but punished. When they could not fine rescuers for illegal water entry because they were licensed, they would fine them for what they call ‘hindering the hunt’. Essentially, what that means is completely up to them. By the time the season ended, there were barely any rescuers legally able to assist our native waterbirds as they were unable to have their banning notice contested by the courts before the season was over. The GMA, for the record, claimed to be impartial and independent, but they were witnessed handing out GMA-branded camo caps and game bags to shooters’ children to promote their engagement with the activity, despite many of them being under the legal shooting age of 12 – and yes, disgracefully, the legal shooting age is 12 in Victoria. Rescuers faced increased aggression from GMA officers, including grabbing and removing body cameras from them unnecessarily, handcuffing them and pushing them into the ground.
Let us talk about some of the behaviour the GMA missed while focusing on the efforts of wildlife rescuers just trying to do the right thing. A hunter indecently exposed himself to a female rescuer. A nearby resident and rescuer had dismembered duck body parts thrown onto the lawn of her house. Pits of buried birds were dug by shooters to hide their noncompliance, including a protected grebe. Culturally significant Indigenous sites were desecrated, and ancient scarred trees were cut down and removed for firewood. It is clear that while the GMA oversees regulation, there will be no consequence whatsoever for this disgusting behaviour, just like every other year.
Not only is the integrity of the Game Management Authority in question, but their credibility diminishes every single day that they exist. If the government wishes the public to trust in the Game Management Authority and wishes to stand by their disgraceful decision to allow duck shooting to continue in Victoria, it must launch an investigation into the behaviour of the Game Management Authority throughout this year’s duck-shooting season.