There has been no shortage of significant developments for Victoria’s shooters and hunters over recent months.
In Episode 15 of the SSAA Victoria Podcast, Barry Howlett, David Laird and Daryl Snowdon unpack the passage of the Firearms Amendment Bill, the creation of Outdoor Recreation Victoria, our recent Parliamentarians and Staffers Range Day, Hunters for the Hungry, the approaching State Election and the potential implications of H5N1 bird flu.
Firearms Amendment Bill passes Parliament
The Firearms Amendment Bill passed Parliament on August 13 and was proclaimed on August 18.
Importantly, the passage of the Bill does not mean the new citizenship requirement or AusCheck arrangements have commenced.
Significant work remains before either can operate, including regulations, systems and administrative arrangements. These are not expected to be in place before at least 2028, giving SSAA Victoria and the broader shooting community further opportunity to advocate for changes.
SSAA Victoria opposed both provisions during the parliamentary process.
On citizenship, our priorities remain the removal of the requirement or, failing that, comprehensive grandfathering of existing licence holders and workable exemptions.
We also support effective background checking, but that does not mean accepting an AusCheck system without transparency, procedural fairness and accessible review rights.
Fundamental questions remain unanswered, including who will pay, what information will be considered, how errors can be corrected and what review rights will be available to someone adversely affected by an AusCheck assessment.
The fight did not end when the legislation passed.
Outdoor Recreation Victoria becomes law
There was better news with the passage of the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill.
The legislation brings Victoria’s game and fishing regulators together in a better-resourced organisation and, importantly, expressly recognises sustainable game hunting as an activity government should support and promote.
It also establishes a Land Access Panel to identify and work through unnecessary barriers to lawful access to public land.
SSAA Victoria worked constructively on the reform throughout its development.
It is not simply a change of name. Sustainable hunting and lawful public-land access are now clearly part of the new regulator’s work.
The real test, however, will be implementation. Decisions about how public land is managed ultimately remain with governments, departments and land managers.
Taking Parliament to the range
More than 20 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from across the political spectrum recently joined SSAA Victoria at the Eagle Park Range.
The purpose was straightforward – give decision-makers an opportunity to experience safe and responsible shooting firsthand and see how a professionally operated shooting range works.
Eagle Park receives around 30,000 visits each year and is an important piece of community sporting infrastructure.
Events like this are about engagement and education, not party-political theatre. They allow people who make decisions affecting our sport to better understand the people, facilities and practices those decisions affect.
Hunters for the Hungry
We also provide an update on Hunters for the Hungry and our work towards a meaningful Victorian venison donation program.
The objective is to develop a pathway through which suitable venison that would otherwise be shot to waste during deer-control programs can instead help feed Victorians experiencing food insecurity.
Getting it right means ensuring donated venison is safe, traceable and properly processed through appropriately licensed processors and food-relief organisations.
The episode also previews our Hunters for the Hungry barbecue at Parliament House.
Victoria heads towards the polls
The Victorian State Election will be held on November 28, and SSAA Victoria now represents more than 50,000 members.
Shooters and hunters are a significant constituency, particularly across regional Victoria and Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
SSAA Victoria has been preparing for this election for more than a year. Our job is not to win elections for political parties. We will work constructively with parties prepared to engage seriously with our community and ensure our members have the information they need about the policies that affect them.
Our election priorities include a new Sustainable Hunting Action Plan, a shooting and hunting facilities grants program, a Ministerial advisory panel for firearms, sustainable funding for hunting and game management, expanded lawful public-land access, and changes to the citizenship and AusCheck provisions.
The episode also examines changes to Victoria’s Upper House electoral system, including the abolition of Group Voting Tickets while retaining eight five-member regions and a quota of about 16.7 per cent.
Those changes substantially alter the pathway by which minor parties and independents can win seats in the Legislative Council and therefore potentially change how shooters and hunters are represented in the next Parliament.
H5N1: evidence, not panic
Finally, we look at the potential implications of H5N1 bird flu for hunters and game management.
H5N1 is a serious biosecurity and wildlife-health issue and should be treated accordingly. But responses need to be based on surveillance, evidence and actual risk.
For duck hunting, Adaptive Harvest Management should remain the basis for season decisions, while hunters themselves can play a useful role by reporting unusual bird mortality and following official biosecurity directions.
The principle is simple – take H5N1 seriously, follow the evidence and respond proportionately.
