Updated 25 November 2022
The Victorian State Election for 2022 will be held on Saturday, 26 November. Early voting has commenced. SSAA Victoria has been working with Victoria’s other major shooting and hunting organisations on a platform for the State Election to protect and grow shooting and hunting.
This platform was developed leveraging the insights and knowledge gained by the work that SSAA Victoria and its partner organisations do year in, and year out in State Parliament. It was then refined with expert advice from some of Australia’s foremost political consultants.
What have the parties committed to?
Labor
Labor states that it is “ensuring game hunting remains safe, responsible and sustainable” and that the party “recognises the benefits of pest animal hunting in protecting Victoria’s natural environment and agricultural sector”. Any new Sustainable Hunting Action Plan would be “considered through the budget process”, noting the $10.6 million invested through the current plan and its predecessor through to 2024.
Despite this, Labor has not taken the opportunity to make any clear commitments to Victoria’s quarter of a million shooters and hunters. This is disappointing but not surprising and is consistent with the experiences of a diverse range of sectional interests including the RSPCA, VFF and VNPA.
You can read the policy statement from Labor here.
Liberals and Nationals
The Liberals and Nationals have committed to our joint requests, with some minor differences in the details. A Coalition government would “consider a new Action Plan for Sustainable Hunting and Game Management” in consultation with stakeholders; and the transfer of State Game Reserves (SGRs) to be managed by the GMA would be subject to the GMA “prov[ing] they are better suited to manage that SGR for the benefit of the environment and the Victorian community”. As it stands, the commitments from the Liberals and Nationals are the most positive and substantial set of commitments for shooting and hunting that we have seen from a major political party in Victoria for over a decade. We thank the Liberals and Nationals for engaging with us openly and frankly.
You can read the written commitments from the Liberals and Nationals here.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party has committed to our joint requests in their entirety. Party leader Jeff Bourman MP has written to us stating “I am pleased to confirm that the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party of Victoria will support and advocate for every currently sought commitment. I see these commitments as reasonable and easily accommodated by either side of politics and the SFFP Vic will assist in any way we can.”
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MP for Eastern Victoria, Jeff Bourman, is a SSAA Victoria member, as is the candidate for Northern Victoria, Josh Knight, who also sits on the board of SSAA Victoria.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats have pledged their support for shooting and hunting, with David Limbrick MP writing to us stating “Rest assured that any Liberal Democrats in the Victorian Parliament will do what we can to resist further government restrictions on deer and duck hunting, and firearms more broadly.”
Liberal Democrats MP for Northern Victoria, Tim Quilty, is a SSAA Victoria member.
Other minor and micro parties
Numerous other minor and micro parties have policies and positions that are supportive of shooting and hunting in various ways. These include the Companions and Pets Party, the Democratic Labour Party, Family First and the Freedom Party of Victoria.
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES
A growing feature of Victorian elections is independent candidates. SSAA Victoria member Wayne Rigg is contesting the marginal seat of Ripon as an independent candidate.
How to vote?
We understand that the SSAA Victoria membership is, broadly, reflective of society as a whole. Association members have a wide range of political leanings, and the extent to which shooting and hunting issues will factor into voting decisions varies from member to member.
At election time, more than ever, we see our role as providing you with the best information that we can to help you make your choice on polling day.
We are not presumptuous enough to tell you ‘how to vote’ – but we will ask you to take your vote and the future of shooting and deer hunting seriously.
The ‘anti’s’
There are minor parties that actively and openly oppose the interests. The largest of these are the Greens, but also included are micro parties such as the Animal Justice Party, Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party, Reason and Sustainable Australia. We ask shooters and hunters to strongly consider putting these parties last on your voting slip.
What’s the deal with preferences?
A lot of discussion around the State Election, especially regarding minor parties, centres around where preferences go.
In Victoria, we use versions of the preferential voting system. In this system, you choose candidates on a ballot paper in the order of your preference. If your preferred candidate cannot get enough votes to win, your vote can count for your next preferred candidate.
At the 2018 State Election, the proportion of below the line votes was 8.8%, more than double the rate it was in 2010. In 2018 as many as three of the Upper House positions were determined by below the line voting.
Full preferential voting
In full preferential voting you:
Write a number 1 in the box for your most-preferred candidate
Number all remaining boxes in the order you prefer.
If you do not number every box, your vote will not be counted.
Full preferential voting is used in Lower House. Candidates will often hand you a ‘how to vote’ card – these are a guide only, your preference in the lower house is determined by you.
Optional preferential voting
In optional preferential voting you don’t have to fill in all the boxes on the ballot paper.
There will be a thick, black line across the page in ballot papers for the Upper House.
You can vote above the line or below the line.
Always follow the instructions on the ballot paper so your vote is counted.
Above the line
The boxes above the line are groups of candidates that have registered one or more group voting tickets.
To vote above the line, write the number 1 in the box for the group you want to support.
When you vote above the line, your preferences will be decided by the group voting ticket.
A group voting ticket is a statement on how each party or group gives preferences to candidates. Every registered group voting ticket is made available on the VEC website before an election and is also on display in every voting centre.
Below the line
The boxes below the line represent each candidate. They are listed by group and ungrouped.
To vote below the line:
Write a number 1 in the box for your most-preferred candidate
Continue to number at least 5 boxes on the ballot paper in the order you prefer (and keep numbering if you wish).
If you choose to vote below the line, you have control over your preferences.
Shenanigans…adding to the intrigue about Upper House preferences
At the 2014 and 2018 elections an alliance of micro party used a strategy with the above the line voting system to direct preferences within the group to concentrate on specific candidates in the various Upper House regions. This system has seen preferences traded pragmatically rather than ideology and has been based on trust. Whilst that alliance is still operating this year, it appears that the Animal Justice Party has ‘double crossed’ its alliance partners, getting strong preference flows to them in two regions, but not reciprocating anywhere. Election analyst Ben Raue gives a rundown on the shenanigans at a more technical level on his website.
See the preferences for yourself?
All of the group voting tickets are published by the Victorian Electoral Commission on their website, the formatting however makes them difficult to read and follow. The ABC’s Chief Election Analyst, Antony Green, has gone to the effort of laying the preference flows out in a far more accessible form on his own election blog. You can read about and view the group voting tickets on Antony’s site here.
Victoria’s major shooting and hunting organisations joint approach to the 2022 State Election
Experience shows us that we get better outcomes by taking a unified approach to elections. The joint approach to the 2018 election delivered significant gains for shooters, including money for the shooting sport facilities grants, a new Sustainable Hunting Action Plan and the inclusion of an expert panel to drive the development of the Adaptive Harvest Model for ducks. It also resulted in over three hundred thousand hectares of public land being opened up for deer hunters.
First principles
In developing and prosecuting a platform for the election, the major organisations agreed to some fundamental principles and used them as a basis for going forward.
- Politics is the art of the possible. An election is no time for sectional interests like ours to start campaigns on complex issues. To get the best outcomes, we need to give the parties proposals they can sign up for.
- We are in this for the long haul. We need to have a trusted relationship with whoever is in power. By being upfront, telling everyone the same thing, and not picking winners, we consolidate a position of trust.
- Keep the list short – a longer wish list allows people to pick and choose; a more concise list, focussing on top-order priorities, makes that more difficult.
We also agreed that, along with protecting what we have, we should prosecute initiatives that would drive shooting and hunting forward.
What have we asked for?
Improved management of Victoria’s State Game Reserves
• Transfer management functions for Victoria’s State Game Reserves to the Game Management
Authority
• Provide an additional $10 million over four years to the Game Management Authority for minor
capital works and additional staff to fulfil its expanded role as a land manager
• Conduct an audit of Victoria’s State Game Reserves every five years to assess the status,
condition, and availability of land for game hunting
A new Action Plan for Sustainable Hunting and Game Management
• Develop a Game Management and Hunting Action Plan, to commence in 2025
• Provide $7 million to fund its implementation
• Maintain the game status of all current game species, to recognise the value of the resource and
avoid a proliferation of unregulated hunting
Better Shooting Sports Facilities
• Continue the Shooting Sports Facilities Program with an additional $12 million over four years
• Upgrade the unsealed Gifkins Road, Little River, to a sealed road
• Develop a business case for the Eastern Shooting Complex
• Develop a business case for the Willowmavin Complex
An Adaptive Harvest Model for Waterfowl
• Continue implementation of an Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) approach for waterfowl
• Provide an additional $2 million over four years to the Game Management Authority to ensure
the aerial monitoring surveys that inform the AHM are carried out by experienced wildlife
biologists
• Delegate decisions to alter prescribed seasonal arrangements and emergency closures under
s86 and s86A of the Wildlife Act 1975 to the Game Management Authority
Better firearm regulation and legislation
• Enshrine the Victorian Firearms Consultative Committee (VFCC) in legislation, to be chaired by a
Member of Parliament nominated by the responsible Minister
• Consult on the appointment of the Chair of the VFCC
• Require the VFCC to meet at least four times each year
A showcase for Victoria’s shooting athletes to the world
• Support inclusion of shooting events in the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games (delivered by Labor with bipartisan support)
Authorised by Barry Howlett, SSAA Victoria, Unit 3, 26 Ellingworth Parade, Box Hill
