Hunting issue to be debated in the ‘People's Parliament'
The National Parks Association of NSW' petition opposing recreational hunting in national parks will be tabled in Parliament today by the Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich. As there are over 10,000 signatures, the issue will be debated in the ‘People's Parliament'.
"Our message to the Premier today is that the people of NSW have spoken on this issue. They do not want recreational hunting in national parks; it is time to listen!" says Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW.
"All versions of the NSW Government's own draft risk assessments to date have given a risk rating of 'high' regarding the risk of injury or death from projectiles. The Government's program effectively locks people out of national parks with that kind of warning.
"Barry O'Farrell cannot expect millions of park users to share the same public space as unsupervised amateur hunters, of varying skill levels, who obtained their R-license after sitting an open-book test.
"Enough is enough Barry! It's time to kill the program!" says Mr McKee.
"The Game Council is giving away free licenses in other State's, promoting NSW as the place to have a free-for-all slug at a feral animal.
"Anyone with an R-License will have access to the 50 of the 77 parks where Zone C is mapped out. This is a big point of difference to other State's like Victoria and South Australia which utilise less than one percent of recreational hunters in professionally managed operations," says Mr McKee.
The National Parks Association of NSW is the largest bushwalking club in NSW. To date, its work has generated community participation in four rallies opposing recreational hunting in Sydney and 14 in regional areas.
NPA has committed to continue to working with its allies such as the Public Service Association of NSW, WildWalks and WIRES on a coordinated approach to stopping recreational hunting by the March 2015, NSW State Election.
"We thank the Member for Sydney for presenting the 11,703 signatures on petition today in Parliament," says Mr McKee.
The time and date the hunting in national parks issue will be debated in parliament will be announced in the NSW Government business papers released Wednesday 19 June 2013.
Media contact:
Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW: 0404 824 020
ACROSS Australia, the debate over national parks is escalating.
This has been triggered by a series of significant changes in the approach to managing parks, with moves to open them to logging, grazing and shooting.
The language being used to support these policy changes is revealing.
According to politicians and some members of the public, the changes are needed in response to a problem: that national parks are "locked up".
The term "locked up" has long been used by opponents of national parks, but it is reaching a new prominence in the current debate.
The Queensland National Parks Minister regularly uses the phrase in press releases.
It can be found in letters to the editor concerning debates over park use and in the recent NSW Upper House Enquiry into the Management of Public Lands in NSW.
But when were national parks ever "locked up"?
The Australian tourism industry has always promoted national parks as the cornerstone of in-bound tourism. "Come and experience the real Australia - the reef, the rainforest, the outback!".
National parks are less "locked up" than almost any other land tenure.
They are open to all.
Where do you see the signs "Trespassers will be prosecuted"?
Not at the entrance to national parks.
Instead, Queensland government figures show national parks receive 51 million visits from Australians and 7.9 million visits from international tourists each year.
Welcoming nearly 60 million visits per year is a strange definition of being locked up!
Tim Barlass talks to the wife of a man fatally shot while hunting in a national park.
There is a white cross on a tree in a national park. Beneath is a memorial stone to a hunter mistakenly shot by his friend.
It is a scenario Premier Barry O'Farrell and Environment Minister Robyn Parker, who are planning to allow shooting in national parks, hope won't be repeated too often in the future.
"I still have counselling over it and I probably always will. It really is hard."
On Monday's Four Corners program, called The Hunting Party, shooters were seen to pause at the shrine to the hunter.
Now his widow has spoken out to warn of the risks of opening NSW parks to shooters and fears there will be more tragedies in the future.
Gary Hill, 42, died instantly after his nephew lined him up in the sights of his .35-calibre rifle and pulled the trigger on what he thought was a deer. His ashes were scattered in the park by his widow and the two teenage children she was left alone to bring up.
''One minute you have a husband and then he is taken away from you through someone's careless action,'' Ros Hill said.
Joseph Norris, from Queensland, who fired the fatal shot in the Alpine National Park in Victoria, was a professional shooter and more experienced than many preparing now to shoot in the parks.
He told a coroner's court he might have been suffering from ''buck fever'', a condition in which hunters are too anxious to bag a deer. It is that mentality that concerns those who are opposed to allowing shooting in national parks. The number of people holding shooting licences has been increasing since Mr Hill was killed in 1994.
Despite the tragedy, Mr Norris still has a gun licence, still shoots and has travelled to Canada to shoot elk, the world's largest species of deer.
He is no longer in touch with the Hill family and believes that introducing shooting in national parks ''makes no difference'' to the chance of accidents in the future.
''The facts are I failed in my duty to identify the target correctly, it is no more complicated than that. Basically the fact is I f----ed up and finished shooting my best friend.
''It doesn't matter if it's in a national park or not. If in doubt, don't shoot.''
But Mrs Hill, who used to target shoot, disagrees and believes allowing shooters into the national parks without stricter controls will mean more white crosses on trees.
''They went away shooting for two weeks or 10 days,'' she said. ''Normally we used to talk before they went in the morning but we didn't get a chance …
''I was with him half my life and then I lost him. It still doesn't go away.
''It fractured my family, you are not a complete family any more. I am still very angry and when I watched the program that made me twice as angry. I was angry at Robert Borsak from the Shooters and Fishers Party and at the Game Council.
TWO Sydney bowhunters have been charged by police with animal cruelty after they entered a private property earlier this month near Capertee and killed a domestic pig by shooting it with arrows.
It is yet another incident in the Lithgow Local Government Area that highlights the irresponsible behaviour of some of the hunters that pass through the region and adds to the concerns about the NSW Government's plans to introduce hunting in National Parks, including the Turon National Park near Capertee.
The two men, a 39-year-old from Blacktown and a 41-year-old from Quakers Hill climbed over a fence to gain access to the private property on June 2.
Witnesses who knew the property owner spotted the hunters and went over to them.
Opinion piece: Lyndon Schneiders, CEO The Wilderness Society
SHOOTING, prospecting, hunting, cattle-grazing and logging: does this sound to you like the management principles that should apply to Australia's national parks? Because if you live in Victoria, NSW or Queensland, this is the future your state government has in mind.
In recent years these governments have started to implement a program that is likely to change the face of our national parks.
The drivers of these changes are powerful interest groups that have opposed the gradual expansion of the national parks estate, including hunters and shooters, some graziers and the native forest logging industry.
In NSW, a deal that delivered the O'Farrell government a key element of its electricity privatisation agenda also delivered a policy coup for the Shooters and Fishers Party.
As a result, next time you go for a stroll in one of the 77 national parks to be opened for shooting, best wear bright orange or you or your family could be collateral damage for Barry O'Farrell's economic reform agenda. I'm sure you'll understand. Better still, NSW taxpayers will be forking out $19 million across the next five years to help implement the program.
In Queensland, last year's thumping victory for the Liberal National Party opened the floodgates for those from the conservative side to take a big stick to national parks.
Contrary to the opinion of Michael Johnson (letter to the editor, June 5), the real reason that amateur recreational hunting is occurring in NSW National Parks is because of a deliberate attack on the very idea of National Parks by the Shooters and Fishers Party.
The decision to allow hunting in parks was a result of a dirty deal between the Shooters and Fishers Party that was sprung on the public with no warning.
During Premier Barry O’Farrell’s first week in government he made a strong promise to environment groups and the people of NSW that he would not allow shooting in national parks.
Then he did a deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party so they would support his electricity privatisation bill.
National parks are an affront to political parties such as the Shooters and Fishers, which believes that people should have the freedom to shoot wherever they like.
The NSW government is “green washing” this deal to allow hunting as a way of managing feral animals, but control of feral animals is best achieved by professionals.
Time and time again recreational hunting has not been proven to be an effective method of feral animal control.
Despite what the Premier and the Shooters and Fishers Party might say, the primary motivation for recreational hunters is hunting, not carefully managing the threat to native species from feral animals.
Recreational hunters have a history of deliberately introducing and moving feral animals across various land tenures to create hunting opportunities is one example.
The Friends of Durras are appalled that our hard-fought efforts for national parks have been used as a pawn in a political trade-off, at the expense of nature and the public.
Our enjoyment of national parks is far too precious for this to occur.
It's almost one year since a law was passed to allow amateur hunting in national parks in New South Wales. But so far hunters have been stymied by delays and a strong public campaign.
Changes to the law in Australia’s eastern states have begun to ease restrictions on the activities allowed in our national parks. In some places, grazing has been allowed in national parks, and limits on the construction of hotels and other structures have been eased. And in New South Wales, the 27th of June will mark one year since legislation was passed to allow amateur hunters into national parks. Although hunters across the state are anxiously cocking their guns, the park gates remain firmly closed to them. 11 months of protest from organisations, politicians and the community have helped to stall the hunting program. (Image by Chiot's Run on Flickr)
NEXT year, Australia will host the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's World Parks Congress - a once-in-a-decade meeting that will attract 3000 protected-area specialists from 160 countries.
In choosing Australia, the IUCN is recognising our leadership role in the global parks movement, which dates to 1879 with the creation of Royal National Park (Australia's first national park and the world's second).
While the US, Canada and New Zealand were each creating vast, remote parks, Australia's first parks (Royal and Ku-ring-gai Chase in Sydney, and Belair in Adelaide) were smaller and near urban areas, providing easy access to nature. From the beginning, our national parks have been for people.
Politicians, not "greenies", create national parks, and the growth of Australia's world-class system of parks has generally had bipartisan support.
So what are today's politicians doing with this wonderful legacy bequeathed to them by their predecessors?
Well, the governments of Queensland, NSW and Victoria are destroying it: they have declared war on our national parks.
In Queensland, Premier Campbell Newman is allowing cattle grazing in five national parks and intends to open more.
Yet most of this huge state is already grazing land; less than 5 per cent is park. People visit parks to enjoy nature, not to tread in cow pats.
In the past two years, Queensland governments have purchased 12 properties for future national parks, but not one has been formally gazetted.
Why has the State Government stopped declaring new parks? Does it think there are "too many"?
That won't be the case until samples of all habitats are protected in national parks; in Queensland, that is a long way off.
Parts of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park - a World Heritage area co-managed by the Queensland and federal governments - are so polluted that UNESCO is considering listing the park as a site in danger.
Much of the pollution comes from farming run-off and coastal developments, but Premier Newman has announced plans to construct three new mega-ports in pristine coastal wetlands, further clouding the Reef's waters and its World Heritage future.
In NSW, Premier Barry O'Farrell is allowing amateur hunters into 77 national parks to kill feral animals.
In addition, a NSW parliamentary committee has recommended logging the state's national parks and also wants a moratorium on new parks. Implicit in a moratorium is the notion that there are "too many" parks.
In Victoria, Premier Denis Napthine has opened nine national parks for fossicking and prospecting, something no other state allows.
Napthine is also encouraging tourism investment in national parks, with two-thirds of the state's parks open for exploitation.
Developers are being offered leases of up to 99 years, effectively selling off the parks.
The best place to house tourists is in neighbouring towns, so that local areas may benefit from nearby parks.
National parks protect the best of our natural heritage: stunning landscapes, extraordinary wildlife, majestic forests.
They are immensely popular. The parks in these three states receive a combined total of more than 100 million visits annually.
National parks underpin our tourism industry, attract overseas visitors, generate wealth and create jobs, and support local and regional economies.
They deserve our support.
Premiers Newman, O'Farrell and Napthine: National parks are part of our social fabric - they help define our values, say who we are.
They should not be logged, grazed, mined, shot up or littered with crass developments.
The community is rightly outraged by what you are doing.
National parks are for us to enjoy, not for you to destroy.
Bruce Gall was Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service director in the mid 1990s and is currently a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas.
New South Wales Shooters MP Robert Borsak says there has been a culture war over gun control in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre, but people are starting to "get over it".
Mr Borsak believes some semi-automatic weapons, which were banned in the wake of the 1996 massacre, should be put back in the hands of hunters and recreational shooters.
Thirty-five people were killed when gunman Martin Bryant opened fire in the Tasmanian tourist site.
The tragedy prompted then prime minister John Howard to introduce legislation banning assault-style semi-automatic rifles and pump action shot guns.
But Mr Borsak that perceptions about gun ownership are changing.
"Look I've got nothing in common with Port Arthur," he said.
"I've got nothing in common with the madman that did it. I think people, shooters, are now looking at themselves as being an ordinary cross-section of people.
"I think we, certainly as a state, and perhaps as a nation, are starting to get over it."
The Shooters and Fishers Party in NSW has pushed through a number of amendments to firearms legislation that cuts red tape and makes it easier to own guns.
Mr Borsak says he has used a number of semi-automatic weapons for hunting.
"I think in certain context semi-automatics are useful. In the right hands in the right way they are not a danger to anybody," he said.
Firearms ownership is on the rise in NSW with the number of new gun permits more than doubling in the past decade, the Greens say.
In 2002, 29,618 permits were issued by the NSW firearms registry, and had jumped to 66,460 in 2012, figures released by NSW Greens justice spokesman David Shoebridge show.
He says the government and opposition are part of the problem due to their political binds to the Shooters Party, which holds the balance of power in the state's upper house.
"The former Labor government created the pro-gun Game Council in a 2002 deal with Shooters MPs and Barry O'Farrell has continued the deals with hunting in National Parks," Mr Shoebridge said in a statement.
"Unless we start tightening up the rules to get a firearm, we risk losing the gun control advances achieved in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy."
People across NSW wanted politicians to "stand up to the gun lobby and work to control gun numbers" as more legal firearms in the state provides greater opportunity for criminals to steal guns, Mr Shoebridge said.
A spokeswoman for police minister Mike Gallacher said the government was aware of the increase.
"But it ... is not indicative of a broader increase in the number of firearms in circulation," the spokeswoman told Fairfax.
Shooters MP Robert Brown told Fairfax gun applications have spiked due to the growing popularity of sport shooting.
Would you allow your child to use a gun to hunt and kill animals? Across Australia there are thousands of families who not only let it happen, they encourage it. Hunting is now a growth sport and the reasons are simple. For many it's exciting, selling guns is a lucrative business and hunters have new-found political muscle.
Many hunters say they do it to get back to nature and to source fresh meat. While they put ethics and safety first, it's the rogue hunter that is the problem.
Next on Four Corners reporter Matthew Carney goes bush to experience the thrill of the chase and the kill. Crucially, he tries to understand why hunters want to water down gun laws and why they are targeting National Parks to expand their sport.
In 1996 in the wake of the Port Arthur Massacre, then-Prime Minister John Howard risked his political reputation by introducing legislation that banned assault-style guns and dramatically restricted the importation and ownership of semi-automatic weapons. Howard's reforms demanded all guns be registered and the government spent millions of taxpayer dollars in a radical buy-back scheme. Gun ownership fell and so too did violent gun-related deaths.
Now firearm ownership is on the increase again and part of the reason is the increased popularity of hunting. Most hunters say they want the government to open up National Parks for sport and they now have the political power to back their demands. In NSW, the Shooters and Fishers Party has the balance of power in the State's upper house. Some of their key demands involve making guns easier to obtain, and winding back restrictions on some semi-automatic weapons.
"I think in certain contexts semi-automatics are useful in the right hands, in the right way they're not a danger to anybody." - Robert Borsack, NSW Shooters and Fishers Party
It's a demand that concerns many in the city, but it's the Shooters and Fishers' other major demand that alarms people in the bush. The Party, having worked to gain access to State Forests, now wants hunters to gain access to National Parks. Robert Borsack claims it would help eradicate feral animals, but others who work in State Forests say it will result in people being killed.
"I'll be honest with you, I'm lucky I'm not dead and some of the blokes are too and they refuse to work in these areas ... it's too dangerous." - Feral-animal trapper
In spite of these warnings, hunting permits are on the rise and less experienced people are acquiring a license to kill. The complicating factor for those seeking to dilute gun laws and expand the sport is that less experienced hunters are more likely to harm themselves and others. The Shooters and Fishers say they want one Senator in each Australian State after the next election. If they are successful, the major parties will be forced to deal directly with this issue.
THE HUNTING PARTY, reported by Matthew Carney and presented by Kerry O'Brien goes to air on Monday 10th June at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 11th June at 11.35pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 at 8.00pm Saturday, on ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners
THE inaugural Narooma HuntFest hunting festival has been deemed a success by its organisers from the South Coast Hunters Club.
More than 500 visitors had attended by Sunday morning checking out the displays, activities and 26 stalls inside and outside of the Narooma Sports and Leisure Centre.
There was no sign of any anti-hunting protest or opponents of the festival outside over the weekend.
There were no firearms or actual hunting and Narooma HuntFest is based on hunting festivals of that name in the United States and elsewhere, but it is the first of its kind in Australia.
Police are appealing for information from the public after a possum and domestic cat were killed by an arrow in the Newcastle area.
About 1am yesterday (Thursday 6 June 2013), a cat was found injured on Victoria Street, Carrington. It had been shot with an arrow.
The cat was taken to an after-hours vet clinic, where it was euthanased due to the severity of its injuries.
About 10.30am the same day, a possum was found in Victoria Street, Carrington, with similar injuries. It was also euthanased.
Police from Newcastle City Local Area Command are investigating the incidents, and appealing for information from the public.
Anyone with information that may assist investigators should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://www1.police.nsw.gov.au/. Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Would you allow your child to use a gun to hunt and kill animals? Across Australia there are thousands of families who not only let it happen, they encourage it. Hunting is now a growth sport and the reasons are simple. For many it's exciting, selling guns is a lucrative business and hunters have new-found political muscle.
Many hunters say they do it to get back to nature and to source fresh meat. While they put ethics and safety first, it's the rogue hunter that is the problem.
Next on Four Corners reporter Matthew Carney goes bush to experience the thrill of the chase and the kill. Crucially, he tries to understand why hunters want to water down gun laws and why they are targeting National Parks to expand their sport.
In 1996 in the wake of the Port Arthur Massacre, then-Prime Minister John Howard risked his political reputation by introducing legislation that banned assault-style guns and dramatically restricted the importation and ownership of semi-automatic weapons. Howard's reforms demanded all guns be registered and the government spent millions of taxpayer dollars in a radical buy-back scheme. Gun ownership fell and so too did violent gun-related deaths.
Now firearm ownership is on the increase again and part of the reason is the increased popularity of hunting. Most hunters say they want the government to open up National Parks for sport and they now have the political power to back their demands. In NSW, the Shooters and Fishers Party has the balance of power in the State's upper house. Some of their key demands involve making guns easier to obtain, and winding back restrictions on some semi-automatic weapons.
"I think in certain contexts semi-automatics are useful in the right hands, in the right way they're not a danger to anybody." - Robert Borsack, NSW Shooters and Fishers Party
It's a demand that concerns many in the city, but it's the Shooters and Fishers' other major demand that alarms people in the bush. The Party, having worked to gain access to State Forests, now wants hunters to gain access to National Parks. Robert Borsack claims it would help eradicate feral animals, but others who work in State Forests say it will result in people being killed.
"I'll be honest with you, I'm lucky I'm not dead and some of the blokes are too and they refuse to work in these areas ... it's too dangerous." - Feral-animal trapper
In spite of these warnings, hunting permits are on the rise and less experienced people are acquiring a license to kill. The complicating factor for those seeking to dilute gun laws and expand the sport is that less experienced hunters are more likely to harm themselves and others. The Shooters and Fishers say they want one Senator in each Australian State after the next election. If they are successful, the major parties will be forced to deal directly with this issue.
THE HUNTING PARTY, reported by Matthew Carney and presented by Kerry O'Brien goes to air on Monday 10th June at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 11th June at 11.35pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 at 8.00pm Saturday, on ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners
LIBERAL and national state governments want grazing, logging, mining and development in National Parks.
I cannot remember any time when there has been a more concerted move to roll back environment protection.
And, what is weird is that once, Liberals, including Fraser, Hill and Hamer, were such great advocates.
What is also weird, under Direct Action, Coalition spokesperson for Environment, Water and Climate Change, Greg Hunt will need every hectare of native vegetation intact to achieve the agreed target of five per cent carbon emissions reduction.
Time is running out to prevent the states destroying wildlife habitat. Federal Environment Minister Burke must act now to list National Parks under the Environment Protection Conservation Act.
Prue Acton O.B.E.
(Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire)
OPPONENTS of the inaugural Narooma HuntFest event last month submitted to the Eurobodalla Shire Council a petition signed by 150 people asking for council reconsider its approval of the venue for the event.
Bill Thompson also spoke saying the event saying it did not fit in with the Nature Coast image and also raised the issue of hunting in national parks.
“Is it a function that promotes guns and bows and arrows and other weapons in the name of HuntFest?” he said in his speech.
“I wonder if the approval of the HuntFest is in conflict with council’s strategic plan for tourism, when the assets we advertise for all to enjoy are being eroded by a singular interest group whose overall business plan conflicts with council’s tourism strategy.”
Petition organiser Susan Cruttenden meanwhile said she was disappointed by the lack of response from council on the petition and is urging mayor Lindsay Brown to address it in his weekly column.
In Canberra, the federal government is considering expanding its powers over national parks in response to plans by Coalition-led states to allow cattle grazing, shooting and logging in protected areas.
Environment Minister Tony Burke met as recently as Wednesday with conservation groups who want him to broaden his oversight over parks before the election.
Mr Burke said the community was right to be concerned that places they have been enjoying are under threat. ''I share that concern and I'll be looking into the ways I can stop these state governments from trashing national parks forever,'' he said.
In 2011, Mr Burke proposed listing most of Australia's 500-odd national parks - the domain of state governments - under federal environment law, which would have given him the power to reject new logging, grazing and mining projects. He later withdrew the proposed regulations after stopping a controversial cattle grazing trial in Victoria's Alpine National Park using heritage law.
''Since then [the listing withdrawal] state Liberal governments are launching new attacks on national parks every few months. My view is clear, national parks are for families and nature. They are not farms, rifle ranges, mine sites or logging coupes,'' Mr Burke said.
Australians for Animals have offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the brutal decapitation of a wallaby at Byron Bay last weekend.
And the Animal Law Network have also asked anyone with any information to contact them.
The headless body of the slaughtered wallaby was found by walkers along the lighthouse path between Wategos and The Pass on Sunday morning.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) rangers removed the carcass and are investigating the killing.
Witnesses described the decapitation as a ‘razor-sharp cut’ indicating it was intentional and not the work of wild dogs or other predators.
Australians for Animals coordinator Sue Arnold said she believed more than one person was involved and hoped the reward might motivate someone to come forward.
AN official from the federal environment department says it's "possible" a ranger patrolling the Blue Mountains could be accidentally killed by an amateur shooter if the NSW government allows hunting in its national parks.
Recreational hunters will be allowed to hunt in state national parks with guns or bows and arrows under a controversial plan agreed to by the NSW government last year.
Labor senator Doug Cameron raised concerns on Wednesday about amateur hunters being allowed into the NSW Goulburn River National Park, which borders the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
He asked department officials how amateur hunters would know if they had strayed into the world heritage area, where hunting is prohibited.
The department's deputy secretary Dr Kimberley Dripps said the hunters would have to carry a GPS tracking device, or be "very good at reading maps".
"These are amateur hunters, what if they're not good at reading maps and they don't have a GPS device?" senator Cameron told a Senate budget estimates committee in Canberra.
"Then they may not know be aware that they've moved from one property into another," Dr Dripps replied.
Senator Cameron said the "logical conclusion" was that the NSW government's decision would impact on federal laws about world heritage areas.
Dr Dripps said it was reasonably unlikely a small number of shooters in the national park would have an impact on the world heritage area.
But she did admit an "unintended interchange" could occur between rangers and hunters.
"An unintended interchange, in that somebody could get killed?" Senator Cameron asked.
"That is possible," Dr Dripps replied.
Senator Cameron asked the department to investigate what options were available at a federal level to try to minimise the risk of somebody being harmed in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
Hunting may begin in National Parks in the very near future, and Eurobodalla bushwalking and conservation groups are increasingly concerned about the dangers likely to be faced by their members - and by members of the public more broadly - in the months and years to come as result of this new practice.
‘No-one will be able to enjoy a peaceful walk in their local National Park in the future”, said John Perkins, Convenor of the Friends of Durras. “You’ll always be on guard, not knowing whether someone with a gun or a hunting bow is just around the next corner or behind that stand of trees. You won’t be able to let the kids run on ahead, because you’ll never be sure what they’re going to run into.
THE Victorian National Parks Association has defended the $42,000 Parks Victoria payment to New Zealand hunters to kill 23 goats.
And said more professional hunters should be used for pest control work, particularly when they have an opportunity to eradicate a population.
VNPA spokesperson Phil Ingamels said hiring professional hunting company Backcountry Consulting to eradicate the goat population in the Snowy River National Park region was a sensible idea.
“Feral animal control is best done by highly professional hunters, and most effective when small populations are completely eradicated before they spread,” Mr Ingamels said.
“This saves a great deal of money in the long term."
An official from the federal environment department says it's 'possible' a ranger patrolling the Blue Mountains could be accidentally killed by an amateur shooter if the NSW government allows hunting in its national parks.
Recreational hunters will be allowed to hunt in state national parks with guns or bows and arrows under a controversial plan agreed to by the NSW government last year.
Labor senator Doug Cameron raised concerns on Wednesday about amateur hunters being allowed into the NSW Goulburn River National Park, which borders the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
He asked department officials how amateur hunters would know if they had strayed into the world heritage area, where hunting is prohibited.
The department's deputy secretary Dr Kimberley Dripps said the hunters would have to carry a GPS tracking device, or be 'very good at reading maps'.
'These are amateur hunters, what if they're not good at reading maps and they don't have a GPS device?' senator Cameron told a Senate budget estimates committee in Canberra
'Then they may not know be aware that they've moved from one property into another,' Dr Dripps replied.
Senator Cameron said the 'logical conclusion' was that the NSW government's decision would impact on federal laws about world heritage areas.
Dr Dripps said it was reasonably unlikely a small number of shooters in the national park would have an impact on the world heritage area.
But she did admit an 'unintended interchange' could occur between rangers and hunters.
'An unintended interchange, in that somebody could get killed?' Senator Cameron asked.
'That is possible,' Dr Dripps replied.
Senator Cameron asked the department to investigate what options were available at a federal level to try to minimise the risk of somebody being harmed in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
A horrific scene of scattered kangaroo parts along a tourist road in Lithgow has sparked new concerns for animal welfare group WIRES regarding hunting in national parks.
"WIRES has grave concerns about the type of hunter that may be participating in the imminent hunting program for national parks after receiving horrific images of slain kangaroos along a tourist road," says Leanne Taylor, General Manager of WIRES.
"The photos we received included the body parts and carcasses of eastern grey kangaroos left scattered along Tarana road, near Sodwalls which is one of the advertised, scenic tourist drives in Lithgow.
"We can only presume that this is the result of illegal activity as licensed kangaroo harvesters would have removed the carcasses.
"Other images include a pig with its entrails removed, a hind leg sawn off and another with a piece of wood holding its mouth open. These images were clearly visible to children and anyone passing by"
"What would this type of hunter do if given permission to hunt in a national park? It is clear they are prepared to shoot native fauna, have no regard for the law and have no respect for animals. The potential is frightening.
"These same hunters may have access to hunt in our national parks, including sensitive ecological environments that are habitat for rare and precious threatened species animals, and we must question if this is wise.
"While our native animals may be protected, the pictures we have evidence that a steep monetary fine for killing one isn't enough to deter some hunters from doing just that.
Media contacts:
Carla Toyne for Leanne Taylor, WIRES General Manager: 0420 389 224
TWO pelicans have been shot with hunting arrows near the Mandurah foreshore in the past fortnight, prompting a call for information.
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One bird was found on Monday last week with an arrow through its chest and was later euthanased and the other, found on Sunday, had been shot through both its wings.
WA Seabird Rescue volunteer Linda Emery described the attacks as “the ultimate act of cruelty” and said she could not believe anyone would hurt an innocent bird.
“Volunteer Craig Lefter found the first bird flying around with an arrow in its chest and it took a several hours to capture it,” she said.
Your front page article by Robert Crawford entitled ‘In the Line of Fire’ (South Coast Register, May 22), in which the Shoalhaven Bicycle Users Group (BUG) expresses opposition to the proposed hunting of feral animals in Currambene and Nowra State Forests deserves a response.
It seems that BUG have been asleep at the handlebars. The reality is that Currambene State Forest at least has been open to recreational hunting of feral animals by licensed hunters for 10 years. But apparently they haven’t noticed. Could that be because hunters avoid interactions with other users, do not hunt along roads and tracks and seek out the more remote parts of the forest where feral animals are more likely to reside?
Recreational hunting is permitted in hundreds of state forests throughout NSW, including Currambene. It has been very effectively managed by a licencing and booking system administered by the NSW Game Council for many years. The simple fact that there have been no incidents since the program began underlines the reality that the system works effectively.
It’s make or break time for Australia’s national parks.
National parks on land and in the ocean are dying a death of a thousand cuts, in the form of bullets, hooks, hotels, logging concessions and grazing licences. It’s been an extraordinary last few months, with various governments in eastern states proposing new uses for these critically important areas.
Australia’s first “National Park”, established in 1879, was akin to a glorified country club. Now called the “Royal National Park” on the outskirts of Sydney, it was created as a recreational escape for Sydney-siders, with ornamental plantations, a zoo, race courses, artillery ranges, livestock paddocks, deer farms, logging leases and mines.
Hunting to eradicate feral animals in national parks should not be confused with conflicts that arise between hunters and private property owners, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says.
Mr O'Farrell's comments came after two men allegedly fired a warning shot at a farmer after he caught them illegally hunting on his property in Springside, near Orange, on Tuesday.
Media reports state the farmer tried to take a photograph of their number plate with his phone, but one of the men aimed a gun at him.
One of the hunters also smashed the phone and fired a warning shot at the farmer's feet.
"Let's not try to confuse that issue with the issue of pest eradication in 10 per cent of the state's national parks to try and do something about feral pests," Mr O'Farrell told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"This would not be the first time in the state's history or even in recent history that legal hunting occurs and hunters illegally entering land, including privately owned land, have had difficulties."
He said allowing hunting for the purpose of pest eradication in national parks had been a success in South Australia and Victoria.
However, SA's pest eradication program was shut down earlier this month after a hunter was shot in the ankle by another shooter during a supervised cull of feral goats at Onkaparinga River National Park.
In Victoria, a hunter is facing charges for nearly shooting one of his colleagues, while an animal rescue volunteer claims his life was threatened by a group of archers in the Hunter Valley.
Mr O'Farrell said hunting in national parks in NSW had been put on hold while Environment Minister Robyn Parker completed a risk assessment, as well as a review of the Game Council, due in June.
The National Parks Association is using an alleged shooting incident involving hunters near Orange to highlight why the activity should not be allowed in some New South Wales reserves.
Police say a man shot at the feet of a 43-year-old farmer on Tuesday in Springside, in the state's central-west, after the farmer confronted him and another man allegedly hunting kangaroos on his property.
The farm is near the Canobolas State Forest, one of almost 80 parks and reserves where the NSW Government plans to allow recreational hunting.
The proposal is on hold while an investigation into the NSW Game Council takes place, but National Parks Association spokesman Justin McKee says it proves the plan needs to be abandoned.
"This is a horrific event," he said.
"I can't even put myself in the shoes of that man who was bailed up and that will stick with him and scar him for life.
Media release - 22 May 2013
National Parks Association of NSW Inc
"Kill the Bill Barry!"
A horrific event occurred in Springside NSW yesterday involving two men shooting at a property owner. Conservation groups are calling on the Premier to repeal the Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Act 2012 today.
"The Premier is no position to be making claims that safety is guaranteed when the evidence clearly suggests otherwise," says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
"At what point does the Premier's dirty deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party end? What exactly needs to happen? How many incidents must occur or lives be lost?
"The Premier's first term is being compromised by him advancing the unchecked demands of the Shooters and Fishers Party.
"Over the past few weeks we have seen a stream of reports of hunting related incidents. These have involved a hunter being shot in South Australia which put an halt to a goat culling program, a hunter facing charges for nearly shooting another in Victoria, a park user being threatened by a group of bow hunters in the Hunter Region and three hunters illegally transporting feral pigs in Lithgow.
"The safety and conservation risks identified by the government in its draft risk assessment are very real. We don't need any more evidence its time to pull the pin on the recreational hunting program.
"Consistent with controlling pest animals, the NSW Government needs to invest for the long term in a sustained, well resourced program to combat illegal hunting activity. Until then, the government is in no position to be making deals that garner more responsibilities for amateur hunters or the Game Council.
"The predictability of outcomes from a professional program are far more reliable and beneficial than any amateur based program can ever be. We ask the Premier not make the mistake of proving that and pull the pin on the program swiftly" concludes Mr McKee.
Media Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW - 0404 824 020
ORANGE police are looking for two men who shot at a Springside farmer yesterday morning when he caught them illegally hunting on his property.
The 43-year-old landowner was bailed up at gunpoint and ordered to drop his mobile phone which he was using to take a photograph of the offenders’ number plate.
One of the gunmen smashed the phone and fired a warning shot at the man’s feet.
The farmer had challenged the men after he found them on his property hunting kangaroos.
Canobolas Local Area Command Inspector Dave Harvey said the two men were less than four metres away from the farmer when they shot at him.
A command post was set up at Springside shortly before 10am where five police, detectives and the forensics special group combed through bushland in the Canobolas State Forest for two hours looking for the men.
One of the men was wearing a grey top and black tracksuit pants. He is described as Caucasian, about 180cm tall, thin build with short dark hair and is between 17 and 24 years old.
A SHOOTING incident at a rural NSW property has raised more doubts about how the state government can safely roll out hunting in national parks, conservationists say.
A Springside farmer was shot at on Tuesday morning by two men he caught hunting kangaroos on his property.
One of the gunmen reportedly smashed the farmer's phone and fired a warning shot at the man's feet, the Central Western Daily has reported.
Justin McKee, campaign co-ordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW, says the incident highlights the real risk to public safety later this year when national parks are open to recreational hunters.
"The premier is in no position to be making claims that safety is guaranteed when the evidence clearly suggests otherwise," Mr McKee said.
THE NSW government’s move to allow the hunting of game and feral animals in state forests, including both the Currambene State Forest and Nowra State Forest, is facing opposition from cyclists.
The Shoalhaven Bicycle User Group (BUG), a social cycling group, has become aware that both local state forests have been gazetted by the NSW government for hunting and has come out strongly against the move.
In a letter to Kiama and South Coast MPs Gareth Ward and Shelley Hancock, Shoalhaven BUG president Jim Florence said his group and many other groups and individuals used both state forests for recreational cycling and walking.
“Shoalhaven BUG is strongly opposed to any use of firearms within Currambene and Nowra state forests,” he said.
“We have asked Mr Ward and Mrs Hancock to lobby the Minister for Primary Industries on our behalf with the view to stopping all hunting within these areas.”
Sam Scotting joins fellow hunters in the rugged Ruahine State Forest Park for a week of stalking feral deer to provide venison for the pot:
I should have my guns taken off me.
I live in the heart of Australia's largest city, and there is no good reason for me to possess them. Adding to this my peers and workmates largely abhor guns, as does the media, which lumps gun owners with the gun lobby and backroom political deals on Macquarie Street.
Any hunter has to recognise he or she simply enjoys it.
And then there is the question of what I use my guns for: despite the drawing of legislation to allow amateur hunters to hunt in national parks being a recent development, I have been doing just this for two decades.
MORE than a third of feral animal hunters pulled over by police during a recent operation to crack down on illegal hunting, trespassing and malicious damage in the central and far west had unregistered dogs.
Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie launched the operation in Dubbo last month as a result of complaints by property owners of malicious damage and hunting on properties without permission.
Assistant Commissioner McKechnie said while he believed some of the dog owners were probably lazy and had not bothered to register their dogs, there was a concerning element in the number of unregistered dogs
“The fact that this number of dogs weren’t registered would give rise to the view that some irresponsible hunters don’t register their dogs because if they are injured during attacks and are left behind they can’t be traced,” Assistant Commissioner McKechnie said.
A shooting accident in South Australia has resulted in the shutdown of all amateur hunting in that state's national parks, prompting calls for tougher safety measures before hunting of feral animals begins in NSW parks later this year.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has pointed to the South Australian pest eradication program as justification for allowing volunteer shooters into NSW national parks and told ABC Radio there was ''no reason we can't do the same'' as South Australia.
A spokesman for Mr O'Farrell said he was unaware when he made the comments that the South Australian program had been suspended a week earlier on safety grounds.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell remains committed to plans to allow hunting in national parks despite a ban on a similar program in South Australia.
South Australia's pest eradication program was shut down earlier this month after a hunter was shot in the ankle by another shooter during a supervised cull of feral goats at Onkaparinga River National Park.
Mr O'Farrell says the incident "reaffirms" the importance of a risk assessment the government is holding into its plans to allow amateur hunting at national parks in NSW.
"The fact is that we need to more effectively eradicate feral pests from our national parks," he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday. "They not only damage national parks, they do enormous damage to adjoining farmland".
Mr O'Farrell also pointed to other states, including South Australia, who had "successfully and safely" run similar plans.
"We are determined to bring those sorts of models to NSW," he said.
The state opposition meanwhile said the shooting accident in South Australia proved that the program was not safe.
This week on Earth Matters, campaigns against three conservative state governments, in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, where environment groups say the interests of shooters, gold prospectors and agriculturalists are being placed ahead of biodiversity protection, animal welfare and public safety. Guests: Keith Bradby, from Gondwana Link in South Western Australia, Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW, Phil Ingamells, Victorian National Parks Association.
So the Shooters and Fishers are at it again, using the Upper House Inquiry into public land management to advocate logging in national parks “to ensure the viability of the timber industry”. The report suggests this should be implemented by a “tenure swap” so that sections of national park with millable timber would be open for logging while logged state forest sections would be reserved in return.
These are weasel words used to pretend that logging will be not in the national park, only in a boundary adjustment land swap with a State Forest.
Barry O’Farrell and his Environment Minister say they have no plan to introduce commercial logging into national parks, but can we believe them? They said no plan for hunting in national parks, but broke their promise so that the Shooters and Fishers Party would vote for their legislation to sell electricity generators. Hunting is planned for up to 79 national parks such as Oxley Wild Rivers, Gibraltar Range, Boonoo Boonoo, Dorrigo
What next when they need the support of the Shooters and Fishers in the Upper House? A second Casino for Packer at Barangaroo? An industrial coal seam gas field in the Pilliga conservation areas?
Not happy, Barry. No hunting, no logging, no mining in our national parks. Protect our natural heritage.
Beth Williams, for Armidale Branch of the National Parks Association of NSW.
In response to community concerns about the introduction of recreational hunting in NSW national parks Premier Barry O'Farrell has defended the safety of the program, comparing it to the way hazard reduction burns are conducted safely. He says that 'fires aren't friendly to people who use national parks but we do, and have increased as a government, the amount of hazard reduction burns'.
In order to hunt in state forests and national parks you must be over 12 years of age, must pass R-license accreditation, and must be a member of a Game Council Approved Hunting Organisation (AHO).
A GRAPHIC photo of dead sheep beside a pig-hunting dog, posted on Facebook on Monday, has led to swift action by the police and a 22-year-old Orange man charged with animal cruelty offences.
Yesterday police visited a Mullion Creek property and identified the carcasses of several dead sheep found on a nearby road after they were reported missing by a landowner.
Late yesterday afternoon a man was arrested and interviewed at Orange Police Station.
He was charged with six counts of aggravated cruelty upon an animal, seven counts of committing an act of cruelty on an animal, one count of entering enclosed land and five counts of stealing livestock.
The posting of the photograph on the social media site drew an instant response from the public with a barrage of comments condemning the man’s actions. Police launched an investigation to see if the Facebook posting and the landowner’s complaint were linked.
A 22 year old man from Orange has been arrested and charged over the inhumane killing of a number of sheep.
Warren Alfred Moses was arrested by local police yesterday.
It follows a photo depicting the alleged crime going viral on a social media website.
Police prosecutors alleged in court today that Moses released pig dogs on the sheep
PEOPLE concerned about the state government's decision to allow amateur hunting in National Parks have an opportunity to learn some of the issues next Sunday.
After being postponed last month due to insurance problems, the Say "NO" to Amateur Hunting in our National Parks rally is back on and organisers, Southern Highlands Greens, are expecting a good turnout.
The event is being held in response to the State Government's Supplementary Pest Control proposal in which amateur hunters would be allowed to hunt within a number of NSW national parks, including Morton.
Speakers at the rally include David Shoebridge MLC, NSW Greens; Tony Hill, SH National Parks Assoc; Steve Caslick, Public Service Assoc representing NPWS staff; Denis Wilson, Native Orchid Society; and Mark Selmes, Goulburn Field Naturalists Society.
Aboriginal jobs and concerns around logging and hunting in national parks are on the agenda at a general meeting of traditional custodians from across the state. They're gathering in Byron Bay, known to the Arakwal people as Cavvanbah, which means 'meeting place'.
A recent draft report from a parliamentary committee into land use, chaired by the Shooters Party, urges the government to consider a tenure swap between national parks and state forests to ensure the timber industry's viability.
While the Premier Barry O'Farrell says he does not support commercial logging in national parks, nor the idea of a tenure swap, Ms Stewart says it has generated a lot of concern.
"Here you have a national park and you have logging in it...you have shooting in it, yet the groups that support shooting in national parks don't support Aboriginal people to take their own flora and fauna."
ON THE same day Premier Barry O’Farrell took a walk down the Armidale mall and was met by a man who wanted guarantees he wouldn’t be shot at in a national park, Opposition leader John Robertson was taking a walk on a wilder side of a park.
When Eric Gibson pulled up the Premier in the Beardy St mall, Mr O’Farrell told him there were similar policies in Victoria and South Australia, and they would ensure it was a safe and secure environment for bushwalkers, sightseeing visitors or campers.
It was the same issue Mr Robertson was confronting on his tour – he went bush for a walk at Dangars Falls with Labor candidate Herman Beyersdorf, as well as local Armidale National Parks Association representatives, to discuss their concerns about allowing shooting in national parks.
Mr Robertson said the policy to open up national parks was ludicrous.
“Opening up our national parks to amateur, unsupervised hunters will put the safety of people and native animals at risk,” Mr Robertson said.
GAME Council employee Greg McFarland, 50, and volunteer Eddie Hoogenboom 66, will both plead not guilty to all charges bought against them for alleged illegal hunting and use of firearms when their case comes before Cobar Local Court on Thursday.
Both men were charged by police last month after an intensive investigation following claims the men illegally entered land to shoot a feral goat in December last year.
Police allege the offences took place on properties in the Cobar and Byrock area.
Solicitor David King-Christopher, who is representing both men, said he will request the Police Prosecutor’s brief of evidence in the case during Thursday’s court proceedings.
Mr McFarland was suspended from duty with full pay when the allegations were first raised in January.
Both men have been excused from making an appearance on Thursday.
The case has created a furore among critics of a state government plan to allow hunting in national parks with Premier Barry O’Farrell forced to put on hold plans to implement hunting due to the media attention the case has created.
Firearms belonging to Mr McFarland and Mr Hoogenboom were seized from the men’s homes during the police investigation.
Safety tips for walking in NSW National Parks & reserves where shooting is soon to be allowed.
Recreational Hunting will soon be allowed in many NSW National Parks and reserves. If you or someone in your group is accidently shot the outcome could be devastating.
There is no legal requirement for hunters to have ever fired a gun before their first solo hunting trip, although they may mean well, accidents can and do happen. Many hunters are friendly well meaning people and they do not wish to bring harm to walkers. If you meet a hunter on track, be courteous and share you’re walking plans with them.
We have outlined a few tips to help you improve your chance of survival and enjoyment when walking in our beautiful bushland.
TRIGGER-HAPPY HUNTERS MASSACRE 800 DUCKS
More than 800 ducks, many endangered, were killed and abandoned by hunters in an act criticised by Game Victoria as 'appalling'.
The slaughter embarrassed even the most hard-headed of hunters. More than 800 abandoned duck carcasses that shooters did not bother to pick up. At least 150 endangered ducks killed, many among Australia's rarest. And other dead birds - hawk-like whistling kites and black swans - that look nothing like ducks.
''It's terrible. It's absolutely disgraceful,'' said one of the state's leading duck-hunting advocates, Rod Drew, about the March shootings at the Box Flat private wetland near Boort, in the state's north-west.
Last week there were plenty of outrage merchants around who suggested that an airborne Vegemite sandwich should be the subject of police investigation and that charges should be laid.
“We need an apology…disrespectful thugs… community service sentences are needed…where’s the respect…my father was in the army!!… where are the authorities?”
On and on it went…
Well, today I’m calling for just that- respect, an apology and it’s about time the Victoria Police began laying charges against the mouth breathing thugs who descended on a Victorian wetland and shot the shit out of 800 ducks, many of them protected, and then just left them to rot in the water.
As NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell pushes ahead with his harebrained plan to introduce hunting into National Parks, he should be urging his counterpart Premier Denis Napthine to clean up this stinking mess.
In the meantime, ducky, stick your confected outrage over a Vegemite sanger up your freckle!
POLITICIANS of all persuasions are visiting the Northern Tablelands today as the electorate moves closer to the May 25 by-election.
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell will meet with Nationals candidate Adam Marshall and talk to local business owners in Armidale’s main street and mall.
He will also address students at New England Girls School and is expected to make a funding announcement in Guyra.
But while the premier takes a stroll through town, Opposition leader John Robertson will be taking a walk on the wild side.
Mr Robertson will join Country Labor candidate Herman Beyersdorf, Armidale National Parks Association representatives and National Parks workers on a bush walk at Dangar Falls in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park to discuss the proposal to allow hunting in NSW national parks.
A series of hunting related activities over the past week have highlighted safety and nature conservation risks related to amateur, recreational hunting.
"Over the past week, there have been reports of three incidents involving one hunter nearly being shot, a park user being threatened by bow hunters and a hunter being found to be transporting feral pigs which increases pig populations in areas where they are released," says Mr Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW.
"Consistent with controlling pest animals, the NSW Government needs to invest for the long term in a sustained, well resourced program to combat illegal hunting activity. Until then, the government is in no position to be making deals that garner more responsibilities for amateur hunters or the Game Council.
"An incident in Alpine National Park, Victoria on involved a hunter's gun discharging his gun in the direction of another hunter, narrowly missing him. This highlight that there is broad range of skills sets among recreational hunters, and, that we should not be mixing hunters and other park users in the same space.
"A second incident in a national park in the Hunter, NSW involved a park user having his life threatened by a group of archers if he did not leave the area. The Coalition Government's own risk assessment identified that there would be confrontation between hunters and other park users, and before hunting programs in national parks has begun, this has occurred.
"Last Thursday, it was reported in the Lithgow Mercury that a man pulled over for a breath test is now facing charges for illegal transporting feral pigs from one area to another. This is how some hunters spike populations of feral pigs in areas they wish to hunt and has nothing to do with controlling pest animal populations or conservation hunting.
"The safety and conservation risks identified by the government in relation to recreational hunting are very real.
"The predictability of outcomes from a professional program are far more reliable and beneficial than any amateur based program can ever be. We ask the Premier not make the mistake of proving that and pull the pin on the program swiftly" concludes Mr McKee.
Media Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW - 0404 824 020
POLICE are reminding hunters to take extra care before pulling the trigger after a firearms incident in the Alpine National Park last month.
Investigators allege a 26-year-old Yallourn North man was stalking deer in the park near Licola around 5pm on Anzac Day when his gun discharged in the direction of another hunter, narrowly missing him.
The man was interviewed and released pending summons.
His firearms were also seized and his licence suspended.
Sergeant Eamon Leahy urged hunters to properly identify their targets before firing.
"Although this appears to be an isolated incident, it does serve as a reminder that many people use the national parks.
"Anyone using a firearm must be aware of this and ensure they are doing so in a safe and responsible manner because otherwise the consequences could be fatal."
He also advises shooters to wear high visibility clothing while hunting.
An animal rescue volunteer claims his life was threatened and he was verbally abused by a group of archers in a Hunter Valley national park yesterday while he was searching for a lost dog.
Vice-President of the Society of Companion Animal Rescuers, David Atwell, says he was in the park near Elrington looking for the dog, when a group three archers threatened to kill him if he did not leave the area.
The incident has been reported to both local police and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
WHILE numbers were down at yesterday’s May Day rally, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the 200 people who marched from Cook Park to Robertson Park, loudly protesting state government funding cuts.
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Protesters expressed a range of concerns from poor patient-to-nurse ratios to the dangers of amateur hunting in national parks.
At the May Day Rally in Orange, NSW Sunday 5 May 20123, the CEO of the National Parks Association will be delivering a speech about the need for increased investment in professional hunting programs in our national parks.
"Professional pest animal programs involve the closure of parks and the removal of carcasses. There is no mix of amateur hunters and park visitors in the same space, which is the only way to mitigate risks of injury or death from straying bullets," says Kevin Evans, CEO of the National Parks Association of NSW.
"The National Parks and Wildlife Service manage highly effective professional pest animal programs that can reduce pest animal populations. A lack of funding is their only limitation and previous Coalition Governments have recognized this. The current government has so far cut back more than it has invested.
"There is no scientific evidence showing recreational hunting has had any impact on pest animal populations in NSW.
"We are lobbying the government to shift the $19.1m it intends to investment in the recreational hunting program to professional pest animal programs. As well as helping the conservation of our national parks, these significant funds could support further research into humane methods for removing pest animals."
National Parks Association of NSW is working with WIRES, Public Service Association and major bushwalking organisation WildWalks on a campaign that strongly opposes amateur, recreational hunting in national parks.
"Groups working on this issue are motivated by concerns for public and park staff safety, animal welfare and nature conservation. We have seen reports of hunting related accidents and an increase in injured native animals before the program has officially begun," says Mr. Evans.
"Hunters were stopped recently in Lithgow for illegal hunting activity that involved the transportation of feral pigs from one area to another. They are now facing prosecution. This type of activity has been part of an attempt to boost populations of pigs in certain areas in the past," says Mr. Evans.
The May Day rally has been organized by the Central West Community Union Alliance.
Media Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW 0404 824 020
ST GEORGE resident Sylvia Raye has had her critics over the years but never before has she been accused of peddling hate.
The entertainer and animal activist was referred to as the ‘‘high priestess of hate’’ in a recent online post about hunting by blogger Garry Mallard for her vocal opposition to hunting.
After the post was published Ms Raye received intimidating emails.
She said she would not be silenced and would continue to oppose hunting.
‘‘I’m pretty courageous and I’m going to continue fighting against shooting in the national parks,’’ she said.
The Minister for Primary Industries has re-declared 178 State forests, first declared in May 2008, for a period of ten years, concluding on 26 April 2023. The orders are expected to be published in a special issue of the NSW Government Gazette, Thursday 2 May 2013.
The New South Wales government's plan to allow recreational hunters into the state's national parks has been further postponed.
Due to start in March, the feral animal control program was postponed until this month, because the government ordered a review into the Game Council.
The former head of NSW Fisheries Steve Dunn is carrying out the review and has requested a two week extension.
The review of the Game Council came about after two members of the Council, which will oversee the program, were accused of trespassing onto private property and illegally shooting a goat.
The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, has told parliament he does not think he will receive the report by the end of May.
A group of 20 volunteers were hunting feral goats as part of a routine culling operation this morning when the accident occurred.
“We know that at about 8.30am there was an incident where a shooter was accidentally shot,” manager of public lands Mike Williams said.
The shooter reportedly lost his footing, triggering his .223 rifle.
His mate was hit in the ankle.
Special operations paramedics helped get him out in difficult terrain.
The Sporting Shooters Association said this is the first accidental shooting since its members became involved in the culling program, more than 20 years ago.
“We don’t want any accident, and I think our track record proves that,” David Handyside from the association said.
“Our volunteers are highly trained people that go through enormous protocols before they go out into the field.”
Note: Goat culling programs are now on hold in South Australia.
PREMIER Barry O'Farrell gave the Shooters and Fishers Party the final say on guidelines for the independent review into the body which will oversee hunting in national parks.
Shooters and Fishers Party MP Robert Borsak signed off on the terms of reference for an independent review into the governance of the Game Council.
Mr Borsak, who holds a key vote in the upper house and has been courted by Mr O'Farrell to pass legislation, said Mr O'Farrell let him approve the guidelines for the review. The Game Council will ultimately oversee the hunting in national parks.
The NSW Premier’s message to the public that the Game Council’s governance is under review has lost all credibility after a report in today’s Daily Telegraph reveals that the Shooters and Fishers Party have dictated the terms.
The Game Council NSW has been under heavy scrutiny since accusations were laid against senior staff December 2012. Charges of illegal hunting and trespassing were laid against former boss Greg McFarland on 10 April 2013.
“The Premier gave himself the opportunity to remove the politics from the culture and operations of the Game Council when he announced the review in March. To find out that Robert Borsak of the Shooters and Fishers Party had the final say on the guidelines for the review removes all credibility from the process,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator of the National Parks Association of NSW.
Since the Game Council’s inception, critics have claimed the agency facilitates agendas of the Shooters and Fishers Party.
“Today’s news highlights the Premier is still taking direction from the Shooters and Fishers Party on hunting issues. This is not reassuring for those who oppose hunting in national park. They saw the move by the Premier as a hopeful sign he was heeding their concerns,” says Justin McKee.
“The Premier witnessed the outcomes that arose for the former government as a result of doing political deals. In May 2010, Barry O’Farrell stated in the media: 'Labor has to learn they can’t continue to engage in political projects and expect taxpayers to pay the cost'."
The Game Council have been lobbying for management responsibilities of the program that allows recreational hunting in national parks during negotiations with government, staff and unions. The program will cost taxpayers $19.1million dollars over the next five years.
Media Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW - 0404 824 020
Fresh questions are being asked about the New South Wales Government's plans to allow the Game Council to oversee recreational hunting in national parks.
Premier Barry O'Farrell initiated a review of the Game Council after a senior council member was accused of illegally hunting and trespassing on private property.
Now Shooters Party MP Robert Borsak has revealed he and his colleague Robert Brown were allowed to sign off on the terms of reference.
Both men are former chairs of the Game Council.
The opposition's environment spokesman Luke Foley says it is further evidence the Shooters Party is calling the shots.
Police are ''fed up'' with gun saturation in Sydney after one of the worst weeks of crime in NSW history.
A sleep-deprived acting Assistant Commissioner Arthur Katsogiannis said it was one of the worst weeks police had experienced, with five deaths and seven public-place shootings in which eight people were wounded.
NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson was quick to jump on the week's horrifying shooting statistics, accusing the government of allowing a culture of gun violence to go unchecked. ''From shooting in national parks to shooting in Sydney streets, the O'Farrell government is letting guns take over NSW,'' he said.
THE Australian Workers Union (AWU) is urging the NSW government to enforce a 10-kilometre shooting exclusion zone around the homes of employees who live and work in the state's national parks.
Recreational hunters will be allowed to hunt in national parks with bows and arrows and guns under a plan agreed to by the state government last year.
A survey of 365 national park workers reveals they have "deep fears" about the policy, AWU state secretary Russ Collison said.
He said nearly 100 employees live in national parks, prompting calls for an expanded exclusion zone.
"Unfortunately bullets don't stop at 1.5 kilometres, and can easily travel three to five kilometres. We can't have a situation where families are dodging bullets in their backyard," Mr Collison said.
The AWU survey also found 99 per cent of those polled want supervision and competency testing of shooters.
KURT Gale promises he won't shoot bushwalkers by accident, slaughter kangaroos or koalas, or leave behind rotting animal carcasses swarming with flies if teenagers are allowed to hunt feral animals in NSW's national parks.
The 17-year-old passionate hunter, who began shooting at clay targets at age 11 and started hunting at 12, said allowing teenagers to hunt in national parks under adult supervision was sensible and should not scare people.
Under controversial state government plans 11 to 17-year-olds would be able to hunt feral animals under adult supervision as a cheap way of helping rid the bush of pigs, goats, deer, foxes and rabbits.
Hunting in NSW's national parks has attracted intense criticism by the state opposition, the Greens and conservation and bushwalking groups, who have claimed lives will be at risk from stray bullets or if bushwalkers are mistaken for an animal.
But Kurt, from the north coast town of South West Rocks, said young hunters were taught that safety is paramount.
"You don't shoot at something rustling in the bush, that's something you learn right from the start," Kurt said.
"You have to identify your target in plain sight, make sure it's the type of animal you are looking for.
HE allegedly threatened to kill his stepfather and has been convicted of malicious damage and common assault.
But NSW man Jason Lane says he should be given a gun licence.
Lane took the NSW police commissioner to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal after authorities decided he was not a 'fit and proper' person to hold a firearms licence.
Earlier this month WIRES Far South Coast branch received a call from concerned members of the public about a kangaroo with “a stick in its leg.”
The informant reported that it had hampered the kangaroo’s mobility and its condition was deteriorating.
WIRES licensed shooter Paul Purcell under animal welfare guidelines euthanased the kangaroo to end her suffering.
The eastern grey kangaroo, a juvenile female, had been shot through her leg with an arrow which caused her mobility problems, pain and infection, Mr Purcell said. The kangaroo was located with a small mob of kangaroos that gather on cleared grassy areas at the rear of 205 Bald Hills Road. Mr Purcell explained that though the kangaroo had mobility issues she was still mobile enough that physical capture would have proved beyond WIRES ability given the open location.
THE RSPCA says recreational pig hunting is cruel and cannot be justified in any circumstances.
“Although some hunters may have the skills, knowledge and motivation to minimise the suffering of their prey, many do not,” NSW RSPCA chief executive officer Steve Coleman said.
Recreational hunting is on the increase in the central west with many hunters heading out at weekends with their dogs to hunt feral animals.
“These animals are sometimes hunted to the point of exhaustion and then killed with methods that do not cause a quick and painless death,” Mr Coleman said.
The RSPCA maintains that feral animals are at the mercy of inexperienced hunters who are not always able to bring the animal down with a single shot to the head or the heart.
“The pig is hunted with dogs to the point of exhaustion and if hunters plan to stick [stab] the dog rather than shoot it, dogs are used to hold or ‘lug’ the pig by the ears while it is being stabbed,” Mr Coleman said.
He said regulations surrounding hunting varied from state to state, but in NSW, lone hunters were allowed to use a maximum of three dogs, with groups of hunters allowed to use up to five dogs.
The RSPCA says the practice of using dogs to hold the pig is not only extremely cruel, but can cause injuries to the dogs, while stabbing the pig causes a prolonged, painful and distressing death.
Barry O'Farrell's decision to open up NSW National Parks to recreational hunting has created a storm of opposition that came to a head last week at a Sydney rally attended by nearly 3000 people.
We tried to cut through the rhetoric and emotion this morning when I spoke with representatives from both sides of the argument.
John Mumford is Chairman of the Game Council of NSW, the government body tasked with overseeing the new hunting regulations; Justin McKee is Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW, a non-government organisation whose mission is to "protect, connect and restore the integrity and diversity of natural systems in NSW".
TECH savvy farmers can now access information about feral animals through a new smartphone app.
The new Field Guide to Pest Animals of Australia app is the first of its kind and allows users to access the latest information about 31 of Australia's worst pest animals.
Farmers, land managers, local councils, pest controllers and the general public can use the app to control pests such as wild dogs, mice, rabbits, foxes, carp, feral pigs, cane toads, myna birds.
The Invasive Animals CRC created the tool, which includes descriptions, photo galleries, maps, control techniques and quick links to useful pest control measures.
Other resources available through the app include PestSmart tool kits, FeralScan webmapping, and the feral.org.au website.
Popular satirical news program The Daily Show has used an interview with former Australian prime minister John Howard to embarrass the powerful US gun lobby.
The interview, conducted by reporter John Oliver, focused on the gun reforms Howard introduced after the Port Arthur mass shooting of 1996.
"But there were so few [shootings in Australia before 1996]. Whoopty do!" - American gun lobbyist Philip Van Cleave.
I know farmers need them and I think most farmers are responsible people. But I don’t have that feeling about people who go out in the bush and kill animals.
They can talk about conservation all they like. I think it is the thrill of the kill that is “sport” to them.
I am horrified about the NSW government’s decision to allow hunting in national parks, a decision that was made purely to gain support from the Shooters and Fishers Party for electricity privatisation. A political deal that puts lives at risk.
The best thing that John Howard did was the strict gun control measures introduced after the Port Arthur massacre. Since then, Australia has been free of these horrific kinds of incidents.
Obviously, we still have shootings, and the drive-by shootings in Sydney show we have a long way to go before we get guns out of the hands of criminals.
However, guns owned by private citizens for self defence will only ever exacerbate the situation and these guns so often end up in the hands of criminals, as we saw when a house in Coledale was broken into recently and three guns were stolen. Where are those guns now, and to what criminal purpose will they be used?
The United States has a real problem with their Second Amendment and the widely held belief that it is their God-given right to own guns.
So I was horrified to read the comments of Robert Borsak, an upper house member of the Shooters and Fishers Party, describing Australia’s gun laws as “stupid” and urging Americans to “fight and fight hard” against the gun control measures that Barack Obama is trying to introduce.
Australia’s gun laws are being held up as a model for change in the US, but Borsak’s reaction was this: “To think of doing anything as stupid as that in the US – the land of the free and the home of the brave – is an absolute disgrace.”
Home of the brave – if you have a gun in your hand!
Borsak cited as an example of Australia’s “stupidity” the recent tightening of ammunition laws, to which he commented, “What it’s all about, ultimately, is taking everything off you completely one day.”
The New South Wales Government is being urged to rethink its deal to allow hunting in national parks, in the wake of recent comments by Shooters party MP Robert Borsak.
FOR a moment, the thousand-strong crowd protesting hunting in NSW national parks caught a glimpse of one of the men they came to see.
Shooters and Fishers Party MP Robert Brown stood on the steps of Parliament and watched the crowd chanting against him, his colleague Robert Borsak, and Premier Barry O'Farrell.
A NSW MP has described Australia's gun laws as ''stupid'' and urged Americans to ''fight and fight hard'' against gun control measures being considered in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in the US.
The government's decision to allow hunting in national parks is part of a “deliberate attack” on the environment, former NSW environment minister Bob Debus has told a packed rally at Parliament House.
Between 2500 and 3000 people attended the rally protesting against plans to allow hunters to conduct "pest control" in national parks, organisers said.
"The point of national parks is to be a safe place for Australia's native wildlife"
Mr Debus addressed "bush walkers of NSW and your children" when he said the decision to allow hunting in NSW national parks was part of a "deliberate attack on the very idea of national parks".
Mothers are worried their children will be shot, while the kids don't want to see a bunny with a bullet hole.
Families led the charge on NSW Parliament on Thursday in the fight to keep hunters out of national parks.
About 3000 people blocked off Macquarie Street, shouting "Shame, Barry, Shame" as they pleaded with Premier Barry O'Farrell to reverse his decision to allow the amateur hunting of feral animals in 77 national parks.
"They (children) might be mistaken for an animal. What if someone is out hunting and they are playing in a tree," Hunters Hill mum Tess Peni told AAP.
THOUSANDS of people have blocked off the street outside NSW parliament to protest against hunting in national parks.
Chanting "Stop the shooting", about 3000 protesters marched through Hyde Park to gather for speeches on Macquarie St today.
Anne Gardiner, general secretary of the Public Service Association which represents park rangers, asked protesters if they wanted guns in their workplace.
Leanne Taylor from from the animal rescue service WIRES questioned whether animals would be humanely killed.
About 1000 people have descended on the New South Wales parliament to protest against plans to allow hunting in the state's national parks, nature reserves and conservation areas.
The Premier struck the deal to allow amateurs to play a part in feral animal control in return for support from the Shooters and Fishers party for legislation to further privatise the electricity sector.
But the plan has been dogged with problems and last month Barry O'Farrell said it would not start until after a review of the Game Council was completed.
The organisations working together on the campaign to stop recreational hunting in our national parks wish to thank everyone for their efforts in creating a colourful and peaceful protest today, 18th April 2013.
Our special thanks to the children who kick started the event by leading us on a march from Hyde Park down to NSW Parliament House, Sydney.
18 April, 2013
Tara Moss: Statement for rally against hunting in national parks
Statement from Tara Moss for 18 April 2013 rally:
“No hunting in national parks – it's a family affair!”
Thank you to the organisers for inviting me to speak at todays rally. I’m sorry I cannot be here in person.
As a mother who bushwalks regularly with a small child I request that this government take immediate action to stop recreational shooting in our national parks. Like many citizens, I am not comfortable walking through bush alongside armed hunters, some as young as 12, and NSW – which has some of the most beautiful and well-frequented national parks in the world – will suffer from reduced tourism as a result of this legislation.
My family and I recently found spent shotgun shells on a track in the Blue Mountains National Park near our home. Some irresponsible hunters already believe it to be ‘open season’ in all NSW national parks and this is a reason for all of us to be concerned.
I note with disappointment that Barry O'Farrell initially promised that this would never happen: ‘There will not be a decision made to turn your national parks into hunting reserves' he said in April 2011. I also note with disappointment that this scheme has gone unchallenged by every member of the Liberal and National Party despite the fact that the government's own risk assessments have shown the risk of injury or death to park users and park staff from arrows or bullets is ‘high’. This scheme poses an unacceptable risk of injury or death to park users like myself and my daughter.
Please, let's keep guns and recreational shooting out of our national parks.
Statement from Tara Moss for 18 April 2013 rally:
“No hunting in national parks – it's a family affair!”
Thank you to the organisers for inviting me to speak at todays rally. I’m sorry I cannot be here in person.
As a mother who bushwalks regularly with a small child I request that this government take immediate action to stop recreational shooting in our national parks. Like many citizens, I am not comfortable walking through bush alongside armed hunters, some as young as 12, and NSW – which has some of the most beautiful and well-frequented national parks in the world – will suffer from reduced tourism as a result of this legislation.
My family and I recently found spent shotgun shells on a track in the Blue Mountains National Park near our home. Some irresponsible hunters already believe it to be ‘open season’ in all NSW national parks and this is a reason for all of us to be concerned.
I note with disappointment that Barry O'Farrell initially promised that this would never happen: ‘There will not be a decision made to turn your national parks into hunting reserves' he said in April 2011. I also note with disappointment that this scheme has gone unchallenged by every member of the Liberal and National Party despite the fact that the government's own risk assessments have shown the risk of injury or death to park users and park staff from arrows or bullets is ‘high’. This scheme poses an unacceptable risk of injury or death to park users like myself and my daughter.
Please, let's keep guns and recreational shooting out of our national parks.
An Orange City Councillor plans to seek council support to lobby the state government to abandon recreational hunting at Mt Canobolas.
The government has put on hold plans to allow hunting in almost 80 national parks and recreational reserves across the state, until an investigation into two Game Council members is undertaken.
Greens Councillor Neil Jones says the Mt Canobolas reserve is an unsuitable area for recreational hunters as it is 1600 hectares in size and 30 kilometres from Orange.
Bob Brown and Bob Debus will be speaking at a rally protesting hunting in national parks this Thursday 18 April. With families feeling they have lost access to the 77 parks where hunting will take place, the organisers have set the event during the school holidays to enable families to attend.
“The National Parks Association of NSW is the biggest bushwalking organisation in NSW. The single, most common grievance we hear about from the community is the concern they have for the safety of their families when they visit a national park declared for hunting,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“Parents are not prepared to risk the safety of their children and many families now feel they have no choice but to avoid the 77 parks where recreational hunting will take place. This decision for parents was reinforced when we received news that the notice period for hunting programs may be as short as 48 hours.
“Families and friends of the campaign against recreational hunting in national parks are invited to enjoy a peaceful protest this Thursday. The event will commence with a short walk from the fountain at Hyde Park down to NSW Parliament House, Sydney.
“Bob Brown and Bob Debus, our honorary guests will be joined by children leading the walk down Macquarie Street,” says Mr McKee.
The rally is hosted by the National Parks Association of NSW and Public Service Association.
Media opportunities:
> Children leading a march down Macquarie Street
> Image/Footage of Bob Brown, former leaders of the Greens
> Image/Footage of Bob Debus, ALP Minister for Environment and Attorney General
> Large crowd gathering to protest amateur, recreational hunting in national parks
Event Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW: 0404 824 020
Media contacts:
Justin McKee, NPA of NSW: 0404 824 020
Geo Papas, PSA: 0407 705 363
We are being told hunting may occur in NSW national parks with just 48 hours notice.
The State Government is looking at draft plans which would mean signs alerting the public about amateur shooter's activities could be erected just two days earlier in National Parks .
David Shoebridge from the NSW GREENS said many local bushwalkers would already be in the parks, and have no chance to get out in time.
The Coalition is doing a deal with the Shooters Party to allow shooting in National Parks in efforts to reduce the number of feral animals.
It was a pig of a plan from the start: allowing amateur shooters into national parks because the NSW government's real agenda was being held hostage by a couple of minor-party upper house MPs. Slowly but surely, the plan has unravelled as the keeper - the Game Council NSW - has become the hunted.
Two senior members of the council, installed to oversee the national parks shooting program, will appear in court in May charged with multiple offences, including hunting without permission, firing a firearm into inclosed land and possessing a prohibited weapon in a nature reserve. One of them is the chief executive of the Game Council, Greg McFarland. NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has suspended the national parks plan until the cases are resolved and a governance audit of the Game Council is complete.
He should be commended for this.
But now, the other of those men charged, Edward Hoogenboom, has admitted even he thinks shooting in national parks is a bad idea.
So does former vice-chairman of the Shooters and Fishers Party Jim Pirie, who fears a death would result in a crackdown on firearms and opportunities to hunt; never mind the grief of the family involved.
And this is where O'Farrell must step in. His job, unequivocally, is to act in the best interests of the people of NSW. The 79 national parks that shooters have in their sights are visited by more than 6 million people a year. Last year, more than 26,000 permissions were issued to hunt in state forests. That's a very compelling statistical imbalance.
O'Farrell should take advantage of the Game Council's difficulties and put an end to the plan entirely. On the other side of the deal with the Shooters Party and Christian Democrats is electricity privatisation. O'Farrell has already come up with an alternative plan to enact legislation for that - take it to the 2015 election - so there is no need to pander to the interests of minor-party upper house MPs.
On top of the charges laid against Hoogenboom and McFarland, the Greens have exposed almost a dozen examples of serious transgressions the Game Council has had to consider. These include licensed shooters being caught with prohibited firearms, using drugs and alcohol, trespassing on restricted land, illegal hunting in national parks, the use of cannabis while hunting illegally with dogs in a state forest and an unlicensed 17-year-old being allowed to shoot deer while supervised by his licensed father.
The Game Council's Hoogenboom says it best: ''National parks are for the public, the park users. There are other ways to control feral animals apart from just shooting them.''
And so say all of us.
Read here: It was a pig of a plan from the start: allowing amateur shooters into national parks because the NSW government's real agenda was being held hostage by a couple of minor-party upper house MPs. Slowly but surely, the plan has unravelled as the keeper - the Game Council NSW - has become the hunted.
Two senior members of the council, installed to oversee the national parks shooting program, will appear in court in May charged with multiple offences, including hunting without permission, firing a firearm into inclosed land and possessing a prohibited weapon in a nature reserve. One of them is the chief executive of the Game Council, Greg McFarland. NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has suspended the national parks plan until the cases are resolved and a governance audit of the Game Council is complete.
He should be commended for this.
But now, the other of those men charged, Edward Hoogenboom, has admitted even he thinks shooting in national parks is a bad idea.
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So does former vice-chairman of the Shooters and Fishers Party Jim Pirie, who fears a death would result in a crackdown on firearms and opportunities to hunt; never mind the grief of the family involved.
And this is where O'Farrell must step in. His job, unequivocally, is to act in the best interests of the people of NSW. The 79 national parks that shooters have in their sights are visited by more than 6 million people a year. Last year, more than 26,000 permissions were issued to hunt in state forests. That's a very compelling statistical imbalance.
O'Farrell should take advantage of the Game Council's difficulties and put an end to the plan entirely. On the other side of the deal with the Shooters Party and Christian Democrats is electricity privatisation. O'Farrell has already come up with an alternative plan to enact legislation for that - take it to the 2015 election - so there is no need to pander to the interests of minor-party upper house MPs.
On top of the charges laid against Hoogenboom and McFarland, the Greens have exposed almost a dozen examples of serious transgressions the Game Council has had to consider. These include licensed shooters being caught with prohibited firearms, using drugs and alcohol, trespassing on restricted land, illegal hunting in national parks, the use of cannabis while hunting illegally with dogs in a state forest and an unlicensed 17-year-old being allowed to shoot deer while supervised by his licensed father.
The Game Council's Hoogenboom says it best: ''National parks are for the public, the park users. There are other ways to control feral animals apart from just shooting them.''
And so say all of us.
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Hunting will occur in national parks with as little as 48 hours' notice, triggering fears the public will be oblivious to the presence of shooters until the first shot is fired.
The proposal has angered the state's bushwalkers, many of whom plan their trips months in advance, and has renewed calls for the plan to be scrapped.
The state government is drafting rules to allow amateurs to hunt feral animals in national parks.
Under the plan, signs alerting the public will be erected in parks and reserves as little as 48 hours before shooting is due to start.....
A leaked draft risk assessment produced by the Office of Environment and Heritage revealed there was a high risk of hunters and park visitors being injured or killed.
Justin McKee, the National Parks Association of NSW campaign co-ordinator, said it published bushwalk notifications up to three months in advance. He said the group would cancel planned walks once alerted to the presence of hunters, however "with a 48-hour notice period, it's a little bit difficult to get information out".
Mr McKee said the short notice called into question government claims the program was a form of pest control, adding "this is about blood sport".
A member of Game Council NSW who is facing criminal charges for allegedly taking part in illegal hunting expeditions says the government should abandon plans to open national parks to shooting.
The surprise admission by Edward Hoogenboom, a long-time Game Council volunteer, has highlighted a rift within hunting circles about whether allowing amateur hunters to cull feral animals in national parks is a good idea.
Some hunters, including former vice-chairman of the Shooters and Fishers Party Jim Pirie, fear a death - identified as a ''major risk'' by the Office of Environment and Heritage - could result in a crackdown on firearms and opportunities to hunt.
A poll commissioned by NSW state MP Alex Greenwich questioning the support of hunting in NSW National Parks showed 63.2 per cent of New South Wales residents opposed the decision, while 22.8 per cent were in favour.
"We’re worried, a lot of bushwalkers are," Bushwalking NSW President David Trinder told news.com.au.
"It’s a common conversation topic; bushwalkers are afraid that the native animals might be shot and that they’ll cop a stray bullet as well."
Fifty of the 77 designated hunting parks will not be supervised, and Greenwich is backing concerned citizens who feel their safety is at risk.
A KIAMA councillor has urged the state government to ban possible amateur recreational hunting from its national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas before 79 parks across the state enter a trial period this year.
Councillors have supported a notice of motion from councillor Andrew Sloan to write to Premier Barry O'Farrell, Minister for the Environment Robyn Parker and Member for Kiama Gareth Ward, asking for Kiama's parks and reserves to join 48 reserves already listed for exclusion.
Of the 779 reserves statewide, Morton National Park in the Wingecarribee Shire, which includes Fitzroy Falls, is one of the trial sites for amateur hunting, starting this year.
GAME Council employee Greg McFarland will face court in Cobar next month on alleged offences of trespassing and intends to plead not guilty, according to his solicitor David King-Christopher.
Just after 4pm Friday, Mr McFarland answered a knock on his door at his home in Orange and was handed a field court attendance notice by police, which outlined claims he trespassed on several properties in the Byrock and Cobar areas on December 27 and 28 last year.
Mr King-Christopher said he was bewildered by the court notices handed to his client yesterday, as they did not relate to the original claim of illegal hunting by Mr McFarland on December 28 last year.
These claims were the catalyst for his suspension from his role as acting chief executive officer of the NSW Game Council.
"These allegations are, in my opinion, unrelated to the reason my client was originally suspended on allegations of unlawfully killing an animal," Mr King-Christopher said.
Through his solicitor, Mr McFarland said he had tried to protect the NSW Government's reputation in what were unfounded allegations of illegal hunting of feral animals, with no evidence produced.
"However, if the NSW government insists on going through with this charade, then I feel I have done my best under the circumstances," he said. Mr McFarland said he was a public servant with an impeccable record who could not understand the NSW Government's determination to make him a scapegoat for the various issues relating to hunting in national parks.
McFarland was suspended on full pay by NSW Minister for Agriculture Katrina Hodgkinson in late January.
Two weeks ago Mr King-Christopher lodged an application to the Industrial Relations Commission on behalf of Mr McFarland, claiming his client had been unfairly treated by the NSW Game Council.
NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said on Saturday: "I have been informed of charges brought against a Game Council employee and a Game Council volunteer by NSW Police.
"The alleged behaviour which has led to these charges is disappointing.
"I can make no further comments as the matter is now before the courts."
The premier has announced a review of the governance, management and performance of the Game Council, the findings of which will be delivered by 31 May this year.
The man in charge of the body that oversees hunting in New South Wales' national parks has been charged with illegal hunting and trespassing.
NSW Game Council acting chief Greg McFarland and another man have been charged after police investigated claims two men trespassed onto a property near Mount Hope in western NSW and hunted illegally in December last year.
Fairfax Media in January reported that a goat was shot in the gut during the incident under investigation.
Killing an animal in this way contravenes the council's own guidelines on humane animal hunting.
Sixty six-year-old Mr McFarland is facing a raft of offences including hunting without permission, possessing a prohibited weapon in a nature reserve and firing a firearm onto enclosed lands.
Workers in national parks being opened to amateur shooters by the NSW government are demanding bright orange bulletproof vests for ''self defence''.
The union representing park workers is calling on the government to buy the vests for all employees who are potentially endangered by the hunting program and will write to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione seeking his consent.
''We think they should be issued at no expense to themselves or their agency in blaze orange so they are readily identifiable,'' said Geo Papas, an officer with the Public Service Association of NSW.
“Poll reveals majority oppose hunting in national parks”
The results of a Fairfax poll have been released today and show the majority of NSW residents do not support hunting in national parks.
“The results of this poll are a reminder to the Premier that his choice of actions around the hunting in national parks issue are politically motivated and do not serve the majority of NSW residents,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“No one disputes that there is a pest animal problem, but the Premier is failing to deal constructively with the issue. Recreational hunters have not achieved any real conservation gains through hunting in State Forest’s.
“We only expect the number of people against hunting in national parks to rise once the details of the program are reported far and wide, primarily because it will have little success in controlling pest animals.
“50 of the 77 parks where hunting will take place are designated as Zone C. The hunting in Zone C will not be supervised or strategic and it will have no impact on pest animals in those areas. This plan, endorsed by the Premier, facilitates the blood sport of hunting animals, not conservation.
“The Premier is regularly talking up the great successes of hunting programs in South Australia and Victoria in the media of late. These programs are far more sophisticated and regimented than what is planned for the majority of the NSW parks. He is not comparing like with like.
“Along with the Public Service Association of NSW, we are holding a rally to protest hunting in national parks at 12:30pm on the 18th of April 2013 outside of NSW Parliament House, Macquarie Street. This peaceful rally will highlight the impact of this poorly considered plan on families who use our national parks in our beautiful and scenic state,” concludes Mr Justin McKee.
A NSW Greens MP has revealed disturbing images of dead kangaroos and accused the state government of losing control of amateur hunting.
David Shoebridge's website shows at least 10 disemboweled kangaroos and a joey foetus found in Tallaganda State Forest, near the ACT.
"It is never legal for amateur hunters to kill native wildlife on public land, but with no one watching the increasing number of hunters in NSW these kinds of incidents are becoming more common," he said on the site.
"Now that people can see the reality of unsupervised hunting it is time for the premier to act and put a stop to his plans to let amateur hunters loose in national parks."
The discovery of the carcases of at least ten kangaroos including a joey in a state forest near Canberra has prompted new concerns about the NSW State Government's plan to allow recreational hunters into national parks.
News from New Zealand: Widow angry at hunting deaths inaction
Seven years after her husband's death at the hands of a fellow hunter, Bronwyn Gillies has continued to grieve as others are killed in the bush.
After Gillies' husband, William, was shot dead in the Hauhangaroa Ranges in 2005, coroner Wallace Bain recommended changes to the law that have still not been instituted.
This past week, another inquest was told that had those recommendations been acted on, James Dodds' life could have been saved.
Dodds was killed in the Waikite Valley in September by a fellow hunter in very similar circumstances to William Gillies - a partially (and wrongly) identified target shot while out of sight of his hunting partner.
"It makes me really angry," Bronwyn Gillies said from her Taupo home.
With his opponents in historic turmoil, Barry O'Farrell talks to Quentin Dempster about his looming two-year anniversary in office, the challenges he faces, and sharing power with the Upper House.
Note: The issue of hunting in national parks is discussed at 2:27mins
Note: Recreational hunting ALREADY OCCURS in NSW STATE FORESTS
News from Western Australia: New MP wants forests opened for hunting
The first man to be elected to Parliament for the Shooters and Fishers Party says he will campaign to allow hunting in state forests.
Retired real estate agent Rick Mazza has won a seat in the Legislative Council's agricultural region.
Hunters are currently restricted to shooting feral animals on private land with the owner's permission.
Mr Mazza has told the ABC's 730WA program he will push for them to have access to state forests.
"It assists the environment with conservation hunting in removing pest animals such as cats, foxes and rabbits which we don't want in our forests," he said.
"But secondly, a lot of people do take an interest in hunting say wild pigs or goats or rabbits and processing those animals to the table, rather than relying on a supermarket. So it's also a great community resource."
The Shooters and Fishers Party will also campaign for the State Government to back its call for a moratorium on new marine parks.
Mr Mazza says recreational fishers in Western Australia will be severely restricted by a number of federal marine reserves due to come into effect next year.
He says he will ask the State Government to help him lobby against them.
"Particularly the Rottnest Trench and I think there's a couple in Geographe Bay they're proposing as well," he said.
"No fisherman worth his salt wants to see fish stocks decline. But we believe there's other ways without banning people.
"Whether it's restocking, whether it's rotational closures or seasons. There's other ways to manage the fish stock without excluding fishermen."
As the controversy over the decision to allow recreational shooters to hunt in national parks rages, Illawarra residents have held two rallies to fight the move.
About 50 residents and members of the National Parks Association Illawarra branch gathered at Bulli Beach on March 3, with placards saying "Not Happy Barry, No Hunting in National Parks". The branch hosted the NPA state council meeting in Bulli.
About 150 branch members also gathered outside Kiama MP Gareth Ward's office last month to highlight their argument.
NPA campaign co-ordinator Justin McKee said they wanted the legislation abolished and the state government should stand up and represent the electorate.
"No-one wants to see injuries or fatalities as a result of recreational hunting in national parks," he said.
No hunting will be allowed in the closest national park to the Illawarra, the Royal National Park, but it will be permitted in Morton National Park, west of Nowra.
The government has put on hold the introduction of hunting in national parks until at least June, while it conducts a review of the Game Council.
NPA Illawarra branch president Graham Burgess said the move was "a stay of execution", but there was an ongoing lack of detail about how recreational shooting would be managed.
"It's not a logical program, the evidence in our minds is stacked against it. It's really about recreational shooters shooting to appease the Shooters and Fishers Party," he said.
"It's not about a proper, scientifically managed [feral animal] control program."
He said the move was the tip of the iceberg and in future could result in more national parks being open to shooters.
News from New Zealand: Hunting death could be prevented
Bay of Plenty Corner Wallace Bain is calling for amendments to the New Zealand Firearms Code following an inquest into the death of 30-year-old James Dodds.
The Rotorua man was fatally shot by his hunting partner Henry Worsp while the pair were out hunting in the Waikete Valley south of Rotorua on September 7, 2012.
Worsp, 36, was sentenced to six months’ home detention in the Rotorua District Court this year after earlier pleading guilty to careless use of a firearm resulting in death. He was also sentenced to 250 hours’ community work.
The two men split up a short time after entering the bush on September 7 when Worsp mistakenly took his partner for a deer.
In a report released today Coroner Bain recommended the New Zealand Firearms Safety Code be amended so hunting companions cease to hunt once separated and not resume until full visual sight is confirmed.
Hunters slay 3,500 reindeer on island near Antarctica
Hunters have slaughtered 3,500 reindeer on a British island near Antarctica in a step to get rid of animals that were brought from Norway a century ago and are an increasing threat to native wildlife.
The reindeer on South Georgia were corralled into pens and slaughtered by a 16-strong team, mostly Sami reindeer herders from Norway, officials said on Monday. Marksmen shot animals in remote areas with rifles.
Up to 1,500 reindeer remain for a final cull in 2014.
AROUND 200 protestors joined today’s “No Hunting in National Parks” rally in Ayres Walkway, Bega.
The rally was a sedate, controlled affair as local residents and visitors vented their views on the State Government’s proposal to allow recreational hunting in national parks.
The event was emceed by Richard Barcham, one of the rally’s organisers.
Mr Barcham opened by saying the event was the “tools of citizens’ action for NSW Parliament to overturn a bad decision”.
Mr Barcham had a message for NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, saying he must work with Parliament to repeal unsupervised hunting in national parks.
The first guest speaker was Kim Taysom, vice-president of the National Parks Association Far South Coast.
Mr Taysom said recreational hunting was “not compatible” to the values and culture of national parks.
WHILE organisers of today’s “No Hunting in National Parks” rally are promoting a peaceful protest, it seems at least one supporter of the cause isn’t playing so nice.
Bega resident and secretary of the Bega Valley Traditional Archers Garry Mallard awoke Wednesday morning to find an offensive sign hung on his front fence reading “Perverts kill animals for fun”.
Even more appalling is there is a school bus stop just adjacent to Mr Mallard’s front entrance.
THE “No Hunting in National Parks” rally crosses party political lines, say the organisers of the rally to be held in Bega.
The organisers of the No Hunting in National Parks rally and march in Bega on Friday have decided to have no formal speakers on behalf of political parties at the rally.
Organisers say this is an issue that crosses party political boundaries. Rally organiser Paul Farrell said, “This is an opportunity for the community to speak.”
A community rally and march protesting laws introducing hunting to NSW national parks has presented a letter to the Member for Bega, Andrew Constance, asking support for the new laws to be repealed before hunting begins. The hunting program will be administered by Game Council NSW. The introduction of the program has been delayed until a review into the operation of Game Council NSW is completed.
THE Shooters and Fishers Party has scored another goal, with Barry O'Farrell more than doubling their electoral funding, in a bid to secure their vote in the upper house.
This comes after the Premier recently delayed the start of the hunting in national parks program.
As part of the deal brokered with Mr O'Farrell to sell the electricity generators last year, the minor party were promised an inquiry into the administrative funding of minor parties.
Mr O'Farrell introduced legislation into Parliament yesterday.
Eddie Obeid's claims to a corruption inquiry that he played no part in his family's business interests have been contradicted by his private diaries, which list scores of meetings with Sydney's most influential people, some of whom did deals with companies tied to the former Labor minister's family.....
Mr Dunn, who features regularly in Mr Obeid's diary, is the former chief executive of NSW Maritime. Mr Dunn later attended meetings with Mr Dalah and planning minister Tony Kelly in an attempt to develop a huge marina in picturesque Elizabeth Bay.
Premier Barry O'Farrell recently appointed Mr Dunn to conduct a review of the Game Council.
There are concerns that motorists on the New South Wales south coast could be in the firing line under the State Government's plan to allow hunting in national parks.
The Greens have obtained a leaked document showing an area of the South East Forests National Park which straddles the Princes Highway has been designated "zone C".
This would mean unsupervised hunting would be allowed in that part of the park.
WIRES NSW is alarmed that the controversial decision that allows recreational hunting in our National Parks is already having a detrimental effect on our native animals. The number of incidents being reported prior to the program starting has the organisation painting a bleak picture for the future.
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“National Parks have been established as sites for preservation and protection of native wildlife and habitat. This protection for our native animals came to a crashing end as soon as the recreational hunting program to control of feral species was announced”, general manager of NSW WIRES Leanne Taylor said.
“While the Government and other stakeholders continue to argue about the management of such a program, from our experience, it would unfortunately appear that the hunting has already begun!
“WIRES’ is seeing an increase in reports of fatal and non-fatal injuries by firearms to native species since the announcement of this decision. The non-fatal cases resulting in prolonged pain, suffering and eventually death,” Ms Taylor said.
The chairman of a Central West Farmers Association council has told the Premier Barry O'Farrell to stay out of pest management issues.
The state government has put on a hold a plan to allow hunting in nearly 80 parks across New South Wales, including the Warrumbungle and Gouburn River National Parks.
It is hoped the scheme will help control feral animals in conservation areas, but Mudgee District Farmers Association Council chairman Mitchell Clapham says species, like wild dogs, are notoriously difficult to catch.
He says shooters will probably scare the dogs off, potentially pushing them into areas where they're not an issue for landholders.
"It's a bit like me, as a farmer, going down to help Barry O'Farrell run his office," he said.
"All I would do is get in the way, and that's what he is doing by allowing the sporting shooters into the national parks.
"The end result for us will be more losses of stock with wild dogs in the end."
The Game Council's CEO has told the ABC licenced hunters have an important role to play in feral animal management.
But Mr Clapham says the Council is dreaming to think hunting in national parks will help eradicate wild dogs.
"Ninety nine per cent of the dogs will hear and smell the person before they get within cooee," he said.
"Even when we have a problem, we bait. And if we don't get the dog we'll call a trapper in and the trapper will have to spend a few days to study the animal's patterns, before he'll even put a trap in the ground.
"Just to think you're going to wander in a national park and help eradicate wild dogs is just Alice in Wonderland stuff."
The amateurs who will cull feral animals in national parks under the O'Farrell government's delayed deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party are meant to be licensed. The party's Robert Brown has told the upper house that licensees are ''as the shooter's licence says, persons of good repute. I carry [a licence] in my wallet and it says I am a person of good repute''.
The citizens of NSW have to take Brown on trust. They also have to trust that the licence issuer, the Game Council, has the procedures, resources and most of all the will to police them. What's more, the public has to trust unlicensed hunters not to see the amateur culling plan as a green light to move in.
When public safety is at risk, mere trust is not a sufficient safeguard, especially when the council is both regulator and promoter of game hunting. That affront to good governance is reason enough for the NSW government to dump the plan immediately.
When the results of an external inquiry into the council emerge in May, they should provide even more reason to remove its regulatory role altogether. Business regulators cannot be monopolies selling a product for profit. Anti-doping agencies cannot promote sports dietary supplements.
Yet the council's legislation says it must ''represent the interests of licensed, responsible game hunters'' and ''have regard to public safety''. Without sufficient independent oversight, the council has always been susceptible to manipulation to shift the balance in one direction. It is a slight on both main parties in NSW for allowing it to happen.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption has warned for decades that ''the perception of a conflict of interests'' within regulatory bodies ''can be as damaging as an actual conflict, because it undermines public confidence in the integrity of the organisation''.
In practice the council's twin goals validate game hunting culture while also creating a conflict with public safety in the form of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Brown has attacked the NPWS in Parliament while applauding the council's expertise and policing record in state forests. ''There has been not one issue of public safety,'' Brown said in September. ''What a record!''
Despite having few staff, the council figured heavily in regulatory measures outlined in the original risk assessment for the amateur culling in national parks plan.
With a growing backlash, a supplementary risk assessment from the Office of Environment and Heritage last month proposed three zones with increasing levels of safeguards. ''Enforcement of hunting regulations'' was urged for the 14 per cent of all firearms users who hold ''R licences'' issued by the council for recreational hunting/vermin control. It was recommended the NPWS should have more power over how licensees could hunt.
On illegal hunting, the assessment cited cases of dangerous behaviour and proposed a joint NPWS-council enforcement strategy to counter the ''very small minority of individuals [who] choose to behave illegally and irresponsibly''.
But the most alarming part was the assessment on how hunting culture conflicted with the NPWS: ''While many hunters will be willing to do the right thing … they may not always have a good understanding of the key roles of NSW national parks, in particular their significant conservation values, visitation, commercial priorities and dealings with neighbours''. The proposed solution involved better education of hunters.
Citizens are entitled to ask whether hunters will ever accept what the assessment calls the ''values and history and culture of national parks'', let alone joint responsibility for protecting non-shooters. The public would have to trust the council to change the culture, as well as its incident reporting procedures, management, and its ability to be both regulator and promoter. The risk is too great. The Premier should end this politically driven proposal before it further erodes confidence in government and threatens public safety.
Plans to allow hunters into national parks will again be debated in NSW parliament after the government was presented with a petition of more than 10,000 signatures.
Amateur shooters will be allowed into 77 national parks later this year as part of a deal Premier Barry O'Farrell struck with the Shooters and Fisher Party in exchange for their support of his power privatisation.
Speaking outside parliament on Thursday, National Parks Association of NSW CEO Kevin Evans said another 100,000 people had signed online petitions.
"The overwhelming support for the campaign is compelling," he told reporters.
A petition opposing hunting in New South Wales national parks has been delivered to State Parliament.
Around 10,000 signatures have been collected by the National Parks Association in an effort to reverse the Government's decision to allow hunting in parks as part of a pest eradication program.
National Parks Association chief executive Kevin Evans says more than 100,000 online submissions have also been received from people across the state.
He says the broader community is worried about the risk to public safety.
"Our petition that we have tabled today for the people's parliament is a result of the support we've got from the broader community," he said.
"Essentially they are not just conservationists, we have 18 branches throughout our state.
"These petitions have come thick and fast from all parts of New South Wales."
Mr Evans says he is confident the petition will make a difference.
"Ultimately we vote for the government of the day and overwhelmingly the people of New South Wales are in opposition to this new piece of legislation," he said.
Pressure is mounting on the Game Council as the National Parks Association of NSW delivered a No Hunting in National Parks petition to the NSW Parliament today.
The Game Council's acting head Greg Macfarland was suspended in January after it was revealed police were investigating him for alleged animal cruelty and illegal hunting over the killing of a feral goat.
In late February, the Premier told Parliament that an internal investigation had been completed and handed to police and Mr Macfarland will remain suspended.
Licensed shooters have been caught with prohibited firearms, using drugs and alcohol, and trespassing on restricted land, official reports reveal, as the NSW government prepares to expand amateur hunting of feral animals into national parks.
Documents released under freedom of information laws describe almost a dozen examples of serious transgressions last year that were considered by the Game Council NSW, which is responsible for issuing hunting licences.
In one case a licensed hunter was caught drunk behind the wheel of his vehicle in a state forest last July, while his passenger shot a semi-automatic rifle out of the window at night, using a laser sight and a prohibited silencer.
Documents obtained by the New South Wales Greens reveal that nearly a dozen licensed hunters have been caught hunting on public land while either drunk, or in possession of drugs or illegal weapons.
The minutes of the Game Council meetings detail cases of hunters breaking the law or the terms of their licenses in state forests last year.
In one case, a licensed hunter was charged by police for drink-driving through a state forest while his passenger used a semi-automatic weapon illegally fitted with a silencer to shoot out of the vehicle.
Greens MP David Shoebridge says it is further proof the Game Council is not fit to oversee hunting on public land, especially in National Parks.
"They are hunting all day with firearms," he said.
The managers of this website note this article is full of misinformed statements from the Member for Myall Lakes.
"Hunting to eradicate pests desperately needed"
Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead says that whilst the plan to allow hunters into national parks was on hold he still believed in the policy.
“Hunting in parks and reserves has been going on for decades and over 24,000 feral animals have been shot and killed,” Mr Bromhead said.
Mr Bromhead assured people that the government’s implementation of the plan would ensure the safety of park users and staff.
I write to highlight the gross inaccuracies within comments made by the Member for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead in the article 'Hunting to eradicate pests desperately needed' (6/3).
The government has placed recreational hunting in national parks under the title: 'Supplementary Pest Control Program'. Unfortunately, there is no program in Myall Lakes, there is therefore nothing to 'supplement'.
Re: "The protocols being put in place will ensure that there will be no shooting while people are in the park".
This comment is utterly false. There are three types of zones possible in the national parks where the progam will take place. Zone A, B and C. In Zone C it's a free for all, ?roam about among the other users? situation.
Re: "I know there is a huge problem with feral dogs"
In the year 2011/2012 the 17,946 recreational hunters licensed by the Game Council of NSW managed to cull a grand total of 90 dogs. NINETY!
Re: "Hunters, whether they are professional or not, all undertake the same courses and are subject to the same licensing requirements"
Wrong! There are varying licenses that permit the killing of animals in NSW.
Re: "The 'No Hunting in National Parks' campaign being driven by a coalition of environmental and conservation groups"
Wrong again! Bushwalking groups, gun clubs, tourism operators, scientists, animal welfare interest groups, religions groups, ethnic groups, sports clubs and many, many, many more groups have driven the singular voice across the state to get rid of this program.
Re: "We believe that hunting can greatly enhance pest eradication strategy and that has always been the policy of the Nationals"
The National need to seriously rethink its policy!
Firstly, there is no science anywhere to show that recreational hunting in NSW State Forests has had any impact on any single pest animal population. There is none. Zero. Ziltch!
In 2011/2012 a total of 24,982 Written Permissions were issues for hunting in declared State Forests in NSW. A total of 18,485 game and feral animals were removed from declared State Forests. That means there is a grand total of 0.74 of a feral animal being killed each hunting trip. Not much of a result really is it?
All of this absolutely ineffective, dangerous political shenanigans designed especially for the Shooters and Fishers Party and absolutely no other reason, will cost us tax payers a minimum of $19.1million over the next five years!
If you think that all sounds a bit wrong write to, phone or visit Mr Bromfield and tell him so! He's elected to represent the interests of his electorate, not the Shooters and Fishers Party!
MORE than 20,000 people climb Pigeon House Mountain every year and thousands more walk and camp in national parks and reserves west of Milton.
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With the state government proposing to allow hunting in national parks, including Morton National Park, there have been renewed calls for popular areas to be off limits to shooters.
The plan was last week deferred by Premier Barry O’Farrell, pending a review of governing body the NSW Game Council, and conservation groups are demanding hunting in national parks to be taken off the agenda once and for all.
Members of the Milton branch of the National Parks Association (NPA) fear the introduction of shooting will turn people, including thousands of tourists, away from local parks and want the plan scrapped.
THERE are claims hundreds of children as young as 12 who have been shooting feral animals on public land in NSW since 2002 have been doing so illegally, raising fresh concerns about the capacity of the NSW Game Council to supervise a new program of amateur hunting in national parks.
The NSW Coalition government is so concerned over the suggestions, Police Minister Mike Gallacher yesterday sought urgent advice from NSW police on whether junior hunting permits, which are issued by the council under the game act, are in contravention of the firearms act.
If this is the case, minors between 12 and 18 have been exposed to potential criminal charges that carry sentences of up to five years' detention.
Such a result would compound the Game Council's problems less than a week after NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the organisation would be subjected to a full review to ensure "appropriate governance".
According to the NSW firearms act, minors may possess or use a gun only "for the purpose of receiving instruction in the safe use of the firearm, or competing in such events as are approved by the NSW police commissioner".
NSW upper house Greens MP David Shoebridge said last night: "The issuing of junior permits would appear on the face of it to be a blatant contravention of the firearms act."
However, a spokesman for Mr Gallacher said: "The advice from police is that the Game Council can issue a restricted licence to a minor's permit holder for the purposes of receiving instruction under the supervision of a fully qualified adult.
"The minister takes the firearms act to intend a minor's permit should only be used for training purposes, not recreational purposes."
The review of the Game Council followed revelations the suspended acting head of the organisation, Greg McFarland, was being investigated by police over an alleged illegal hunting incident last year near Cobar, in central western NSW.
The review means a controversial plan to extend to 79 national parks the amateur hunting program that exists in state forests and is supervised by the Game Council has been put on hold.
Last year alone, the council issued more than 400 junior permits, which allow minors accompanied by an adult to hunt for feral animals using guns, bows or dogs.
Mr Shoebridge, who opposes amateur hunting in national parks, called on Mr O'Farrell to order the council to cease issuing the permits immediately.
"The Game Council is meant to be a statutory authority, but this latest revelation proves that it is little more than a taxpayer-funded hunting lobby group with minimal understanding of the law," he said. "When children are out hunting in state forests, they are there for the purpose of killing animals, not for instruction. That means they are almost certainly breaking the law.
"Putting the Game Council in charge of hunting is like putting a fox in charge of a hen house."
A spokeswoman for the council said the game act did not override the firearms act.
The Australian newspaper has reported shocking news that the Game Council been licensing children to hunt on public land, and most are illegally hunting with firearms.
“Given the Game Council’s struggle to demonstrate it can manage its current portfolio in a lawful manner, it cannot be expected to assist managing a hunting program within national parks in any responsible fashion,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“This is an amateur group running the agenda for amateur hunters who want unrestricted access to public lands, to see gun controls weakened and to see children learning how to hunt with guns in public places.
“If today’s report is true, the Game Council is guilty of exposing children as young as 12 years old to possible criminal prosecutions for unlawfully hunting with firearms.
“The only good thing the Premier has done on the issue of recreational hunting in national parks is announce a review of the Game Council. It won’t survive if the review is thorough and just.
“In the interest of transparency, the Game Council should be rebranded the ‘Department of the Shooting Party’ and the Coalition’s ‘Supplementary Pest Control Program’ rebranded the ‘Recreational Hunting in National Parks Program’.
“There are plenty of options at the Premier’s disposal for putting the management of pest animals back in the hands of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and for disassembling the Game Council,” concludes Mr McKee.
Media contact
Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW: 0404 824 020
CHILDREN as young as 12 who have been shooting feral animals on public land for more than a decade have been doing it legally, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says.
Children as young as 12 can shoot feral animals on public land, Premier Barry O'Farrell says. AAP
The Games Council has issued junior hunting permits since 2002 but concerns have been raised that these permits could contravene the Firearms Act, which states children can only use a gun for the purposes of instruction.
Critics say this means minors could face potential criminal charges carrying sentences of up to five years' detention.
But Mr O'Farrell on Tuesday said he had spoken to NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher, who "has made clear there are no concerns about that".
The Member for Bega, Andrew Constance, on the New South Wales far south coast is not saying whether public pressure has influenced a State Government decision to put hunting in national parks on hold.
The halt was announced after a senior Game Council member was accused of inhumanely killing a goat.
The government will conduct a review into the Council, which would have been responsible for approving national park hunting licences.
Mr Constance says the issue is difficult and the government is listening to all sides of the debate.
“There's nothing sinister in that,” he said.
“It's being done sensibly and methodically and the Environment Minister's going to do that and we won't be deploying any program until that work is complete.
“And that was the decision made before this report was handed to the Premier in relation to the Game Council.”
THE trigger has jammed on the controversial plan to allow hunting in national parks from March 1, a development welcomed by Shoalhaven Greens councillor Amanda Findley.
The Premier called a halt to the introduction of hunting in national parks, ordering a review into the organisation overseeing it, after initial investigations found evidence suggesting an employee was engaged in illegal activity.
He told Parliament on Thursday he had ordered the review of governance at the Game Council NSW after an investigation into alleged illegal hunting by two of its senior employees on a property in outback NSW.
CHRIS Barrett has been shooting for more than 25years.
The Thornton gun shop owner and NSW Firearms Dealers Association president has also been hunting many times on public lands since the former Labor government began opening up state forests to recreational shooters in 2006. Many people don’t comprehend the attraction of the activity that for him is a sport and a business pursuit. Some find it repugnant.
‘‘An accountant of mine some years ago said to me ‘was I not concerned about selling firearms to people because of what they might do with them?’’
MYALL Lakes National Park would be opened to recreational shooters even though the National Parks and Wildlife Service doesn't feel the need to shoot feral animals there.
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A draft Hunter pest control management strategy for 2012-15 says "isolated individual" feral pigs had been spotted and there were feral horses in the Nerong area of the park.
But horses could be managed using stock handling techniques that were "passive, humane and effective".
Wild dogs were a problem, but were dealt with using baiting programs.
National Parks Association co-ordinator Justin McKee said the government should scrap the plan to let amateur hunters into 79 parks, and instead invest in professionals to properly eradicate pests if controls were needed.
The problem of lead in the general population has improved wherever lead has been removed from petrol. But there are other sources such as lead in paint, lead mining and lead smelting. Another source is tailings waste and lead batteries. Even lead in bullets is a source of toxicity. It arises from bullets in the environment, and in plumes created when bullets are shot.
"The Southern Sydney branch of the National Parks Association of NSW welcomes the delay to the introduction of hunting in NSW national parks, as announced by the Premier on Thursday, and is pleased that there will be an inquiry into the affairs of the Game Council.
We trust that this inquiry will be detailed, open and transparent. Too much taxpayer money appears to have been spent for blatant political posturing and now it is time to call the entire organisation to account.
The suspension of the Game Council's acting chief executive Greg McFarland for alleged illegal hunting and animal cruelty provided a circuit breaker for the government and an opportunity to be rid of an unwise and unfortunate deal. I now ask that the government acts, stops hunting in any national park or nature reserve and returns to its own long history of establishing and supporting a robust and effective national park system within NSW."
Brian Everingham President, National Parks Association of NSW, Southern Sydney Branc
"Time for feral culling in the Game Council, Premier O'Farrell."
Anti-gun lobbyists say new legislation allowing hunting in New South Wales national parks is part of a creeping campaign to ingrain a US-style community acceptance of gun culture. Those opposing the laws welcome the government's decision to put on hold the implementation, but they're still concerned about what they believe is the ultimate agenda - to establish guns and shooting as an Australian way of life.
THE Premier has called a halt to the introduction of hunting in national parks, ordering a review into the organisation overseeing it, after initial investigations found evidence suggesting an employee was engaged in illegal activity.
Barry O'Farrell told Parliament on Thursday he had ordered the review of governance at the Game Council NSW after an investigation into alleged illegal hunting by two of its senior employees on a property in outback NSW.
The introduction of hunting in national parks now has been delayed until at least June. Opponents called for the plan to be scrapped.
The New South Wales Game Council says it believes a review of its operations will leave the state's Premier and the public more confident about its ability to oversee hunting in national parks.
But critics says the review and the delay in hunting that goes with it is a stunt to take the heat away from the issue.
Yesterday Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the start of hunting in 79 national parks, nature reserves and conservation areas would be put on hold for several more months while a review examines concerns at how the Game Council is run.
The announcement followed an internal investigation report handed to the State Government about allegations a senior Game Council member inhumanely killed a feral goat.
The review is due to be completed at the end of May.
Game Council chairman John Mumford concedes the body has struggled to convince the public of its ability to oversee the national park hunting program, but he says he hopes the review will change that.
"When the Premier gets this report, that will actually make him far more confident in our ability to deliver hunting in national parks than what he may be now," he said.
"(It will) give the people of NSW confidence that we can deliver this program safely and effectively."
Justin McKee from the National Parks Association has welcomed the review and the pause on hunting, but is also suspicious of the Government's timing.
"We're in a federal election cycle that is touted to be potentially won in western Sydney," Mr McKee said.
"This is the most unpopular topic for NSW, it's grossly embarrassing for the O'Farrell Government. Of course it's a convenient time to put a pause on this."
The review has not changed any minds within the Opposition or the Greens.
"There is a concern that this is an inquiry established to take the heat off the Government on a point where it's clearly bleeding," Greens MP David Shoebridge said.
"Don't just suspend it. End it, kill it off completely," Opposition spokesman Luke Foley said.
IT’S prompted outcry from animal activities and been labelled irresponsible by the Opposition.
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Yet the state government’s proposed changes to hunting regulations in national parks have been welcomed with open arms by a local firearm salesman and a keen licensed shooter.
The NSW Environment Minister, Robyn Parker, has been given the task overseeing the preparation of an assessment that will likely deem as many as 77 national parks open for hunters of feral animals as of May.
One of those 77 areas, Morton National Park, is within close confines of Goulburn.
THE NSW government has halted plans to allow hunting in the state's national parks and launched an investigation into the NSW Game Council, following claims of illegal hunting by a council employee.
Last week, the Game Council's acting chief executive Greg McFarland was suspended on allegations of illegal hunting and animal cruelty.
Police are currently investigating the allegations against Mr McFarland.
On Thursday, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the government had enlisted Director General of NSW Fisheries Steve Dunn to carry out a review of the Game Council's governance.
He also announced the government's hunting program, which would allow hunting in the state's national parks as part of pest eradication, would be put on hold until the review was completed.
"Our actions in initiating this governance review again confirms the paramountcy of safety as we implement in NSW the type of pest eradication program conducted successfully for many years in SA and Victoria," he told state parliament during question time on Thursday.
The review will investigate services performed by the Game Council, examine its performance, structure and staff capabilities and look at the company's finances and administration.
Mr Dunn will be required to make recommendations about the Council's management, administration, organisation and operations.
The recommendations will be provided to the government by the end of May.
A report on the incident has already been presented to the government but Mr O'Farrell told parliament it will not be released due to an "ongoing police investigation and the possibility of charges being laid".
A second Game Council employee was also suspended but was later cleared of the allegations.
The Premier of NSW has announced the Government's 'Supplementary Pest Control Program' will be halted until an investigation of the Game Council is complete. The National Parks Association of NSW says the temporary pause is not enough.
"The Premier hitting the pause button during a federal election campaign is not enough. We need to see a definitive end to recreational hunting in NSW before more taxpayer money is spent or a life is lost," says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW
"The program puts parks staff and the millions of park users at risk. A review of the Game Council won't take that very real threat away.
"We doubt the Game Council will hold up to a substantial review. A previous CEO claimed it was nothing more than a deeply flawed, quasi-gift to the Shooters Party. The government should shift its focus on reducing illegal hunting in State Forests, not extending free-for-all access for shooters in national parks.
"The recreational hunting program is unpopular, unsafe, unprofessional and will cost us $19 million over the next five years. There is nothing about this program that is good for NSW and it certainly won't help the Minister for Environment increase visitor numbers and make national parks more economically viable.
"The Premier must represent the NSW electorate on this issue and repeal the legislation that allowed this politically driven hunting program to go ahead," concludes Mr McKee.
PLANS to allow hunting in NSW's national parks have been put on hold following revelations that charges could be laid against a member of the NSW Game Council.
Premier Barry O'Farrell told NSW parliament on Thursday he had received a report into allegations against the Game Council's acting chief executive Greg McFarland.
He's been suspended over allegations of illegal hunting, trespassing and the inhumane killing of a feral goat in central NSW.
Mr O'Farrell said he would not make the report public because of an "ongoing police investigation and the possibility of charges being laid".
HUNTERS would be allowed to use silencers on their guns while shooting feral animals in national parks to minimise the disturbance to other users under plans being developed by the state government.
The proposal, part of a leaked draft risk assessment report, would require a significant loosening of the prohibition on the use of silencers in NSW, which is designed to prevent them falling into criminal hands.
But the revelation has drawn strong opposition from the Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, who was not consulted about the plan and says he does not want existing restrictions to change.
Justin McKee, the campaign co-ordinator with the National Parks Association of NSW, said silencers were a safety risk because they removed people's awareness that hunting was taking place nearby. ''If people can't hear it, they don't know it's going on,'' he said
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has denied hunters will be allowed to use silencers on guns when shooting feral animals in the state's national parks.
Fairfax Media reported the proposal, which was leaked in a draft assessment report, would require loosening the state's prohibition on silencers, a ban designed to stop them falling into criminal hands.
RANGERS should wear high visibility clothing to avoid being shot once hunting is allowed in NSW national parks, a leaked state government document says.
The document obtained by the state opposition also says a "zoning system" to separate hunters from other park users is being considered, which would dramatically reduce public access in some areas.
The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage document says amateur hunters will have unsupervised access to more than half the land covered by national parks in NSW, opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley told reporters on Monday.
It identifies a medium risk that serious injury will occur under new laws allowing recreational hunters to shoot feral animals in some parks, downgrading an earlier draft assessment that identified a "high risk" of a bullet or arrow causing death or serious injury.
Mr Foley said the plan to open up 63 per cent of national park land to amateur hunters was bad policy.
"(In) the overwhelming percentage of land that's to be opened up amateur hunters, the hunters will be unsupervised," he told reporters.
"Shooters will be left unsupervised in a grossly irresponsible act by the government."
He said the most recent draft risk assessment revealed that park rangers would be forced to wear high visibility gear to reduce the risk of being shot at work.
The document also advises a system of zoning to physically separate park users and hunters as a safety measure.
It estimates that zoning will cut the number of visitors in areas where hunting will take place from five million to no more than 100,000.
Mr Foley said the draft assessment showed that rotting dead animals near campsites would deter visitors and carcasses would be left to fester in water, possibly contaminating streams.
He also said that hunters leaving litter in national parks would add to the risk of bushfires.
THE O'Farrell government's plan to allow hunting in national parks will result in vital police resources being diverted from tackling gun crime in Sydney, the NSW opposition says.
Police will be deployed to manage potentially dangerous confrontations between hunters and bushwalkers when the controversial legislation comes into force, a leaked document has revealed.
The document from the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) said the confrontations would likely pose a "major" risk because of "the potential for firearms discharge to occur".
Police will be deployed to deal with ''aggressive confrontations'' between hunters and members of the public when national parks are opened to hunting.
In the first sign the state government has reacted to the level of anger in sections of the community over shooting in parks, it has drawn up plans to counter expected protests.
They include concealing the identity of hunters for their own safety, teaching hunters how to deal with ''hostile'' protesters and education programs aimed at conveying the ''benefits of hunting for pest control'' to the wider public.
MEDIA RELEASE from the National Parks Association of NSW
23rd Feb 2013
"Member has 19m reasons to say no!"
Today, residents called on the Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward to say "No!" to hunting in national parks at a protest rally outside his office. Announcements that the Government's 'Conservation Pest Control Program' will cost taxpayers an extra $19m, has the community outraged.
"Residents are irritated with the Premier and the Coalition for not representing their electorate on the hunting in national parks issue," says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
"Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward had every opportunity to speak at this rally. By declining this invitation, he sends a message that he would prefer to support the Shooters and Fishers Party agenda, and, not the views of his electorate.
"With the Minister for the Environment announcing the Coalition Government will invest $19m into this program, the rage from the community has grown. These funds are in addition to the $2.5m grant money the Game Council of NSW receives annually.
"No one is fooled that this program has anything to do with 'conservation'. This is an agenda item of the Shooters and Fishers Party to gain access to hunt, and they won't stop at access to 77 national parks. We've seen that with State Forests.
"Recreational hunters represent less than one percent of the population and have access to 2.2 million hectares of State Forest's to hunt. You have to ask yourself, how much public land do they actually need?
"It is clear that residents do not want to see recreational hunting in Morton National Park. It is a very popular destination for local residents, bush walking leaders and tourists.
"Residents want to see the Member for Kiama stand against the premier on this one, let's hope he finds the courage to do so!" says Mr. McKee.
Speakers at the rally included Helen George from WIRES and John Levatt, Milton Branch of the National Parks Association of NSW.
Media Contacts:
Justin McKee ? National Parks Association of NSW: 0404 824 020
The phrase ''blood on your hands'' entered Australian political history in 1983 when the journalist Richard Carleton took the new federal opposition leader, Bob Hawke, to task over the knifing of his predecessor, Bill Hayden.
As his government's tortured negotiations to honour a deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party to open 77 national parks and reserves to amateur hunters continue, there are warnings that Barry O'Farrell will end up similarly accused - without the need for a metaphorical flourish.
The Premier is being told by his political opponents and infuriated members of the public that he will be held personally responsible if a bushwalker or hunter is killed or seriously injured as a result of his policy change.
The New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell says people should pause and take a breath until they see the details of the controversial plan to allow hunting in national parks.
The arrangement, struck with the Shooters Party, was due to start next month but it has been delayed indefinitely.
The State Environment Minister Robyn Parker says it is because she says she wants to get it right.
She says the risk assessment process is still underway.
Jim Pirie makes it clear that he is not anti-hunting and not a greenie, but the former vice-chairman of the Shooters Party is firmly opposed to the introduction of hunting in NSW national parks. He says the proposal is all about politics. He says it is dangerous to have people shooting in a park that is a public place. He says that shooting as a feral animal control measure is viable but should be under the supervision of a well funded National Parks and Wildlife service.
THE deal between the NSW government and the Shooters and Fishers Party to allow hunting of feral animals in the state's national parks is set to cost taxpayers at least an extra $19 million.
The Environment Minister, Robyn Parker, will today announce the funding over five years to ensure the controversial program is ''properly resourced''.
The money will go towards an additional 14 regional National Parks and Wildlife Service co-ordinators, new safety and regulatory signs in parks, training of staff and education programs for shooters who want to participate.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell should resign if someone is shot when the state's national parks are opened up to hunting, the NSW opposition says.
It says parents should "lock up their children" if the April school holidays usher in a new era of shooters sharing national parks with bushwalkers.
"Given that you are pressing ahead, despite strong warnings from your government's own risk assessment, will you resign if the unthinkable happens and someone is shot?" Opposition Leader John Robertson asked the premier during question time on Wednesday.
Robyn Parker MP
Minister for the Environment
Minister for Heritage
MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
$19M FUNDING BOOST FOR SUPPLEMENTARY PEST CONTROL IN NATIONAL PARKS
The NSW Government today announced a new five year $19.1 million funding package including
funding to bolster strict safety measures to ensure the Supplementary Pest Control Program is properly resourced.
Environment Minister Robyn Parker said an additional $19.1 million has been allocated to the program over five years, part of which will fund 14 new regional National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) coordinators, safety and regulatory signs, staff training and participant education programs.
A controversial plan to allow hunting in 79 national parks including the Paroo-Darling National Park in far west NSW near White Cliffs has been delayed indefinitely.
An arrangement struck between the State Government and the Shooters Party was to give recreational shooters access to selected NSW national parks as part of a feral pest reduction program from next month.
However, State Environment Minister Robyn Parker says the plan will not go ahead until the risk assessment process has been completed.
"I want to make sure that safety is paramount, that everything is addressed," Ms Parker told ABC News.
SHOOTING in NSW national parks is unlikely to proceed as announced next month, with police continuing their investigation into an alleged illegal hunting incident involving one of the organisations chosen to administer the hunting program.
NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker -- who announced in December that the new "pest control program" to allow hunting in 79 of the state's national parks would commence in March -- did not deny rumours yesterday that the start date for the program was being pushed back.
"I don't make any apologies for taking the necessary time to ensure a thorough risk assessment process is completed in respect of each park," Ms Parker told The Australian.
She confirmed that once the risk assessment was completed, the "controls and structure" of the new regime would need to be finalised before a 30-day notification period.
The delay in the controversial program comes amid uncertainty at the NSW Game Council, which, along with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, will administer the new rules that will allow hunters into national parks and nature reserves to shoot foxes, goats, pigs, deer, cats, rabbits, hares and wild dogs.
The council's acting boss, Greg McFarland, was suspended last month by NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson after it emerged he was being investigated over an illegal hunting incident near Cobar in central western NSW.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the hunting program last May as part of a deal struck with the Shooters and Fishers Party to allow legislation privatising the state's electricity generators to pass the upper house of parliament.
NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, who opposes the hunting program, linked the delay to turmoil at the council.
"The Game Council is effectively an amateur organisation run by amateur hunters, so it is no wonder the government is having such difficulty in implementing the hunting proposal," he said.
"The difficulties it has recently faced with one of its senior members being stood down would only complicate problems for the O'Farrell government."
Shooters MP Robert Borsak said he would be concerned if the start date for the program was pushed back.
THE number of game hunting licences issued to children as young as 12 has surged in the past two years, official figures reveal, amid a push to allow them to shoot feral animals in national parks.
Figures compiled by the group, Gun Control Australia, show that 410 game hunting licences were issued to children aged between 12 and 17 last year, up from 261 in 2011.
While the group said figures were unavailable for 2010, there were 184 licences issued in 2009 and 121 in 2008.
Next month recreational shooters will be able to go into selected national parks in NSW as part of a feral pest reduction program.
Paroo-Darling National Park in far west NSW is expected to one of 79 parks to be opened to hunters.
And although shooters might be happy about this, others are not.
Far west ecologist Paul Burton who had been working in the region for the last 20 years is says it's not an effective way to tackle feral animals and is concerned about public safety.
"I've worked on many reserves in Australia over the years and when we're taught to do things like , shooting is very much a back-up tool."
"As an ecologist I would like to know when, where, how; are they going to be allowed to take pig dogs in, are they going to use ATVs... you might well get one or two animals, but at what cost."
Robert Borsak from the Shooter's and Fisher's Party says the program has been successful in other state parks and expects it to be just as successful in national parks.
"The program has been run in NSW parks for the last seven to eight years and has taken over 3.5 million animals from public and private land and what we want to do is simply extend that program to national parks."
"First of all they (hunters) have to be trained to be part of the program, then they have to then be issued with...obviously a fire-arm licence, they will be given written permission by the game council, which will tell them where they can go and what they can do."
Louise Turner from Good Wood station which runs alongside Paroo National Park is optimistic.
"I think as far as pigs go, hunters might do well, as far as wild dog number go I really, really don't know."
"We had several groups of hunters here last year...and none of them got close to one."
Hunting in New South Wales National Parks starts in March but critics say the body overseeing it, the Game Council, is too closely linked to the shooting lobby and they worry about what that may mean for safety.
CHILDREN as young as 12 would be allowed to hunt in national parks with bows and arrows and guns under plans by the Game Council NSW.
Parks staff are threatening to strike if the state government does not scrap the proposal, which would also allow owners of ''black powder firearms'' - a category of muzzle-loading weapons, including antique rifles - to shoot feral pests when national parks are opened up to amateur hunters from March 1.
The Australian Workers' Union, which represents 700 parks staff, claims the government is being railroaded into a hunting ''free for all'' despite assurances from the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and the Environment Minister, Robyn Parker, last year that hunting in national parks would be a strictly supervised cull akin to backburning operations by the Rural Fire Service.
The union has gone public with its concerns after a meeting last week, when the chief executive of the government-funded Game Council, Brian Boyle, signalled an intention to license children starting from the age of 12 to use firearms under adult supervision, as well as sanctioning bow hunters and owners of black powder weapons to hunt in parks in ''zone C''.
Zone C comprises about 50 of the 77 parks earmarked for hunting, all in remote areas. Hunting in zone A and B, closer to population centres, will be more tightly supervised and a higher level of gun competency required.
A 54-year-old Mudgee man was fined $400 plus court costs and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond after assaulting a National Parks and Wildlife Service employee in July.
In Gulgong Local Court on February 7, Donny Hobbs of Tudor Hills was convicted for three charges including use of offensive language in a public place, stalk or intimidate with intend to fear of physical harm, and common assault.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service employee was spat on by Hobbs during a confrontation between the pair along the Waterworks Gully Fire Trail, near Avisford Nature Reserve and Redbank Dam in Mudgee.
About 2.35pm on July 22, 2012, the employee was in full uniform and driving a work vehicle along the trail on his way to pick up rubbish left by campers the night before. He was accompanied by his daughter.
The employee stopped about 600 metres from the Reserve when he noticed three horse riders heading along the trail towards the vehicle. Among the riders was Hobbs.
Before the employee could tell the riders they were not allowed along the trail, Hobbs allegedly began a verbal attack.
Hobbs used offensive language to criticise the employee’s alleged lack of action in regard to trail bike riders causing damage to several trees in the area. Hobbs also accused the employee of losing his gun licence.
As the employee tried to reason and explain his daughter was upset by the language, Hobbs instructed his horse to nudge the employee back against his vehicle. Hobbs then spat on the employee.
The employee notified police of the incident the next day. Police attended Hobbs’ residence where he admitted to spitting on the employee but did not think it was unreasonable and did not agree with all evidence presented to him.
AUSTRALIA'S national parks are not national, because they were set up before Federation; rather than being owned by the sovereign state, they are owned by the states.
In each state the parks are managed by different authorities: in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania, the protected areas used to be run by a ''national parks and wildlife service''; Victoria prefers to call its authority Parks Victoria, while in South Australia the matter is under the aegis of the Department for Environment and Heritage, and in Western Australia of the Department of Environment and Conservation.
The Northern Territory Parks and Conservation Masterplan is being developed by the NT Government, through the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, in association with the federal Department of the Environment and Heritage (Parks Australia North), and the Northern Territory Aboriginal Land Councils. Its main focus is the conservation of biodiversity in the NT.
ARMIDALE’S mall will be full of anti-hunting activists at the weekend when they protest against the state government’s proposed changes to national parks.
The National Parks Association of NSW will hold a community rally on Saturday from 11am in the Beardy St mall, during peak shopping traffic.
Rally coordinator Justin McKee expects about 60 people to turn up to the protest, which will be held between the post office and court house.
It will be the 17th rally held by the association so far, as its members continue to spread the message against opening up 78 of the state’s national parks to hunting.
The O'Farrell Government in NSW is facing an open revolt of park managers and other staff ahead of the planned introduction of hunting in 79 national parks, nature reserves and conservation areas.
Critical meetings over the next two days will help determine whether NSW parks staff will take industrial action and refuse to co-operate with the government's plans.
South Australia and Victoria already have limited hunting in some national parks and conservation reserves. So does it achieve conservation outcomes and how does it work?
THE recent furore over whether Game Council officials were in breach of the council’s own guidelines on “humane” killing practices raises again the question of whether the Game Council can be trusted to regulate hunting and prevent even the most egregious cruelty to animals.
This statutory authority has a budget of $2.5 million in taxpayers’ money, from which, according to its own report, it manages to employ just nine “Authorised Officers”, only 40 percent of whose time involves enforcing compliance.
Even if they could ensure the compliance of the 15,000 registered hunters in the 20,000 square kilometres of NSW state forests and 50,000 square kilometres of national parks – which is clearly impossible – the number of animals killed or left to bleed to death has no effect on feral animal numbers.
Hunting has no redeeming features – it is simply a blood sport. It is unethical and should be banned – not just in national parks, but in all NSW territories.
Bloodthirsty hunters have maimed and killed feral animals as well as native ducks, wallabies and other animals. Many are shot, wounded and left to languish.
There are more humane and effective ways to reduce feral animal populations. Killing won’t work, because more animals will simply move in to the areas and breed.
Allowing recreational shooting in public areas also puts people at risk. The National Parks Association has even warned people to steer clear of national parks and reserves where hunting is allowed.
The vast majority of Australians, from park rangers to politicians, oppose hunting. For the animals’ and the public’s sake, the Premier should repeal the law that allows hunting in national parks and ban hunting in all other areas, too.
MEMBERS of the National Parks Association Far South Coast branch met with NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker on Thursday to outline concerns over allowing hunting in national parks.
NPA spokesman Doug Reckord thanked Ms Parker and Member for Bega Andrew Constance for a “generous allocation of time”, but said there was still a lot of work to do with shooting in national parks set to begin in March.
“The government’s approval for amateur hunting, derived as it was from political horse trading on an unrelated issue, was made without consultation with the public or park managers,” Mr Reckord said.
The Game Council and the Shooters and Fishers Party are demanding an inquiry into why a game manager was suspended over claims of an illegal hunting incident on a cattle station in outback NSW.
Andy Mallen, was reinstated to his position as the Game Council's head of firearms training and law enforcement on Friday, three days after Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson had stood him down and the council's communications manager and acting chief executive, Greg McFarland.
The pair were suspended last Tuesday after police at the rural crimes unit in Bourke confirmed they were investigating claims two Game Council employees in a council-owned vehicle strayed across a national park and on to private property and killed a goat.
On Tuesday 22 January, the Minister for Primary Industries received advice that two Game Council of NSW employees were subject to police enquiries regarding allegations of illegal hunting.
As a result, the Minister requested that the two employees be stood down pending investigation.
This afternoon the Minister received advice from the Director General, Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, that one of the employees involved in the allegations, Mr Andrew Mallen, be immediately reinstated to his position at the Game Council.
This recommendation was made on the basis of a detailed statement to NSW Police by Mr Mallen that clearly proves he was in Sydney on the date of the alleged incident.
The Minister has instructed that Mr Mallen be reinstated immediately.
THE NSW government will allow hunting in national parks from March. What is most distressing about this decision is the light it sheds on public policymaking in Australia.
The new law is the Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Act 2012. The government describes it as a "national park pest program". It is nothing of the sort. There is no evidence that amateur hunters will make the slightest dent in invasive species numbers. Indeed there is a conflict of interest since hunters want parks to remain well-stocked with feral animals. The idea that a "pest control program" could be run by the NSW Game Council, which manages recreational hunters, over the vocal opposition of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, is absurd.
A report by Channel 7 reveals there is no requirement for people applying to hunt in national parks needing to take an eye test. The news has animal welfare and conservation groups outraged.
“You can’t get your drivers license without taking an eye test, why the exception when you have a gun in your hand?” asks Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
Investigation by MLC for the Greens David Shoebridge has revealed that it is not a requirement to take an eye test to gain an R-License which would allow someone to apply to hunt in a national park.
“There were three incidents of park users being shot and killed as a result of being mistaken for deer in New Zealand during 2012. While ever the NSW Government insists on supporting this dangerous program, we are warning people to avoid the national parks where hunting will take place,” says Justin McKee.
“While there are fines of up to $220,000 for killing a threatened native species such as the tiger quoll, at a distance it would be difficult to tell the difference between a quoll and a fox. More importantly, a fine will not prevent the quoll’s death in the first instance,” says Leanne Taylor, General Manager of WIRES NSW.
“The number of native animals being injured from bullets and arrows from activity in state forests is bad enough. Our organization invests heavily into caring for native animals that are orphaned, injured or sick. Hunting in national parks will inevitably stretch our resources and ability to cope with the calls on our voluntary services,” says Leanne Taylor.
National Parks Rangers are up in arms over a legal loophole, allowing the visually impaired to own a licensed gun and hunt.
As of March, hunting for feral animals will be allowed in 78 national parks for people licensed with the NSW Game Council.
However there are concerns about the sight of those who will be allowed to hunt in national parks.
To obtain a gun licence, game council permit or sporting shooter permit there is no eyesight test.
Rangers are worried and want a meeting with the environment department to sort the issue out.
Steve Turner from the Public Service Association said: "The department must address that risk, that high risk that's been identified of potential death before they allow this to proceed."
David Shoebridge from the NSW Greens told 7News: "We've had a State Government now apparently looking at hunting in National Parks for more than six months and they haven't done the most basic due diligence."
National Parks will be opened to shooters because of the State Government's deal with the shooters and fishers party.
But even the government's own assessment says the risk of someone being killed or seriously injured by a stray bullet is high.
Steve Turner: "One of the high profile deaths in New Zealand was when a hunter misidentified a school teacher coming out of a camp site for a dear and shot that teacher dead."
The Government was not aware of the issue until 7News started investigating and they have not confirmed whether they are looking into it. The police are worried about discriminating against people with sight problems however public safety will surely trump that.
TAXPAYERS may be forced to pick up the bill for an alleged illegal hunting expedition that has led to a police investigation and the suspension of two members of the Game Council.
The owner of a remote cattle station in central western NSW said police had advised she could claim up to $3000 for the incident on December 28, in which a feral goat was inhumanely shot on her property, apparently for its trophy horns, and a fence smashed.
Detectives of the rural crimes unit are investigating claims, revealed by Fairfax Media on Wednesday, the goat was shot by the Game Council's acting chief executive, Greg McFarland, and a companion after they broke a fence to enter the 10,000-hectare Karwarn station south of Cobar.
The Member for Bega, Andrew Constance, on the New South Wales far south coast has rejected claims the State Government's plan to allow hunting in national parks is flawed, after two senior members of the Game Council were stood down.
The Government yesterday confirmed the Council's acting chief executive and head of law enforcement are being investigated for alleged animal cruelty, trespassing and illegal hunting.
The Game Council is the body that will issue shooting licenses and monitor the plan to allow hunting in national parks.
But Mr Constance says the incident does not reflect poorly on the Government's policy.
"The Game Council will fully cooperate with the police and this is a matter for the appropriate authority and that is the police,” he said.
“The Minister's acted accordingly and obviously now it’s a matter for the police to follow through on."
THE state government's plan to allow hunting in national parks is in turmoil after the acting head of the Game Council was stood down on suspicion of illegal hunting.
The council is the body that will issue shooting licences under the scheme.
Its acting chief executive, Greg McFarland was suspended on Tuesday night - along with a colleague - by the Primary Industries Minister, Katrina Hodgkinson, after Fairfax Media learnt of a police investigation into an incident near Mount Hope in central west NSW.
Rural crime investigators confirmed they are looking into claims of illegal hunting and trespass and the inhumane killing of a feral goat.
2012 was a big year for Barry O’Farrell. He and his state government were busy wielding the axe through various tiers of public services and government agencies causing grief and carnage wherever they struck, from education to health to emergency services. He also had big development plans for the state on the agenda that many of us didn’t see coming, as he swept into office on the promise of ‘giving planning powers back to the people.’ What a lie that has turned out to be. On this point alone he has failed miserably, as 2013 looks to become a year of even more broken promises, even more bloodshed, even more breakdown of our state’s core functioning values as this greedy, dangerous, thick sculled premier leaves a trail of destruction wherever he goes… Watch out NSW – You’re still being O’FARRELLED!
The enactment of the NSW government's policy regarding shooting in national parks (''Adviser goes from keeper to poacher'', January 19-20) reflects no concern for people's safety or for the true significance of national parks, which is the conservation of biodiversity and for the public to enjoy without fear or trepidation.
Shooting of feral animals should be conducted by professional shooters following strict protocols under the auspices of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Such unprincipled government action will be responsible for a host of unsupervised shooting that could see us following the violent trend in the United States; the National Rifle Association via the Shooters Party will reign supreme. Come on Australia, we can't let this happen.
Barry O'Farrell has no case for supporting hunting in national parks. Document after document reveals that the exercise puts visitors at risk, national parks staff at risk, it threatens the environment and puts severe stress on managing our parks effectively.
The National Parks Association of NSW calls on members of the NSW Coalition government to stand against the Premier and overturn this unpopular decision. The Premier's flagrant disregard for public safety and our national parks is unconscionable.
Justin McKee Campaign co-ordinator, National Parks Association of NSW
IF YOU don't like living alongside our native wildlife, move to the city.
That's the simple message from former WIRES wildlife carer Gillian Abbott to those behind the latest in what she described as a string of disgraceful attacks on native animals in the Ashby area.
She said recently a kangaroo had been spotted in the area with an arrow buried deep in its shoulder tissue - the animal was reportedly still alive at the time.
Ms Abbott is concerned the animal was one she had recently nursed back to health and released, and joined a few other locals to search for it. It was no- where to be found and it's believed the animal may have succumbed to the injury.
THE senior bureaucrat overseeing the introduction of hunting in NSW national parks, Sally Barnes, previously led a unit that warned the move would ''annihilate'' wildlife management and could damage the state's environmental credentials.
An internal briefing note from 2008, prepared for the former Labor government and on which Ms Barnes is listed as the sole contact, said there was ''no precedent'' for opening national parks to hunters for the purpose of feral pest eradication.
At the time, the government was considering a push to do so from the Shooters Party. Ms Barnes was the deputy director-general, parks and wildlife group, within the environment department.
''This decision would annihilate current rules around wildlife management in NSW and significantly curtail the ability for [National Parks and Wildlife Service] to manage lands reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974,'' the note said.
“NSW MP’s must stand against Premier on hunting issue”
Documents reveal yet another reason why the NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell should abandon his ill conceived, amateur hunting program. The National Parks Association of NSW says it is high time NSW Coalition Members of Parliament stand up against the Premier to overturn the legislation that allows it.
The previous state government was warned by a bureaucrat in 2008 that hunting in national parks would ‘annihilate’ wildlife management, that there was no precedent for opening parks to hunters and it would cripple initiatives aimed at increasing visitation, according to the Sydney Morning Herald today.
“Barry O’Farrell has no case for supporting hunting in national parks. Document after document reveals that the exercise puts visitors at risk, national parks staff at risk, it threatens the environment and puts severe stress on managing our parks effectively,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“We call on members of the NSW Coalition Government to stand against the Premier and overturn this unpopular decision. The Premier’s flagrant disregard for public safety and our national parks is unconscionable”
“At a time when the CEO of the Office of Environment and Heritage Sally Barnes is effectively managing catastrophic bushfires, she should not have to turn her team’s already stretched resources to implement a volunteer hunting program that nobody wants. “
The former government took on board advice from staff that introducing amateur, recreational hunting in national parks had no place in NSW.
“The Premier’s heavy-handed direction to his Liberal and National Party colleagues to support this issue undermines important advice from senior bureaucrats and the wishes of the majority of NSW voters,” concludes Justin McKee.
Media contact: Justin McKee 0404 824 020
For more information about the “No Hunting in National Parks” campaign go to www.nohunting.com.au
From Iraq to Wall Street, Barack Obama is used to seizing the moment to bring change. But his battle to tighten gun laws may prove to be his toughest yet, writes John Barron.
Just days before being sworn in for a second term in office, US president Barack Obama may be at the very height of his powers.
With a fresh mandate from the American people, and freed of the political shackles of ever facing another election, Obama has the full force of his office and four bruising years of experience in getting (some) things done.
Australian 'bushwalkers' will face increased insurance costs and greater danger after the New South Wales government decided to allow amateur hunters to shoot in the state's national parks.
The report in the Sydney Morning Herald highlights the probable increased dangers to visiting and local birders as well as hikers or bushwalkers, as increased insurance costs will reflect the perceived risk of being shot. It is not yet known how the situation will affect travel insurance, or how many walkers in Australia's national parks have no insurance.
A bushwalking club insurance broker stated in the newspaper that public and private liability costs would inevitably rise due to the obvious added risk, and that cover might be refused or increased once the risks had been assessed; the government itself suspects that people are likely to be shot or even killed when the hunting season begins in March, and hikers and park rangers may be at particular risk. The legislation came into force on 27 December 2012.
A few days ago I rang the editor of the Maitland Mercury to express my concern that so little had been said or done in this electorate about the deal the Coalition government made with the Shooters and Fishers Party to allow shooting in NSW national parks.
I was indeed elated to read that there had been a demonstration outside the office of the minister in charge of national parks, Robyn Parker.
Whatever fancy political spin Ms Parker’s spokesperson put on it, the legislation is dangerous. By the way, I thought we elected Robyn Parker not the spokesperson.
Raleigh, NC -- Authorities say the uncle of a 12-year-old Tarboro boy faces charges of involuntary manslaughter in his nephew's hunting death.
Officers with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission say 30-year-old Jason Matthews Parker of Franklinton is charged in the Dec. 28 death of James Lee Parker.
Jason Parker also is charged with obtaining a license under false pretenses. Officials say he legally obtained a hunting license, but didn't take the required free hunting education course.
The child was killed while hunting near Wake Forest.
Jason Parker surrendered at the Wake County Detention Center on Thursday evening. It wasn't known if he has an attorney.
Tears of relief and smiles broke out from family and friends in court as a Rotorua businessman avoided prison for accidentally shooting dead his mate in a hunting accident.
A large group of supporters gathered in the public gallery in Rotorua District Court to hear Judge Phillip Cooper sentence Henry Robert Worsp to six months home detention and 250 hours community work.
Worsp had mistakenly identified his mate James Dodds as a fallow deer during a hunting trip in the Paeroa Ranges, south of Rotorua, last September as he fired his .270 rifle from 34 metres.
ABC TV news item: Laws open deer hunting to amateur shooters
Critics say new hunting laws in New South Wales will limit the role of professional shooters in the culling of feral deer, and make it easier for amateur hunters.
Adam Harvey
BUSHWALKERS will pay the price of the state government's decision to allow amateur hunters into national parks through increased insurance costs to reflect the risk of being shot.
The insurance broker to the state's 55 biggest bushwalking clubs confirmed to Fairfax Media that public and private liability costs would inevitably rise as a result of the added risk - confirmed by the government's own risk assessment - that someone could be killed once shooting of feral animals begins in March.
The broker, Marsh, said insurance companies would think twice about offering cover or ''load the premium'' for walkers.
As thick and seemingly as sinister as pythons, this strangler fig's roots sprawl 50 metres across the forest floor in Murramarang National Park, in a silent, relentless fight for sunlight, water and nutrients. Like the great figs which squeeze out of host trees, an occasional monster eucalypt swells and rises even higher than spotted gum rivals in a quest for the best of everything on the eastern side of Durras Mountain.
The convener of Friends of Durras, John Perkins, will not give an inch to game hunters who want a foothold in national parks to shoot foxes, pigs and any other feral they can find.
He says the 12,000 hectares of national park on the south coast is an exciting place to visit for an estimated 100,000 people who annually camp out and go bushwalking.
CONSERVATIONISTS predicting a voter revolt over the government's plan to allow hunting in national parks is unlikely to put Labor back into power at the next state election, Dubbo State MP Troy Grant said.
The MP said he had "no fears" the decision to allow game hunters into the state's 79 national parks would result in a "free for all" for eratic shooting practices or create extra risks for thousands of visitors who frequent the parks annually.
New South Wales Greens M-P David Shoebridge says new restrictions on professional shooters will derail much needed deer culling in and around the Illawarra.
The government has passed legislation stopping professional shooters from using night vision and spotlights and shooting off a moving vehicle.
David Shoebridge told the ABC's 730 program the aim of the laws is to appease the hunting lobby, not properly control a feral pest.
“There's an existing professionally run program with high ethical and high humane standards and it's been derailed solely so the amateur weekend hunters can have more deer to kill so this isn't at all about reducing feral deer. This is about managing the herd for the weekend hunters to go and have fun,” Shoebridge said.
Unlicensed hunters who mix guns and alcohol will go to national parks to shoot illegally once the feral animal cull begins in March, a government report warns.
The same leaked report identifies as a ''major risk'' bushwalkers and rangers being killed or seriously injured when amateur hunters are allowed into the parks.
Just 14 per cent of NSW gun owners hold a restricted licence - known as an ''R-licence'' - allowing them to hunt feral animals on public land.
The risk assessment report, produced by the Office of Environment and Heritage, described this minority group as ''the responsible end of the hunting community''.
SHARLENE PENNEY has travelled from Blacktown to Myall Lakes National Park camping ground with her husband and two boys for the past three years, but she is thinking twice about her holiday plans for next year.
With Myall Lakes on the mid north coast named as one of the 79 national parks, reserves and conservation areas where shooting will be trialled from March, Ms Penney is worried about the safety of her family.
She said her children, Nicholas, 7, and Bradley, 6, had no sense of danger.
''If people are drinking and stuff, they're going to get lazy and leave their guns around, and if the kids find it they're going to think it's a play gun, and then bang,'' she said.
CONSERVATIONISTS are predicting the state government will be punished by voters at the 2015 election if it does not back down on plans to allow hunting in national parks.
Laws opening 79 national parks across the state came into effect on Thursday, though shooters will not be allowed to open fire until March.
This week, a leaked NSW Office of Environment and Heritage document obtained by the opposition identified a risk that a stray bullet or arrow fired by a hunter in a national park could hit someone.
The campaign co-ordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW, Justin McKee, said the public had been reacting strongly to the issue.
''It's a profoundly emotional issue for a lot of people,'' he said.
CONSERVATIONISTS are predicting the state government will be punished by voters at the 2015 election if it does not back down on plans to allow hunting in national parks.
Laws opening 79 national parks across the state came into effect on Thursday, though shooters will not be allowed to open fire until March.
This week, a leaked NSW Office of Environment and Heritage document obtained by the opposition identified a risk that a stray bullet or arrow fired by a hunter in a national park could hit someone.
The campaign co-ordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW, Justin McKee, said the public had been reacting strongly to the issue.
''It's a profoundly emotional issue for a lot of people,'' he said.
The New South Wales Shooters and Fishers Party have defended the introduction of hunting in south east National Parks.
The Government's legislation allowing shooting in the state's 78 parks came into effect yesterday.
Upper House MP, Robert Borsak says it will still be some time before hunters will be allowed to shoot in the nature reserves.
He says the introduction of the law is a significant step in the process.
"From now until the first of March, they will start to put in place the online booking systems, the written permissions and all the other things they need for hunters to actually gain permission to go and hunt," Mr Borsak said.
But the party has rejected union concerns about allowing limited game shooting.
The union representing rangers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service has warned of a high risk of death or serious injury from stray bullets or arrows.
But Mr Borsak says those concerns are based on a preliminary study, not the final risk assessment report.
"That risk assessment was done three months ago that's not the final document, it’s a preliminary document,” he said.
“What hasn't been exposed is the final risk assessment document.
“I haven't even seen it but I went to a briefing last week with the National Parks and the Game Council and the National Parks were sitting there saying they are quite happy with the whole risk assessment process," Mr Borsak said.
Letters to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald
01. Those intending to visit any of the 650 national parks potentially open to shooters from March would be well advised to wear bright colours and keep their heads down (''Hunt fury may trigger park disruptions'', December 27).
The leaked risk assessment rates the danger of visitors and staff being shot as ''major and the likelihood as possible'' but Barry O'Farrell must see a greater risk in any attempt to renege on his deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party. There will be no extra money or staff allocated to monitor shooting and the fact that the Game Council will oversee the licence system will add to feelings of insecurity.
The public should both sympathise with National Parks and Wildlife staff and applaud the public servants who produced the risk assessment. It requires professional integrity to impugn a premier's done deal. Oscar Wilde described fox hunting as the ''unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible'' but at least with fox hunting the only collateral damage was to farmers' fields.
James Moore Kingsgrove
02. I would place a large wager on the proposition that Barry O'Farrell will not allow hunting in his local national park, Ku-ring-gai. Too close to home.
The government needs to give serious consideration to renaming the affected parks "hunting reserves" so that those of us who enjoy a good bushwalk are not fearful of wandering into the sights of an amateur gun enthusiast intent on capping his or her trophy for the day.
Mr O'Farrell, what happened to the "contract with the citizens of NSW"? Did it have a sunset clause of six months?
Kate Barton Glebe
03. What will it take for Barry O'Farrell to reconsider his decision to allow recreational hunting in our national parks? One stray bullet that kills a student participating in a Duke of Edinburgh Award hike?
No one will ever again feel relaxed while walking, motoring or camping in our national parks knowing recreational shooters can legally roam through the parks hunting feral animals.
Nan Howard Camden
04. A very simple New Year's resolution for the Premier, the Minister for the Environment and the leadership of the shooters' party: following the first shooting death in a NSW national park these politicians will attend the funeral and then repeal the legislation at the first opportunity in the Parliament.
John Abercrombie Muswellbrook
05. Will the police be charging Barry O'Farrell with being an accessory after the fact when the first park ranger or bushwalker is shot by a ''sporting shooter'' in one of our national parks?
Katriona Herborn Blackheath
06. I was under the impression national parks were for the protection of flora and fauna, wildlife in other words, which is why weapons, dogs and cats aren't allowed in. So perhaps the government can explain to me how, by contradicting the very purpose of the parks and allowing shooters free rein, wildlife will not suffer.
To expect us to believe that only the odd feral animal will be brought down or that the odd bushwalker or birdwatcher won't be accidentally shot is an insult to intelligence.
The concept of the government pandering to a shooters' party to gain votes is akin to a streetwalker drumming up business.
The gulf between hunters and environmentalists remains as wide as ever as new laws covering shooting in national parks came into effect yesterday.
The opposing sides continued to take pot shots at each other as an agreement between the Coalition and the Shooters and Fishers Party became law.
Under the plan, recreational shooters will be allowed to cull feral animals in 79 national parks and reserves away from metropolitan areas, including the Morton National Park on the South Coast.
HUNDREDS of environmentalists have turned out in inner Sydney to protest against NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell's plans for the state's national parks.
Among their concerns are the NSW government's support for coal seam gas exploration, a grazing trial in national parks and changes to duck hunting rules.
Among the placards on display at the Wednesday lunchtime protest outside NSW Parliament House, one implored Mr O'Farrell to "deliver us from evil gas".
Another accused the premier of basing his plan to disband the Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre on "fishy decisions".
A third bore an illustration of a family beside a tent, a gun, and a dead child.
But it was the ubiquitous "Not happy, Barry" signs that summed up the mood of the 200-strong crowd.
National Parks Association CEO Kevin Evans told the crowd it was imperative that national parks jobs be saved.
ALLEGATIONS that NSW Game Council employees were involved in an illegal hunting incident on a cattle station in outback NSW were referred to police by the council itself.
The office of the Primary Industries Minister, Katrina Hodgkinson, confirmed on Sunday that the Game Council received a complaint about staff hunting without permission on a property south of Cobar and passed it on to the rural crimes unit in Bourke.
Ms Hodgkinson suspended two council officers last Tuesday but by Friday evening one of the men, Andy Mallen, a game manager, was reinstated.
The state opposition has accused the O'Farrell government of putting campers and holidaymakers at risk as national parks are opened up to hunting.
In a statement, Opposition Leader John Robertson said the state government was ignoring its own risk assessment on the possible dangers of the new hunting laws.
The laws, which come into force on Thursday, allow recreational hunters to shoot feral animals in some NSW national parks.
The trade union representing park rangers in New South Wales says a dispute over the decision to allow hunting in some national parks is likely to escalate.
New laws allowing hunting in 78 national parks across the state come into effect today, though shooters will not be allowed to open fire until March next year.
The Public Service Association says its concerns have heightened since a draft risk assessment prepared by the Office of Environment and Heritage was leaked this week.
Rangers on the south coast and southern highlands are considering industrial action as they step up opposition to hunting in national parks.
Hunting by approved shooters is expected to commence sometime in the new year, targeting ferals like pigs and goats, which are prevalent in sections of local national parks.
Rangers have refused to rule out strike action, but in the initial phase of the campaign, are more likely to refuse to collect park entrance fees.
Staff have been concerned at the outset about potential dangers stray shots pose to rangers and park users.
The anger has been exacerbated by a new report which suggests decaying carcasses of animals which are shot, could pollute waterways.
Wingecarribee Council has already written to the state government asking that hunting not be allowed in any national park within its boundaries.
ACCESS to national parks could be interrupted over summer as rangers consider ways to protest against the state government's introduction of hunting in NSW's 800 parks.
Anger among National Parks and Wildlife Service staff intensified over Christmas after a leaked draft risk assessment report showed the government will proceed with the plan despite warnings that a fatality or serious injury by gun wound was a ''major risk'' once shooting begins in March.
Rangers will consider walking off the job in the new year but Fairfax Media understands a second and more likely option is parks staff refusing to collect entrance fees as a way to keep parks open and shield the public from the industrial dispute while hitting the O'Farrell government in the hip pocket.
Steve Turner of the Public Service Association said rangers had reached boiling point after the risk assessment listed parks' staff, contractors and volunteers at the top of those at risk of ''projectiles'', including bullets and the arrows of bow hunters
Conservationists are predicting the NSW government will be slammed at the 2015 election if it doesn't back down on plans to allow hunting in national parks.
NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker last week announced a risk assessment process was being developed before laws come into place allowing recreational hunters to shoot in National Parks in the name of feral pest animal reduction.
The New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage says it will spend the next three months finalising the risk assessment for hunting in some of the state's national parks.
The Opposition has challenged the Premier Barry O'Farrell to resign if someone is shot as a result of the new laws, which pave the way for hunting to start in March.
HUNTING in national parks may increase the population of feral animals in certain areas, an internal state government report has warned.
Carcasses and body parts from shot animals that will be left in the bush once hunting begins in March will provide a previously unavailable food source, according to a leaked draft risk assessment from the Office of Environment and Heritage.
''Where hunting is concentrated in specific areas, involves leaving substantial portions of carcasses behind and occurs with high regularity, it has the potential to provide a supplementary food source to local predators,'' the assessment said.
The State Governments own risk assessment on volunteer hunting in NSW national parks has warned that recreational hunting puts park users at risk of being shot or injured. The National Parks Association warns that people should steer clear of national parks and reserves where amateur hunting will be allowed.
“This is an embarrassing day for the NSW Government. Premier Barry O’Farrell has bargained the safety of park visitors for a few votes from the Shooters and Fishers Party. This will cost the Premier at the polling booths in 2015,” says Kevin Evans, CEO of the National Parks Association of NSW.
“In Italy where laws and regulations are as lax and ‘hunter-friendly’ as the Shooters and Fishers Party would like, 13 people were killed in hunting accidents and 33 wounded in the first six weeks of the 2012 shooting season.
“One life is one too many. For the safety of the public, the Premier must repeal the changes that allow volunteer hunting,” said Mr. Evans.
“Volunteer hunting programs begin in March 2013 in up to 79 NSW national parks and reserves. The Game Council has negotiated that hunting areas will not be closed off to the public despite risks to park users and other hunters,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“The Game Council of NSW states very clearly in its platform paper ‘Conservation through Hunting’ that it intends to shift public perceptions on hunting and increase the uptake of the sport by families, women and children.
“NSW does not want a U.S. style gun culture and right now, that’s where Barry O’Farrell is taking us,” concludes Mr. McKee.
Media Contacts:
Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator for National Parks Association of NSW - 0404 824 020
Kevin Evans, CEO National Parks Association of NSW – 0457 797 977
LIVES will be put at risk and tourism will suffer under a plan by the NSW government to allow amateur hunters access to national parks, the opposition says.
A leaked NSW Office of Environment and Heritage document obtained by the opposition identifies a high risk of a bullet or arrow causing death or serious injury under new laws that allow recreational hunters to shoot feral animals in some parks.
TO UNDERSTAND just how close the relationship between the O'Farrell government and the balance-of-power parties has become, look no further than the final parliamentary speech of the year by the Roads Minister, Duncan Gay.
''I thank all honourable members … On behalf of the Christian Democratic Party and the Shooters and Fishers Party, who make up our team in the House, I wish you all the best for Christmas.'' Yes, you read correctly - a senior government minister who counts the Shooters and Fred Nile's Christian Democrats as ''part of the team''.
NEW NATIONAL PARK PEST PROGRAM TO COMMENCE IN MARCH 2013
Safety will be paramount when pest control by Game Council Restricted Licence holders in selected national parks and reserves commences in March 2013, Environment Minister Robyn Parker announced today.
Strict conditions will apply and Ms Parker said she had asked the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), NSW Game Council and NSW Police to develop a joint program targeting illegal hunting and firearms use in and near national parks.
“Participants will operate under strict conditions set by the NPWS and administered jointly by NPWS and the NSW Game Council,” Ms Parker said.
“In finalising the program we have studied how similar programs operate in other jurisdictions including Victoria and South Australia.
“So while the relevant legislation commences on 27 December this year, the process of declaration and detailed risk assessments will not see any activity commence until March of next year.”
Office of Environment & Heritage
Department of Premier & Cabinet
THE state government allowed a little-known committee stacked with representatives of the shooting and hunting fraternities to reject tighter gun controls proposed by police.
The Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, is using the 15-member Firearms Consultative Committee to steer the overhaul of the 2006 Firearms Act.
NSW will get its toughest gun laws ever under proposed changes to licence regulations.
A confidential list of proposed changes obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows the government is planning to tighten rules for buying and using a gun in NSW in response to a spate of drive-by shootings in Sydney's west. The draft changes, prepared by the Ministry of Police and Emergency Services, include a rule that people who have been convicted of any violent offence, any sexual offence or those on good behaviour bonds will be banned from obtaining a gun licence.
The arms buy-back has saved many lives but now the weapons lobby is fighting back.
THIRTEEN years after John Howard's historic gun reforms, federal Labor MP and academic Andrew Leigh lauds his legacy and says he does not envision any policy retreat by the major parties.
Mr Leigh, as an academic at the Australian National University, published research in 2010 that found Mr Howard's gun buy-back of 500,000 semi-automatic rifles and shotguns had cut firearm suicides by 74 per cent, saving 200 lives a year. Firearm homicides were down 59 per cent.
The proportion of Australian homes with guns had dropped from 15 to 8 per cent after the buy-back. In the US, about 30 per cent of homes still had at least one gun.
CONSERVATIONISTS paint a bleak picture for native wildlife once hunting laws are relaxed in January.
Groups including the National Parks Association of NSW and politicians led by The Greens MLC David Shoebridge are campaigning to repeal the Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Act 2012.
ABOUT 60 protesters gathered outside Member for Newcastle Tim Owen’s office today to voice opposition against proposed changes to recreational hunting laws.
The amendment to the Game and Feral Animal Control Act allows amateur and recreational hunting in NSW national parks.
GOULBURN MP Pru Goward has said a claim that the program to allow amateur hunters into national parks would begin on Australia Day was incorrect.
The new legislation comes into effect on December 27 and the program could legally begin any time after the 30-day notice period, that is, any time from January 26.
FORGET about hearing fireworks on Australia Day next year, revellers could instead be listening to the distant sound of gun fire emanating from Morton National Park.
This was the date the state government could legally begin allowing amateur hunters into almost 40 per cent of the state's National Parks, including Morton, to help with feral animal control - a role already carried out by rangers.
HUNDREDS of environmentalists have turned out in inner Sydney to protest against NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell's plans for the state's national parks.
Among their concerns are the NSW government's support for coal seam gas exploration, a grazing trial in national parks and changes to duck hunting rules.
MARK COLVIN: The New South Wales Government has struck yet another deal with the Shooters Party. It's passed a law on duck shooting licences in return for their support to privatise two major ports.
The new law shifts the responsibility for issuing duck shooting licences from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to the pro-hunting Games Council.
Duck hunting was banned in New South Wales in 1995 but it is legal for farmers to shoot ducks on private land for culling purposes. Conservation and animal welfare groups are outraged. They say it's one step closer to open season duck hunting in the state.
JENNIFER MACEY: New South Wales banned duck hunting in 1995 but the then Carr government allowed for farmers to cull ducks that were causing a nuisance on their private property.
Today the Parliament went further and passed a bill put forward by the Shooters and Fishers Party to change the way duck shooting licences are issued.
That used to be done by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Now under the new bill the responsibility has been handed to the Games Council, a state government body that promotes the responsible hunting of game and feral animals on public and private land.
Justin McKee is from the National Parks Association.
JUSTIN MCKEE: What the water bird population in the east of Australia doesn't need is any more help with, any more help at all with population decline. From 1983 to 2010 there was a severe decline in water populations. There's just started to be a recovery period because of the good rains.
THE $4 billion lease of NSW ports is set to be passed through state parliament today after the government came good on its duck hunting deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party.
THE ACT government has ruled out ever opening the territory's national parks to recreational hunting as NSW rangers prepare for shooters to enter parks across that state.
From next year, the NSW government will allow licensed shooters into 79 of the state's 799 national parks, including nearby Brindabella, Tallaganda and Kosciuszko national parks.
Territory and Municipal Service Minister Shane Rattenbury said ACT rangers would patrol borders to ensure hunters did not encroach on capital land.
THE Shooters and Fishers party has secured a major win, with a NSW parliament inquiry recommending their electoral funding more than double.
Robert Brown and Robert Borsak's powerful minor party was promised an inquiry into their administrative costs by Premier Barry O'Farrell, as part of a suite of deals to secure the sale of the state's electricity generators.
In return for their support for the sale, the party was promised hunting in national parks would be allowed, and the Game Council could issue licences to kill game birds on private property.
Rotorua man Henry Robert Worsp has admitted causing the death of James Dodds during a hunting expedition.
Worsp, 36, appeared in the Rotorua District Court this afternoon charged with causing the death of Mr Dodds by careless use of a firearm, namely a .270 calibre Sako rifle.
Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT: My question is directed to the Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage. Will the Minister explain to the House what involvement she has had in negotiations between the Government and the Shooters and Fishers Party concerning duck hunting in New South Wales?
The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister has the call and will be heard in silence.
Ms ROBYN PARKER: I have had no discussions with the Shooters and Fishers Party in relation to duck hunting. Shooting of native ducks for agricultural management purposes to protect crops from damage already occurs on private land. Ducks tend to congregate in large numbers on properties following the sowing of crops, primarily rice and other grains, and feed on newly sown seeds. A game management program administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service was instituted under the former Labor Government to allow landholders to legally protect their crops from damage caused by ducks by shooting them or allowing licensed recreational hunters to do so.
The number of ducks allowed to be killed each year under this program is based on best available population estimates that are adjusted annually depending on seasonal conditions such as drought or heavy rainfall. I am advised that so far this year 440 licences have been issued to landholders to cull ducks that are causing damage to crops. I am aware that the Shooters and Fishers Party has introduced a bill that will further amend the Game and Feral Animal Control Act in relation to the hunting of game birds. That bill proposes an extension to the provision of the shooting of native game birds on private lands and it does not propose shooting native game birds on public lands. As with any legislation, the Government will consider the proposals and will respond as the bill progresses through the parliamentary process.
NO EXTRA staff or money will be added to monitor hunters who have been given access by the state government to shoot in national parks from Australia Day.
THE state's infrastructure projects have been put in jeopardy because of a stalemate over duck hunting.
Laws allowing the $4 billion leasing of Port Botany and Port Kembla, which would help fund major road and rail projects in NSW, are off the agenda in the upper house after a breakdown in negotiations with the powerful Shooters and Fishers Party.
So the Shooters Party is holding a gun to Barry O'Farrell's head. Who would have seen that coming? They say if you lie down with dogs you get fleas. Well, if you do deals with Shooters you get shot - usually in the back.
Such has been the Premier's fate, with this minuscule special interest group holding nationally significant reforms to ransom because they might not be allowed to go duck hunting.
POLICE are investigating a shooting incident in Morton National Park last week.
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Shots from a high-powered .308 rifle were used to destroy a tree in the park just a short distance from homes at Budgong near where people were riding horses on fire trails.
A local resident, who did not want to be named, said the 5km range of a .308 rifle posed “a real danger” to nearby residents and wildlife.
The fringe right wing Shooters Party is again holding the O’Farrell government to ransom, refusing to support privatisation legislation unless the government agrees to their demands for duck hunting.
Hunting in National Parks (Proof)
24th October 2012
Speakers: Borsak, The Hon Robert
Business: Adjournment, ADJ
The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK [10.52 p.m.]: I inform the House that for the first time an economic value can be put on the work of volunteer conservation hunters, who remove game and feral animals from our State forests. Over many years governments have declined to provide such figures, but I am pleased to say the O'Farrell Government has been prepared to look at the issue and do the calculations. Volunteer hunters have been working in our State forests for a number of years—without any serious incident or accidents—and have shot thousands of feral animals, providing an enormous boost to conservation efforts in relation to native wildlife.
ROME (Reuters) - Italian hunting enthusiasts have killed 13 people and wounded 33 in shooting accidents since the season opened in September, increasing pressure to reform antiquated hunting laws.
Renowned speakers get up to inform the public on this important issue.
Pig dog hunting occurs at night time in our national parks and state forests.
When: 5 - 7pm 25th October 2012
Where: Macquarie Room, NSW Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW
RSVP: By email to - Sophie.Cooper@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Or by phone: (02) 9230 3030
One has to wonder who is in charge in NSW. Is it Robert Borsak or the Premier Barry O'Farrell?
This latest news item highlights the grave concerns around the information going out in the public arena by the Fishers and Shooters. The info presented by Robert Borsak has not been confirmed by government.
Hunting is still illegal in NSW national parks, and will remain that way until at least the end of this year.
In the wake of controversy, misunderstandings and the misinformation spread by anti-hunting groups, the NSW Game Council has put out information to clarify the status of hunting in the state’s national parks.
If you thought there was still some detail to be worked out as to how licensed hunting will occur in certain National Parks, evidently you’d be mistaken. According to Robert Borsak, NSW MP with the Hunters & Shooters Party[sic], the existing process for licensed hunting in state forest will work fine in National Parks and that process has been accepted by the state government.
We also spoke to Robert about how regional communities could benefit from the sale proceeds of the state’s electricity generators, the other half of the deal that brought the concession for hunting in National Parks.
Environment Minister Robyn Parker has admitted she wasn't at a meeting between senior government MPs and the Shooters Party about new laws to allow recreational hunters into NSW's national parks.
Members of the public are invited to attend this great event.
As part of its schools education programme, local Ku-ring-gai/Hornsby conservation group STEP
Inc is hosting a debate to be held on Tuesday 9 October between pupils from Cheltenham Girls High and Epping Boys High.
When: 8pm. Tuesday 9 October 2012
What: Schools Debate Rematch between Cheltenham Girls and Epping Boys.
Debate Topic: "Hunting in National Parks is Environmental Vandalism, Not Smart Conservation"
Where: St Andrews Uniting Church Hall, corner Chisholm and Vernon Streets, South Turramurra, following
STEP Inc’s Annual General Meeting.
Why: The chosen topic is very current given the imminent declaration of hunting areas by the State Government due to start in December and large attendances at rallies around Sydney opposing hunting in National Parks.
For more info contact:
Jill Green (President) 9489 8256
Barry Tomkinson (Vice President) 0412 250 595
National parks are one of the great international ideas of the last century. Parks cover nearly 10 per cent of NSW: they include our best-loved places and were visited more than 350 million times last year. Visitors are encouraged to walk, camp, swim and cycle; to understand and enjoy our outstanding natural and cultural heritage.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers are overwhelmingly opposed to the state government’s plan to allow hunting in some of the state’s national parks, a survey has shown.
The Public Service Association survey released last Saturday found 96 percent of rangers did not support hunting in national parks and 93 per cent did not believe the new law would serve its intended purpose of helping control feral pests.
WHY: Celebrate animal life. Highlight their plight.
WHERE: Outside NSW Parliament, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW
WHEN: Thursday October 4th. Lunch time 12.00
World Animal Day started in 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered animals. Since then it has grown to encompass all animal life and is a day of celebration.
October 4 was chosen as it is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
St.Francis loved God’s creatures, the downtrodden and the oppressed.
Come and celebrate animals on this day outside the place where they are often forgotten in the decision making process.
Bring a banner or wear an animal costume or mask? Whether your issue is stopping logging or mining of important habitat, hunting in NP’s and live exports, whether it’s puppy mills or palm oil, saving wildlife, whales or homeless pets...
Turn up and celebrate our animals in the hope that we can learn to live in harmony and peace with the natural world.
A coroner has called for urgent law changes and more education for hunters in just-released findings into the death of a Lower Hutt school teacher killed by a hunter illegally spotlighting for animals.
Rosemary Ives, 25, was fatally shot by Andrew Mears while camping with her partner in Kaimanawa Forest Park near Turangi in 2010.
Mears, who was "spotlighting" with a group of friends, mistook Ms Ives' head-lamp for deers eyes as she was brushing her teeth.
Hunters involved in the fatal shooting of another person should face tougher charges, according to the recommendations of a Coroner's report into a hunting death.
Wellington teacher Rosemary Ives was brushing her teeth at a DOC campsite near Turangi in 2010 when she was fatally shot in the head by experienced hunter Andrew Mears.
Mears pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was sentenced in February 2010 to two-and-a half-years in jail, but only served 11 months.
The Coroner charged with investigating the case is calling for the Government and the Law Commission to urgently investigate the law surrounding hunting deaths.
ANTI-HUNTING campaigners are outraged children as young as five were given water bottles with a pro-hunting message by the Game Council NSW and are calling on the state government to put a stop to the practice.
“We are alarmed to think the children at Catherine McAuley Catholic Primary School were given this message and we are disgusted,” National Parks Association representative Justin McKee said yesterday
THE handing out of water bottles to school students telling them to wear orange and stay safe while hunting has upset parents.
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When Catherine McCauley Catholic Primary School students took home water bottles last week with the Game Council NSW message “Be safe, be seen, always wear blaze orange when hunting,” not all parents were impressed.
Listen on ABC Radio: Hunters, fishers and environmentalists battle for the wilderness
For more than forty years, Australia rolled out national parks and more recently wilderness areas to protect both species and ecosystems.
Along the way, wilderness became the holy grail for Australia's environmentalists.
Now, conservation protected areas, including wilderness, are under attack. State governments are considering 'unlocking' environmental assets for grazing, tourism, timber-getting and -- most controversially -- hunting.
Following a recent illegal shooting of kangaroos in a Deua National Park camp ground a union survey of NPWS rangers across the state has found that the vast majority of respondents are opposed to hunting in national parks. They say that recreational or conservation hunting is a potential danger to parks staff and visitors and is an ineffective method of feral animal control. The new legislation has been introduced in a highly criticised deal by the O'Farrell government to secure Shooters and Fishers Party support to privatise the state's electricity generators.
Bow hunters are preparing for the introduction of newly legislated access to hunt in national parks. Bega Valley Traditional Archers have been authorised by Game Council NSW as an Approved Hunting Organisation and will be offering licence tests required for bow hunting in national parks. The club's role is to educate its members in responsible hunting and to oversee the licence testing.
PARK rangers overwhelmingly oppose hunting in NSW national parks and many believe it poses a serious risk to human lives, as well as killing native animals and damaging existing feral animal control programs.
Association predicts rapid expansion of hunting zones
The National Parks Association of NSW is warning the public to expect a rapid expansion of the zones in which recreational hunting can occur in NSW.
“In March 2006, 31 state forests were gazetted for recreational shooting in NSW. In less than two months, that number had more than tripled to 108,” says Justin McKee for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“Within nine months, some 344 state forests were opened up for recreational shooting. That’s more than ten times the initial figure.
“It’s not plausible to believe the Fishers and Shooters party will settle for access to only 79 parks when ten times that amount is up for grabs in our state.
“We have seen enough evidence that the Fishers and Shooters Party is successful at having its agendas met by the Premier of NSW Barry O’Farrell.”
The Coalition stated in May that it would initially look at opening 79 national parks to recreational shooting. However, which of our 779 parks or reserves shooting can occur in, is at the discretion of the Minister for Environment.
Justin McKee comments, “Keep in mind that the power structures of the Super-Ministry that Barry O’Farrell has set up dictates that phrases such as ‘at the Minister for Environment’s discretion’ can also translate as ‘Whatever Barry O’Farrell says!’
“NPA warns that the Coalition government has only definitively ruled out amateur, recreational shooting in 48 of our 779 national parks and reserves. The vast majority are vulnerable.
“National parks provide a safe and quiet space for visitors and tourists to explore, enjoy and admire the beauty of diverse environments. This has been vastly compromised for the 34million people who visit them each year.
“Members of the Liberal Party and National Party must stand up and make right this wrong. Mr O’Farrell’s poor reputation is also theirs” concluded Mr McKee.
Media Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW - 0404 824 020
For more information about the campaign visit: www.nohunting.com.au
On 10th March 2006, Ian MacDonald as Minister for Primary Industries published the final order in the NSW government gazette to declare 31 state forests open for hunting in NSW. Following this:
• On 5th May 2006, less than 2 months later, the final order for another 77 State forests to be declared open to recreational shooting was published. The total number of state forests open at this point is 108.
• On June 2nd 2006, another 46 were added, leaving a total of 154.
• On June 9th 2006 another 66 were added, leaving a total of 220.
• On July 14th 2006 another 45 were added, leaving a total of 265.
• On October 27th 2006 another 40 were added, leaving a total of 305.
• On December 1st 2006 another 39 were added, leaving a total of 344
Media release - National Parks Association of NSW Inc
"Association predicts rapid expansion of hunting zones"
The National Parks Association of NSW is warning the public to expect a rapid expansion of the zones in which recreational hunting can occur in NSW.
“In March 2006, 31 state forests were gazetted for recreational shooting in NSW. In less than two months, that number had more than tripled to 108,” says Justin McKee for the National Parks Association of NSW.
“Within nine months, some 344 state forests were opened up for recreational shooting. That’s more than ten times the initial figure.
“It’s not plausible to believe the Fishers and Shooters party will settle for access to only 79 parks when ten times that amount is up for grabs in our state.
“We have seen enough evidence that the Fishers and Shooters Party is successful at having its agendas met by the Premier of NSW Barry O’Farrell.”
The Coalition stated in May that it would initially look at opening 79 national parks to recreational shooting. However, which of our 779 parks or reserves shooting can occur in, is at the discretion of the Minister for Environment.
Justin McKee comments, “Keep in mind that the power structures of the Super-Ministry that Barry O’Farrell has set up dictates that phrases such as ‘at the Minister for Environment’s discretion’ can also translate as ‘Whatever Barry O’Farrell says!’
“NPA warns that the Coalition government has only definitively ruled out amateur, recreational shooting in 48 of our 779 national parks and reserves. The vast majority are vulnerable.
“National parks provide a safe and quiet space for visitors and tourists to explore, enjoy and admire the beauty of diverse environments. This has been vastly compromised for the 34million people who visit them each year.
“Members of the Liberal Party and National Party must stand up and make right this wrong. Mr O’Farrell’s poor reputation is also theirs” concluded Mr McKee.
Media Contact: Justin McKee, National Parks Association of NSW: 0404 824 020
The grieving partner of a man shot by his friend during a deer-hunting trip is devastated by the loss of "the love of my life".
James Dodds, known as Dodzy, was fatally wounded early yesterday morning in remote bush in the Waikite Valley, about 30km south of Rotorua.
Mr Dodds was shooting with Henry Worsp, an experienced hunter and fisherman who is known by the nickname "8-shot" and has more than 10 years' experience managing outdoor safety.
"Association calls for more leadership on hunting issues"
Barry O’Farrell has taken a stand against the Fishers and Shooters party agenda by not allowing children as young as 12 to hunt unsupervised on public land.
The National Parks Association of NSW is calling for further evidence of good leadership on the issues around hunting in NSW.
“Barry O’Farrell has managed the calls for changes to the Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 badly from the get go. We see an improvement here as he has not succumbed to the Shooters’ call to allow children to hunt unsupervised,” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator of the National Parks Association of NSW.
“The 35 million people that use our national parks peacefully and quietly each year need to see more consideration of their safety from the Premier.
“The few thousands of shooters are getting the Premier’s priority attention at present and this is against the best interest of the majority.
The Game and Feral Animal Control Regulation 2012 was released last Friday 31st August 2012.
Sustained pressure from the Greens, animal welfare and environment groups and the community has forced the O’Farrell government to back down on allowing children to hunt unsupervised on public land.
A new parliamentary pay scale, introduced without fanfare last month, shows Robert Brown, one of two Shooters and Fishers Party members holding the balance of power in the parliament, is being paid $161,000 a year.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has been accused of dodging protesters outside a community cabinet meeting in Sydney.
About 60 demonstrators gathered outside the Easts Leagues Club at Bondi Junction on Monday afternoon to express their disapproval of laws allowing shooting in national parks.
Robert Debus, Labor Minister of Environment 1999/2007, Attorney General 2000/2007
National Parks are one of the great international ideas of the last century. In New South Wales we have one of the gold medal national parks systems in the world and it has never been under such serious threat.
Our Parks cover a little under ten percent of the State: they include our best loved places and they were visited more than 35 million times last year. Official publications encourage visitors to walk, camp, swim and cycle; to understand and enjoy our outstanding natural and cultural heritage.
The Liberal Minister for Lands, Tom Lewis, established the National Parks and Wildlife Service almost 50 years ago and it has been nurtured by a succession of ministers since that time, including Bob Carr and the Liberal Tim Moore. I doubt that any minister in all those fifty years ever entertained the idea that unsupervised recreational shooting was compatible with the purpose of a national park. Nevertheless, the Game and Feral Control Act 2012, sponsored by the Upper House Shooters and Fishers Party and supported by the Coalition Government, could see the introduction of recreational hunting in most of our national parks before the end of the year.
They call this activity “conservation hunting” but the term is deliberately misleading.
It is not just the danger that casual shooting activity would bring to other Park users, including young families; it is not just the deep offence that would be caused by aggressive intrusion into places that many people regard as sacred. In reality scientists and professional land managers provide irresistible advice based on nationwide research (not to mention common sense) which shows that intermittent, unplanned shooting is at best completely useless for the control of feral animals.
Animal species that become feral are successful because they are able to breed very quickly. A control program must eliminate the overwhelming majority of individuals at any location if it is to be successful. In turn that only happens when public land managers and landowners work together to pursue a systematic eradication program, which will typically involve a number of control methods: baiting and trapping as well as shooting.
Ground shooting is almost never as effective as shooting by expert marksmen from helicopters. Random shooting by individuals will, as likely as not, simple scatter animals in the bush and make the job of the professionals even harder.
There are some situations in which recreational shooters can provide some conservation benefit. I recently visited the Vulkathunha-Gammon National Park in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia: that Park is closed three times a year and the Sporting Shooters Association works with the Environment Department in a carefully planned program to shoot feral goats. Often the hunt is combined with professional helicopter shooting. The whole exercise is a backup for earlier programs of mustering which have removed the majority of the goats that previously infested the Park.
If the New South Wales Shooters Party had sought legislation to allow recreational shooters to volunteer for that sort of program it would have been possible to believe that they were approaching the question of “conservation hunting” in good faith. However, this does not seem to be their position at all.
I have heard Government representatives suggest vaguely that they might move to place restraining conditions on hunters in Parks. However, the new legislation is almost completely open-ended. It leaves the Minister free to define all conditions for hunting. It also leaves the Minister vulnerable to the demands of The Shooters Party and their allies within the Coalition.
Some of these Coalition MPs want to further undermine the natural values of National Parks by allowing them to be logged and grazed for good measure.
Since 2002 recreational shooters have been individually licensed by the Game Council of New South Wales to hunt in State Forests. Licensed hunters operate without supervision on these multi-use public lands (not infrequently upsetting nearby land holders and farmers.) The Shooters Party makes it clear that they want the same arrangements to be established now for National Parks.
Official statistics issued by the Game Council show us two things. First, existing licensed recreational hunters have more than enough public land at their disposal already (about 400 hectares for each shooter). Second, they have killed about one feral animal for every 150 hectares of State Forest each year. In conservation terms this is entirely futile.
Why is the Shooters Party is not satisfied with the amount of public land that shooters already have access to? The best answer seems to be that National Parks are an affront to the idea that people should have the freedom to shoot wherever they like. These are sentiments we associate with the gun culture of the USA, not Australia.
Indeed, political representatives in the USA sympathetic to its all-powerful gun lobby have recently sponsored legislation, passed by the House of Representatives, which would eviscerate America’s most significant conservation law, the Wilderness Act.
Using the blatantly propagandist title of The Sportsman’s Heritage Act, the Bill proposes a massive expansion of shooting throughout American National Parks and Wilderness areas. If the US Senate votes for this legislation it will be a crowning triumph of the American gun lobby.
Only a few weeks ago John Howard was reminding us that the National Gun Laws he passed after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre have successfully reduced gun crime in Australia. Mr. Howard was proud to contrast Australian values with the values of the gun infested United States. He was careful to point out that at the time senior figures in the National Party “courageously faced down opponents in their own ranks” to support a measure they knew to be in the national interest.
Let us hope that we see a little of that sort of courage within the State Government over the next couple of months. Otherwise a tiny minority who accidentally hold the balance of power in the Upper House of New South Wales are going to inflict serious damage upon one of our great institutions and upon some of the moral values of the great majority of Australian people.
Robert Debus
Minister of Environment 1999/2007,Attorney General 2000/2007
Peaceful protest against recreational hunting in national parks
When: 5:45pm - 6:30pm, Monday 27th August 2012
Location: Outside of the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, Bondi Junction
What: A peaceful protest against recreational hunting in national parks
Why: The NSW Government will be holding a Community Cabinet meeting at 6:30pm. Supporters will be helping to send a message to the NSW Government that the majority of the public do not want recreational hunting allowed in our national parks.
Who: Anyone who supports the campaign calling for No Hunting in National Parks
What to bring: Supporters are encouraged supporters to take along signs, banners and a calm and peaceful attitude.
The first NSW National Parks to be opened for hunting will likely include South East Forests, Wadbilliga, and Kosciuszko National Parks (excluding ski fields). Only hunters accredited by Game Council NSW will be permitted, and they must register their hunts in advance and adhere to regulations. Opponents say those requirements mean nothing as there is very little policing of hunting in public land. Greens MLC David Shoebridge says Game Council NSW confirmed to the NSW Parliament that it employs only 4.2 full time equivalent staff to police the hunting already allowed in State Forests across NSW.
The recently passed bill has been criticised as being a deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party to get support for a bill privatising the state's electricity generators, although the Premier had earlier promised not to introduce hunting into National Parks.
Game Council NSW Chairman John Mumford said the legislation does not affect National Parks near metropolitan areas, and hunting will not be undertaken in World Heritage or declared wilderness areas.
Game Council NSW was established in 2002 by the then NSW Labor government to oversee game and feral hunting in State Forests.
That Labor government was accused at the time of giving in to political influence from the shooters lobby.
The Shooters Party wants to overturn a ban on NSW duck hunting and repeal laws protecting native vegetation from land clearing. The push has sparked calls for Premier Barry O'Farrell to rule out any such changes.
Notice of Motion: Tue 14 Aug 2012: Game and Feral Animal Control Further Amendment Bill 2012
An Act to amend the Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 and the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 to make further provision with respect to the hunting or killing of game birds and other game animals; and for other purposes.
POLICE have charged two illegal hunters after a three-night operation near Tumbarumba.
During Operation Brushwood 4 two men from the Tumbarumba region were charged over the possession of drugs, illegal knives, illegal hunting, driving while disqualified and unregistered or uninsured motor vehicles.
A former president of a deerstalking club has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Auckland hunter Cam McDonald.
McDonald, 29, was shot dead while hunting in the South Wairarapa on Easter Saturday.
A former president of the Wellington Deerstalkers Association, Island Bay man Christopher Dummer, pleaded guilty in the Wellington District Court today to careless use of a firearm (a Remington model 740 rifle) causing the death.
The council is writing to Premier Barry O'Farrell expressing concern about the state government's plans to allow recreational hunting in national parks.
Animal rights activists are up in arms over a brutal and highly aggressive form of hunting known as pig-dogging.
The practice involves training dogs to hunt and kill wild boars and is the only form of conservation hunting in Australia that pits two animals against each other.
Some consider pig-dogging as the ultimate adrenalin rush - a man's sport on which they spend tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Others, however, say it is nothing but animal torture.
And in a move that has outraged activists and politicians, hunters have been posting videos of the brutal killings on the internet.
Pig-doggers from around the country pour into the annual Dog A Hog competition, based about 65 kilometres west of Mackay in Queensland.
Most people at the hunt have been at it for 72 hours straight. For Ryan Berrigan, there is nothing better than the thrill of hunting and killing a pig.
Mr Berrigan spends tens of thousands a year on his hobby.
"When your dog is swinging off a boar, there's no better feeling that you get. You can put me on any show ride and any Disneyland parks or whatever you got, but it won't give me the adrenalin that can. Nothing can." Hunter Ryan Berrigan
Animal rights activists are up in arms over a brutal and highly aggressive form of hunting known as pig-dogging.
The practice involves training dogs to hunt and kill wild boars and is the only form of conservation hunting in Australia that pits two animals against each other.
Some consider pig-dogging as the ultimate adrenalin rush - a man's sport on which they spend tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Others, however, say it is nothing but animal torture.
And in a move that has outraged activists and politicians, hunters have been posting videos of the brutal killings on the internet.
Pig-doggers from around the country pour into the annual Dog A Hog competition, based about 65 kilometres west of Mackay in Queensland.
Most people at the hunt have been at it for 72 hours straight. For Ryan Berrigan, there is nothing better than the thrill of hunting and killing a pig.
Mr Berrigan spends tens of thousands a year on his hobby.
"When your dog is swinging off a boar, there's no better feeling that you get. You can put me on any show ride and any Disneyland parks or whatever you got, but it won't give me the adrenalin that can. Nothing can." Hunter Ryan Berrigan
John Robertson will zero in on Barry O'Farrell's most controversial decisions, with a string of promises to wind back workers' compensation changes, reintroduce the ban on hunting in national parks and re-open Grafton jail.
Since Milo's death, his sister has been pining for him to come home. Milo was a seven-year-old quarter horse whose owner, Julia Zaetta, found him shot dead on her property near Wingello State Forest in southern NSW two weeks ago.
Ms Zaetta, who is the editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, believed hunters were responsible.
Gunshots were often heard in the area and two hunting groups even came on to her property in recent years asking to shoot, she said.
"It seems from the local police and the RSPCA that these events pretty much occur on weekends, which makes us think it's not local people but people who come in and shoot for sport."
THE Shooters and Fishers Party has claimed national parks will be opened for hunting shortly after Christmas and shooters will be able to operate without close supervision, despite assurances by the government they will be strictly monitored.
But the claims have been rejected by the state government, in the latest disagreement over how the policy will be implemented.
The government has agreed to open 79 national parks and reserves for recreational hunting of feral animals for the first time as part of a deal to win Shooters and Fishers Party support for its electricity privatisation legislation, which was passed last month.
NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson will lead a protest bushwalk in the Lower Mountains against new laws allowing shooting in national parks.
Mountains residents have been invited to join in the walk starting at the Glenbrook entrance to Blue Mountains National Park on Saturday, June 30.
THE Premier, Barry O'Farrell, has poured cold water on the aspirations of the Shooters and Fishers Party, which wants to expand recreational hunting to cover most of the state's national parks.
In an online video, shot at a gun expo, Shooters and Fishers MP Robert Borsak said hunting would ''eventually'' be declared in 751 of the 799 national parks in NSW. He later told the Herald he only hoped this would be the case if the existing plan to allow hunting of feral animals in 79 parks is deemed a success. But Mr O'Farrell effectively ruled out Mr Borsak's hope yesterday.
''I can't envisage any circumstance in which more parks will be added,'' Mr O'Farrell said.
''Mr Borsak is clearly expressing a hope. I have a hope, which is one that they won't have control of the upper house and [I] won't have to do the sorts of deals that was able to free up asset value of generators in exchange for introducing this program into NSW.''
ALL BUT 48 of the state's almost 800 national parks could eventually be opened up to recreational hunters, according to a Shooters and FishALL BUT 48 of the state's almost 800 national parks could eventually be opened up to recreational hunters, according to a Shooters and Fishers MP.
In Parliament, I strongly condemned the Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill that will allow amateur shooters into more than 40 per cent of national parks, including world heritage and wilderness areas. There is real fear that people may be shot by mistake.
A BILL to allow recreational hunting in NSW national parks had to be amended at the last minute after it emerged it would allow amateur shooters access to the type of firearms used in the Port Arthur massacre.
The Australian Greens will today call on Attorney-General Nicola Roxon to get on with the job that former Prime Minister John Howard started and tighten uniform national gun laws, in response to the O’Farrell government’s deal making with the Shooters Party and today's ongoing debate of legislation allowing recreational hunters into 79 national parks and reserves.
Second Reading: GAME AND FERAL ANIMAL CONTROL AMENDMENT BILL 2012
See transcript from 11:55am. The motion that the bill be read a second time was put forward by Ms KATRINA HODGKINSON, Minister for Primary Industries, and Minister for Small Business.
This shows speeches from:
Ms KATRINA HODGKINSON, Minister for Primary Industries and Minister for Small Business.
Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT, Shadow Minister for Education and Training.
Mr TROY GRANT, Member for Dubbo.
Ms CLOVER MOORE, Member for Sydney
Ms LINDA BURNEY, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Planning Infrastructure and Heritage, Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation, Shadow Minister for the Hunter and Shadow Minister for Central Coast
Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE, Minister for Ageing and Minister for Disability Services
today's bill would allow amateur hunters access to the type of high-powered semi-automatic weapons banned for general use after the Port Arthur massacre.
DEBATE on allowing shooters into national parks turned ugly in the New South Wales Parliament tonight, with a Shooters Party MP telling his Greens counterpart it was unfortunate "I can't take you outside and beat you to death".
feral pigs are allegedly being brought into the Southern Downs and Granite Belt and released for hunting purposes.
Despite pigs costing the Queensland economy $100 million a year, some individuals appear unable to see past their sporting preferences
John Levett, said it was a serious issue for the Shoalhaven area which took in many parks and reserves, including the rugged and spectacular Morton and Budawang national parks.
Hansard Transcript (Legislative Council, 20 June 2012, Corrected Copy)
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: Wednesday 20 June 2012
Hansard: Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2012
...the evidence shows that a program of hunters controlled by the Game Council will provide no environmental benefit, likely lead to environmental harm and place at serious risk the public’s enjoyment and safety.
BEFORE the last election Barry O’Farrell told me at Port Macquarie that politicians in electoral mode will tell you what you want to hear; the trick is to get it in writing.
Apparently that doesn’t work either.
During the run-up to the last State election Mr O’Farrell promised:
“We have no intention of doing deals with the minor parties, to sell out those plans. There will not be a decision to turn our national parks into hunting reserves.” (The Sydney Morning Herald, April 13, 2011).
ALMOST 40 per cent of NSW's national parks, including several containing World Heritage areas, are on the list provided by the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, as being under consideration for feral animal hunting, and green groups fear more will be added.
The Shooters and Fishers Party have further outraged opponents of their deal with the state government allowing hunting in national parks by proposing to outlaw anti-hunting protests as well.
The Cudgegong Valley Hunting Club has slammed new laws allowing recreational hunting of feral animals in national parks, labelling the changes as “absolute madness”.
“It’s not a case of if but when someone gets shot that it will come back to haunt the lot of us,” said club treasurer and Mudgee gun dealer, Jim Pirie.
More funding should be provided for professional hunting to eradicate feral animals in national parks instead of opening them to recreational hunters, according to Cowra's bushwalking group president.
PREMIER Barry O'Farrell's announcement that hunting will be allowed in some NSW national parks has met with a furious response from environmentalist's in Sutherland Shire.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the man was struck while hunting in the Wombat State Forest around 3pm.
The 18-year-old was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital by road ambulance.
Five people who rescued severely wounded ducks during last year's shooting season, have claimed victory in a landmark court case against the Victorian Government.
Their lawyer, Daniel Beecher, described the trial as "malicious" and says it should never have been left to volunteers to rescue the injured birds.
"If the Government is going to authorise people to go into the wetlands and blast wildlife with shotguns then clearly the Government have a responsibility to look after the injured wildlife," he said.
A shock announcement by NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell will see it become open season on feral animals in 79 of the state’s national parks following a decision to allow access to recreational hunters. Amendments to the Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 will enable licensed shooters to hunt introduced ‘pest’ animals including pigs, dogs, cats and goats.
PREMIER Barry O’Farrell’s deal to allow shooters into some national parks has infuriated Hornsby conservationists, who fear safety concerns will prevent school excursions to nature reserves.
The announcement has been widely criticised by environment groups and the Opposition as a "backroom deal" to secure the support of the Shooters and Fishers Party in return for support to privatise the state's electricity assets.
SEVERAL North Coast national parks have been included on a "hit list" of parks to be considered for recreational shooting.
Last week Premier Barry O'Farrell announced changes to the Game and Feral Animal Control Act (2002) that would allow 79 of the state's 799 national parks, nature reserves and conservation areas to be used by licensed shooters.
David Yarnall says he is very concerned about the possibility that people could accidentally get shot at and that hunters could stray from the parks onto private property.
Mr RYAN PARK: My question is directed to the Minister for the Environment. ..... what assurances can the Minister give that hunting in national parks will not be reconsidered in return for the support of the Shooters and Fishers Party for her Government's legislative agenda?
Ms ROBYN PARKER: How predictable. The policy of the New South Wales Government is clear: hunting in national parks is not permitted. I say that very slowly for the slow learner on the Opposition backbench. Parks receive over 35 million visits per year and we provide among other things facilities for visitors to our State, and I advise the member opposite that shooting is not compatible with visitations to our national parks. The member has wasted yet another question. For the benefit of those opposite I repeat that the policy of the New South Wales Government is clear: Hunting in national parks is not and will not be permitted.
As part of their rejection, rangers will be asked to withhold information and their expert advice from Minister for the Environment, Robyn Parker, as well as other ministers from the NSW Coalition Government.
A Blacktown Aboriginal organisation has threatened to take action against shooters found hunting in NSW National Parks.
Darug Tribal Aboriginal Corporation secretary Aunty Sandra Lee said hunters with guns would not be allowed in parks with cultural links to her tribe.
‘‘The Darug people will kick them out of our lands and commence legal action against shooters and the NSW government for trespass,’’ she said.
‘‘The government does not own title to these parks and shooters will never be approved by us.’’
Mrs Lee is responding to the news that the NSW government would allow shooters in national parks after a recent deal on cuts to the solar bonus scheme with the Shooters and Fishers Party and Fred Nile’s Christian Democratic Party.
She said according to law, all national parks and recreational reserves declared as unalienated crown lands (vacant crown lands) have Aboriginal property rights (common law native title rights).
Ms Lee said her group would be meeting with other Aboriginal groups to implement a united stand on the issue.
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has talked to angry rangers who say they'll continue industrial action against plans to allow recreational hunters into the state's national parks.
Mr O'Farrell and Environment Minister Robyn Parker met with a delegation of rangers after a community forum in Bathurst on Monday, where parks staff expressed their frustration over the deal to secure Shooters Party support for power privatisation.
THE federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has condemned the O'Farrell government's decision to allow recreational shooting in NSW national parks, but says he is unable to stop it.
THE introduction of recreational hunting in national parks is likely to jeopardise public safety and drive out other users, according to confidential documents that raise questions about the state government's decision to open the areas to licensed shooters.
Big game hunters try to stay downwind so the quarry cannot sniff out where the hunter stands. Survival may depend on it. Robert Borsak, a veteran of big game shooting around the world, has adapted the tactic to his latest professional incarnation as state upper house MP who, with his Shooters and Fishers Party colleague Robert Brown, effectively controls the outcome of much of the O'Farrell government legislation.
THE introduction of recreational hunting in national parks is likely to jeopardise public safety and drive out other users, according to confidential documents that raise questions about the state government's decision to open the areas to licensed shooters.
The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, has announced 79 national parks and reserves will be opened to hunters to shoot feral deer, pigs, goats and cats under a deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party to secure their support for the government's electricity privatisation legislation.
The volunteer hunters must be licensed by the Game Council of NSW and comply with access conditions monitored by the Environment Minister, Robyn Parker. However, documents obtained by the Herald show experts in the Department of Environment warned in 2008 against allowing recreational hunting in national parks when the former government was being lobbied by the Shooters Party.
Lateline produced a story focusing largely around the safely concerns of allowing hunters in National Parks. In New Zealand there have been two deaths recently. Includes interview with The hon Robyn Parker, NSW Enviornment Minister.
THE O'Farrell government has cleared the way for its ambitious infrastructure program by securing a deal with the Shooters and Fishers Party to allow the privatisation of the state's power generators, expected to yield $3 billion.
It reads like a war on democracy. Now that war is against the State's wildlife. During his first week in government, the NSW Premier, Barry O`Farrell, made a strong promise to environment groups and the people of NSW that he would not allow shooting in National Parks.
National parks in NSW will be opened up to recreational hunters as part of a deal between the Shooters and Fishers Party and the government to ensure passage of its electricity privatisation bill.
A series of hunting related activities over the past week have highlighted safety and nature conservation risks related to amateur, recreational hunting.
“Over the past week, there have been reports of three incidents involving one hunter nearly being shot, a park user being threatened by bow hunters and a hunter being found to be transporting feral pigs which increases pig populations in areas where they are released,” says Justin McKee of the National Parks Association of NSW.
“Consistent with controlling pest animals, the NSW government needs to invest for the long term in a sustained, well resourced program to combat illegal hunting activity. Until then, the government is in no position to be making deals that garner more responsibilities for amateur hunters or the Game Council.”
An incident in Alpine National Park, Victoria involved a hunter discharging his gun in the direction of another hunter, narrowly missing him. This highlights that there is broad range of skill sets among recreational hunters, and, that there should not be hunters and other park users in the same space.
THE Shooters and Fishers Party wants the new state government to allow the hunting of feral animals in national parks along with a review of marine parks, saying ''political'' factors underscored some of the decisions for their establishment.
Licensed hunters are already permitted to hunt feral animals in state government forests, along with some other areas of Crown land, but they are specifically prevented from hunting in national parks.
Negotiations with successive Labor premiers in recent years failed to win agreement for hunting in national parks, which was opposed consistently by the party's Left faction.
The NSW Game Council is close to securing approval from the Coalition Government to allow bow hunting in national parks under its controversial “Supplementary Pest Control in Parks” Program.
As community groups await the release of the finer details of the program, sources have revealed that one of the zone types will permit children as young as 12 to hunt feral animals with bows and arrows, if they are supervised by a licensed parent.
“Bow hunting is nothing more than recreational hunting. It is inhumane and is certainly not a legitimate method of pest animal control” says Justin McKee, Campaign Coordinator of the National Parks Association of NSW.
Barry O’Farrell led the Coalition Government to approve legislation that overrode the illegality of hunting recreationally in a NSW national park under the banner of ‘conservation hunting’.
“Bow hunting directly contradicts the government’s claim that amateur hunters would supplement existing regional pest animal control programs managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service,” said Mr McKee.
The Minister for the Environment is required to gazette the national parks where hunting programs will commence, giving a 30 day public notice period.
“Time is running out for the government if it wants to avoid commencing its controversial recreational hunting program during the 2013 Easter school holidays. Children shooting arrows through our world-class national parks is embarrassing enough for the Coalition Government,” concludes Mr McKee.
Premier Barry O'Farrell must rule out the introduction of hunting in national parks, NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson says, following a shake-up in the Department of Environment.
"We can't have a situation where bushwalkers are dodging bullets," Mr Robertson said in a statement on Monday.
The Opposition leader took aim at Mr O'Farrell for carving up the NSW Department of the Environment, Climate Change and Water and redirecting top issues to his office.
THE ousted media boss for the Game Council claims it is a taxpayer-funded gift to the Shooters Party that favours hunters for employment, goes soft on illegal hunting, helps shooters pass its licence tests and even keeps animal body parts in the office fridge.
The council, a NSW government statutory authority, is meant to oversee the ''orderly hunting'' of feral animals, but David Dixon thought its greatest public relations disaster was a Herald report last July about the council's chairman, Robert Borsak, on safari in Africa.
It included a photograph (right) of Mr Borsak with one of the bull elephants he had killed, and his boast: ''It was awesome.''
But Mr Borsak, who is also chairman of the Shooters Party and a candidate for the next state election, regarded this story as ''our greatest triumph'',
A teenage boy has been shot in the head during a hunting accident in northern NSW.
Emergency service workers went to the Garrawilla State Forest, halfway between Coonabarabran and Gunnedah, after hearing a 15-year-old boy had been hit by a bullet from a high-powered Triple-Two rifle on Sunday, the ABC reports.
It is believed the boy was with a group of people, including his uncle, who was carrying the rifle, when it accidentally discharged.
The bullet apparently ricocheted off the boy's wrist, entering his skull behind the right ear and lodging in his cerebellum.
The boy was flown in a conscious state to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital.
Staff were unable to comment on his condition on Sunday night.
Police are investigating a trail bike rider being hit by a projectile while riding in a forest at Yetholme in the state's Central West.
Around 1pm Saturday 27 March, a 58-year-old man and his 21-year-old son were returning to their car after trail bike-riding in the Sunny Corner State Forest when the father slowed to catch his breath.
The man has told police he was struck by an object and immediately felt pain in his chest.
The man's son assisted him to their car and the pair travelled to Bathurst Hospital where doctors x-rayed the victim and located a projectile in the left side of his chest.
The man remains in a stable condition in a Sydney hospital, awaiting surgery to remove the unknown projectile.
Detectives from the Chifley Local Area Command are investigating and are appealing to anyone with information about the incident to contact Bathurst Police on (02) 6332 8699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
THE State Government's controversial decision to allow the hunting of feral animals on public land appears to have claimed its first innocent victim - a pet kelpie cross called Tas.
The dog was shot last Tuesday in the Double Duke State Forest on the North Coast by a recreational shooter licensed to be in the area by the Game Council of NSW.
The dog's owner, Ross Clissold, of nearby Woodburn, said the shooting was an outrage and had put him in fear of his own life. He had no idea licensed shooters were allowed to use the forest and he wants the system banned.
"[The hunter] could have shot me," Mr Clissold said.
"They act before they think, almost pre-programmed to shoot on reflex - HAMISH CARNACHAN investigates the campaign to stop hunters killing each other in the bush"
SHOOTERS will not be limited to 10% of NSW's 799 national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas, but to 94% of them, according to the North East Forest Alliance's Dailan Pugh.
CONSERVATIONISTS are predicting the NSW government will be slammed at the 2015 election if it doesn't back down on plans to allow hunting in national parks.
New laws opening up 78 national parks across the state came into effect on Thursday, though shooters will not be allowed to open fire until March next year.
Earlier this week, a leaked NSW Office of Environment and Heritage document obtained by the opposition identified a risk that a stray bullet or arrow fired by a hunter in a national park could hit someone.
The Game Council's role as the guardian of ethical hunting is in tatters after a senior manager and a longtime volunteer were charged with a total of 17 offences relating to illegal hunting and trespassing on to private land.
Police in Orange seized firearms from the home of Greg McFarland, the former acting chief executive of the Game Council, and suspended his gun licence.
Mr McFarland, 50, faces nine separate charges, including two of firing a weapon onto enclosed lands, entering land with a firearm, hunting without permission and entering a national park without permission.
Fairfax Media can reveal the other man charged is Edward Hoogenboom, 66, of Orange.
Mr Hoogenboom, a retired telecommunications worker, is a veteran Game Council volunteer who has taken part in gun safety programs.
All reference to him has been removed from the Game Council website.
Police also confiscated weapons from Mr Hoogenboom's home when they charged both men at 8pm on Friday.
Mr McFarland has been suspended on full pay since Fairfax Media revealed in January that he was one of two men being investigated over the inhumane killing of a feral goat at a remote property 110kms south of Cobar.
The owner of the vast Karwarn cattle station, Diane Noble, had reported a Game Council vehicle seen being driven through the Yathong nature reserve without permission before allegedly breaking a fence and entering the property in pursuit of a male goat.
Pictures of the dead goat, stripped of its "trophy horns" will form part of the police case. Police have interviewed members of a hunting group from Victoria that had paid to hunt on Karwarn and confronted Mr McFarland and Mr Hoogenboom.
Both men will answer charges of "driving a vehicle into park not on road into or traversing park", as well as possessing a prohibited weapon in nature reserve and possessing a firearm in a State Forest.
Fairfax Media understands police will allege that the pair's illegal hunting activities were not confined to the one incident in December.
Police from Darling River Local Area Command said in a statement: "Both men's firearms licences were suspended and firearms registered to them were seized by police. All matters are listed for mention before the Cobar Local Court on the May 16, 2013."
News of the criminal charges will be a further blow to the credibility of the Game Council which had been tasked with overseeing the introduction of shooting in the state's national parks.
It was the allegations against Mr McFarland that forced the Premier Barry O'Farrell to call a review into the governance of the Game Council.
The introduction of hunting in national parks now has been delayed until at least June but unions representing park workers, as well as the opposition and Greens, have called for it to be scrapped.
The matter will also call into question the role of the Shooters Party MPs, Robert Borsak and Robert Brown, both former heads of the Game Council.
Mr Borsak called for a boycott of Fairfax Media when the investigation was first revealed.
He conducted his own investigation, the results of which were posted on a public forum on the Australian Bowhunting website. He found that Mr McFarland and Mr Hoogenboom had been checking signs in the area when they came across the Victorian hunters.
"Whilst there, Greg and Eddie came across a couple of groups of hunters, stopped talked to them, handed out business cards and went on their way," he wrote.
"Someone from this group [from Victoria] shot that goat, took its head and was either found out by the owner or decided to cover their tracks by lying about who did it. Either way these fellows lied about the whole affair in order that they get out of trouble," Mr Borsak wrote.
"Greg ... (has) been suspended, the GC's reputation has been tarnished ...but it/we will be vindicated, I guarantee that, so does Brown."
Mr Hoogenboom did not return calls.
A spokeswoman for the Game Council said she did not know whether Mr McFarland remained on full pay.
