SSAA Victoria is aware of a news article in the Herald Sun with a sensationalist headline that is, understandably, causing concern amongst the hunting community. The Association is mindful of the threats facing all hunting and duck hunting in particular. There are Labor MPs and senior bureaucrats in some government departments who have a clear, ideologically driven agenda to end duck hunting. SSAA Victoria works diligently to counter this with the relevant Ministers, members of parliament and government agencies.
These sorts of newspaper articles tend to appear around this time of year, citing “a source close to the discussions”. The first question we ask when we read a newspaper article is, who put this article here, and why did they do that?. The Herald-Sun article was clearly fed to the journalists by someone pushing an agenda; they have likely done that not because they think they are about to get their own way, but because they think they are not. The Animal Justice Party spent four years with Andy Meddick in an enviable bargaining position and spun its wheels on duck hunting. In the new parliament, the AJP’s vote is not needed at all by the Government. Their new MP, Georgie Purcell, was recently described by a Labor MP as “the spare”.
Newspaper reporters used to have their performance judged on scoops – on how many new stories they broke for the paper. In the digital age, with audiences fragmenting, reporters are now judged on clicks and on how often their stories are shared and read. Sensationalist articles like these keep running mainly because they get shared. The Association asks hunters to think carefully before sharing these sorts of articles and doing so all but guarantees that there will be more of them.
The delay in the announcement of seasonal conditions is incredibly frustrating. The GMA board made its recommendations to Minister Kilkenny a week and a half ago. As recently as Friday, SSAA Victoria was in contact with the Minister, reiterating that there is no good reason for a delayed announcement and urging her to announce the conditions for the 2023 duck season by the end of January.
There is no reason to believe that Victoria will not have a full-length duck season commencing on 15 March. SSAA Victoria encourages hunters to make preparations in anticipation of that.
