Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (18:51): My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. Country Victoria is crying out for economic stimulus amidst decimation by natural disasters and the subsequent plummeting of tourism, compounded by fewer foreign tourists as a result of the coronavirus. This Labor government appears ready to turn its back on them. Minister, I implore you, do not listen to the anti-hunting, anti-rural, city-centric ideologues who have clearly infiltrated your party.

In 2013 the Department of Environment and Primary Industries estimated that duck hunting contributed $106.3 million to the Victorian economy. Contrary to the brutal stereotype of hunters painted by ideologues, hunting organisations often do more for the ecosystems and wildlife than any of the anti-hunting activists who self-profess environmentalism. For instance, the Connewarre field and game branch do an outstanding job supporting the breeding ground of 230 bird species, of which only seven species or 3 per cent are listed for hunting.

Country Victoria is fed up with Melbourne telling them what they can and cannot do on the land they look after. The perpetual call from extremists to cancel the duck hunting season has been justified by attempting to link the wetlands to bushfires. Guess what? Hunting wetlands do not generally burn—they are full of water.

It is utterly shameful that this tragedy has been coopted to promote an agenda that will be detrimental to rural communities, under the false pretence that it will save a duck. The Victorian Labor Party must decide whether the 2020s will be the decade of their continued drift towards city-centrism in their electoral turf war with the Greens and other activists or whether they will stand up and fight for rural and regional communities who are continuously overlooked in the rush for tram-track votes. The 2020 duck hunting season must go ahead. The action I seek is that the minister immediately announce the commencement of the 2020 duck hunting season on 3 March.