VOTERS BEWARE: HIGH COST OF "GUN CREEP" IN VICTORIA
NEW BILL RISKS SOCIAL /ECONOMIC DISASTER
Recreational hunters can already roam unmonitored with firearms in over half of Victoria’s public areas – forests, wetlands, even national parks - the most extensive public land access in the country. Now they’re demanding more.
And they want tens of $millions more in taxpayer dollars in the process.
Above: Photo from Herald Sun's article. Victoria's proposed new outdoor recreation super-agency is set to promote shooting and hunting to children as young as 12. But that's just the beginning.
Economy, Environment, Safety—Victoria Fails
Most people aren't opposed to firearms used by professionals, target shooters or farmers. They would be opposed to dangerous loopholes increasing recreational gun use in public areas near homes and farms, with no oversight. But this is exactly what the government looks set to ratify within 48 hours.
Claims that hunting is "safe, sustainable and well regulated" deserve closer examination.
The Taxpayer - funded “Independent” Regulator
Victoria's Game Management Authority (GMA) faces intense criticism for routinely ignoring key stakeholders, bypassing scientific evidence, failing to protect vulnerable species, and absurd enforcement priorities: a focus on wildlife rescuers while turning a blind eye to illegal hunting.
Experienced wildlife rescuer Manfred Zabinskas OAM, was threatened with arrest after reporting a hunter who failed to retrieve a wounded bird. Instead of investigating the hunter, GMA penalised Zabinskas for using a small fishing net (the only practical way to rescue injured birds).
In another case GMA prosecuted a Ballarat wildlife rescuer for retrieving an injured threatened Freckled Duck rather than the hunter who shot it. The magistrate expressed "serious concerns" about the prosecution and largely dismissed the case, including GMA’s proposal that the rescuer make a donation to a hunting organisation.
These aren’t isolated incidents. Wildlife rescuers and landholders continually report illegal hunting, with the perpetrators routinely escaping scrutiny.
Laughable Enforcement
This year's native duck shoot was permitted across circa 3.5 million hectares of public land for 89 days. GMA conducted just 541 patrols – one per 7400 hectares. Half occurred in the first five days, leaving 84 days grossly unmonitored. Still, officers detected 33 hunting offences, mostly related to illegal toxic ammunition. Firearms offences ranked second of all illegal hunting reports.
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information show the government knows millions of non-biodegradable plastic shotgun cartridges and wads are strewn around Victorian ecosystems each duck shooting season (GMA Board paper April 2020).
Right: trees reflected in wetland with floating cartridge litter bearing the logo of a "conservation" hunting group.
Photo: Andrew Wallis
FHOV: Premier Allan's Gift to the Gun Lobby
"For decades, hunters have advocated for ...better access to public land"
"The Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill represents a significant opportunity for hunters."
-from a hunting group's recent media release
Instead of strengthening oversight, the Premier wants to expand the “independent” regulator’s role. A new taxpayer - funded “Fishing, Hunting and Outdoor Victoria” (FHOV) super-agency will inherit GMA staff to promote and regulate hunting alongside fishing, four-wheel driving, trail bike riding and bush camping. Promoting an activity while regulating it is an obvious conflict of interest.
The legislation would create a Minister-appointed “Land Access Panel” to make recommendations affecting Victoria's public land - including national parks - without independent oversight. Given the government's history of hunter-friendly recommendations implemented, we can see where this might go.
Fewer than one per cent of Victorians hold game hunting licences, yet they can discharge firearms across more than half the state's eight million hectares of public land already. Without warning signs or risk assessments. And hunting organisations are right now demanding even more, alongside tens of millions more in taxpayer funds.
This is more than a safety issue—it is an economic one.
Missing Skillset in Jacinta Allan's Office: Basic Maths
Minister Dimopoulos (Hansard 2/4/26) said nature-based tourism is contributing $5.3 billion annually to the state’s economy. That's around fifteen times the alleged value of recreational game hunting ($356 million, a figure rejected by independent economists as grossly inflated).
Nearly one million Victorians (about 13% of the population) bushwalk, 11% birdwatch and 11% camp. Conversely, shooters and hunters account for one of the smallest groups of Victoria's public land visitors (with active duck shooters representing just 0.1%.) See Katherine Copsey's educated summary pp 20-25 Hansard June 2026.
Yet Spring St elevates hunter interests above all else?
The Spatial Lock-Out & Farmers' Angst
Hunting inevitably excludes other users. A single deer shooter "sterilizes" a radius of kilometres due to rifle danger distances. Studies consistently show more than half of visitors avoid areas where hunting occurs because gunfire destroys peaceful recreation (including fishing).
But that's not all it destroys. Regional landowners bear costs rarely acknowledged: damaged fences, spooked stock, inability to work from home or for shift workers to sleep. Some of the most severe damage is invisible such as toxic lead ammunition residue. The agriculture sector operates under razor-thin margins and some of the strictest biosecurity measures in the world. Contamination in soils, produce or animal products can have brutal consequences for a farmer's livelihood.
Victoria Lagging Behind
Queensland and New South Wales banned recreational duck shooting decades ago, each now generating more than $14 billion annually from nature-based tourism. (Tourism Research Australia's 2025 visitor surveys - excluding revenue from international tourists.)
Queensland prohibits recreational hunting on public land altogether. Its national parks alone, generate over $2.6 billion annually and support 17,000 jobs.
Nationally, birdwatching contributes around $3 billion.
Victoria, despite its internationally significant Ramsar wetlands, extensive forests and remarkable wildlife, continues to lag behind.
Globally, 60% of Ramsar wetlands prohibit hunting, recognising these ecosystems for conservation and community value rather than shooting galleries.
Ministers, Please Explain
The Australia Institute reports that 90% of hunting expenditure is economically "substitutable". That is, most spending would simply shift to other regional activities if hunting disappeared.
The real question is not why other jurisdictions moved away from recreational hunting. It’s why Victoria is moving in the opposite direction.
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