SSAA NSW

Supplementary Pest Control Program Update As announced in the November NSW Shooter, SSAA NSW have entered into a partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to participate in the three year trial Supplementary Pest Control Program which will operate in 12 National Parks throughout NSW. I'm very pleased to say that we have had a positive response from amongst our Branches and members. I also recently attended a GameCon meeting where Robert Brown MLC of the Shooters and Fishers Party clarified the Party's position. He advised that the Party doesn't support a 12 park trial as it is not the model originally promised by Barry O'Farrell, however it is what we have now and must be managed to ensure it is a success. He also confirmed that the Party totally supports the involvement of SSAA NSW in the trial as it was going to go ahead regardless and the involvement of a hunting body is vital to ensure validity of the trial and the results. It was also pleasing to see that at that GameCon meeting, the delegates unanimously passed a motion of support for SSAA NSW's involvement in the trial. It's important to remember that SSAA NSW fully supported the original plan for conservation hunting in National Parks that was first announced by Premier O'Farrell in 2012. Unfortunately the Premier back flipped on this when he sided with the Greens to suspend all public land hunting in NSW and disband the Game Council which had operated both safely and effectively for more than 7 years. What we were left with was the 12 park trial and the alternative of not supporting the trial and exposing it to almost certain failure, was one that in our view posed a risk to all hunters in NSW. Some people have questioned why this is something Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. that SSAA NSW would want to be involved with, which is a fair question. I learned to hunt as a teenager with my dad as we had access to a property in far-western NSW. But today many of our members don't have access to private land and more than half of our members live in Sydney and other major cities. As the largest organisation promoting safe, ethical and responsible hunting we must provide opportunities wherever we can to our members – whether they be access to National Parks, a members only hunting property, ranges, training and education or programs designed for Juniors. A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald tried to suggest that SSAA NSW and NPWS are "at odds" over the trial, but nothing could be further from the truth. Following trials in other States we have seen hunters gain greater autonomy, and this is definitely something we would like to see in NSW. But before that can happen we need to work with our partners at NPWS to ensure this trial is managed towards a successful outcome. We have also maintained that under no circumstances would we support the same conditions for National Parks being used in State Forests. The SSAA NSW position on that is very clear – we want to see the immediate resumption of State Forest hunting under the same conditions previously employed by the Game Council. I hope that people will take the time to visit our website and find out the facts about our participation in this trial. We've already had a positive response with hundreds of people registering their interest, and with the support of our members we think this trial could be the first step in proving to the Government that hunters can make a significant contribution to conservation in our National Parks. Diana Melham Executive Director 8

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