Volunteer hunters are the true conservationists

As for claims of spreading ferals, no matter how many times they are repeated there is still zero evidence to support them. Like the red-neck and similar labels, their only purpose is to denigrate volunteer hunters.

At a more philosophical level, it has been suggested that hunting is incompatible with the values of national parks. This ignores the fact that those values are being significantly degraded by feral animals, and that they are not the pristine wilderness some imagine them to be.

Having said all that, there are aspects of the proposal to open national parks to hunters that can be criticised, in particular the role of the NSW Game Council.

There is nothing equivalent to the Game Council in other states or countries. The assumption that intensive regulation of hunting contributes to a safer outcome or better environmental results is unique to NSW and does not withstand scrutiny.

Victoria allows hunting of pest animals at any time, without a specific licence and with only minimal regulation, in most of its state forests and other public land. However, it also issues game licences for hunters to take deer, ducks and quail in national parks and other public land subject to passing a waterfowl identification test (to distinguish ducks from other waterbirds), proof of identity and payment of a fee.

The purpose of the game licence is to enforce seasonal limitations and bag limits. Both deer and ducks are subject to hunting seasons, while all ducks are subject to bag limits to protect native duck populations from over hunting.

The underlying purpose of the NSW Game Council is to regulate the hunting of deer. From the beginning the primary motivation of most of the hunter representatives on the Game Council was deer hunting, not the control of feral pest animals. The legislation creating the Game Council even makes it an offence for anyone other than the property owner to hunt deer on private land unless they hold a game licence.

I know this from first hand experience; I was an inaugural member of the Game Council and a member of its Committee of Management before being sacked by the now infamous Minister for Primary Industries, Ian McDonald, for criticising then Chairman of the Game Council and now Shooters and Fishers Party MLC, Robert Borsak. My complaints about the focus on deer, and predictions that it would cost public support, were dismissed out of hand.

There are compelling reasons for encouraging the use of volunteer hunters to control feral animals in national parks and other public land, just as those who volunteer to fight bushfires and provide assistance after natural disasters are encouraged. They contribute to the care of our natural environment and promote civil society.

The problem is excessive regulatory control. The Game Council's licensing system, controls over access to land and coercive powers deter volunteer hunting. It's easier to negotiate access to private land than deal with them. And despite expectations that it would be self-funding through licence fees, the system has become a permanent cost to taxpayers.

If those opposed to hunting in national parks held genuine concerns for the environment they would want to make it easier for volunteers to shoot feral animals, wherever they occur. And they would support abolition of the Game Council.