SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 5 From Diana's Desk Our latest range purchase – Lucknow at Dubbo SSAA NSW is in the fi nal stages of purchasing Lucknow, a 1,610 acre property located 30 kilometres northeast of Dubbo. The plan is to build a regional shooting complex capable of servicing regional, state and national competitions. The Lucknow complex will house seven ranges of distances from 50 metres to 1,000 yards and will be able to cater for all SSAA Disciplines except for high power and high velocity cartridges such as 50 BMG and 338 Lapua. Most importantly, the Range Danger Areas, or templates, for all ranges will be contained well and truly within the property boundaries, thus making the range's future secure and not reliant upon the goodwill of surrounding neighbours. This latest purchase is another addition to the growing portfolio of SSAA NSW owned ranges which include facilities at Armidale, Hay, Macksville, Forbes and Tilterweira. There are also a number of ranges owned by SSAA NSW Branches including those at Gunnedah and Wagga Wagga. The purpose of the SSAA NSW Range Development Fund (RDF), which was established in 2009, is to ensure the future of our sport through the purchase and development of range facilities that are fully self-contained and thus not reliant on any external parties for their longevity. Each year SSAA NSW contributes a percentage of its surplus funds to the RDF to enable the funding of these range projects. Funds from the RDF are used to purchase suitable land to develop range complexes and also provide assistance for the development of existing ranges to protect their future viability. Most recently, the RDF provided funds to assist with construction at the SSAA NSW Wagga Wagga Branch owned range following issues with its template falling over a high use area of the neighbouring National Park. Once this construction work has been completed, the Wagga Wagga range will be a 500 metre limited danger template range; the fi rst in Australia we believe. National Parks SPC Program It's been almost a year since SSAA NSW announced the partnership with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to provide volunteers for the three year trial of the Supplementary Pest Control (SPC) Program. Looking back, it's pleasing to see the success so far with six operations completed to date and over 300 feral animals taken; including pigs, goats, rabbits, deer and a cat. More operations are being planned for the months leading up to Christmas school holidays. Feedback from both SSAA NSW volunteers (QSPCVs) and National Parks has been extremely positive. Our QSPCVs are doing a fantastic job working with NPWS staff to reduce the population of feral animals in the 12 parks and reserves that are part of the trial and lifting the profi le of volunteer hunters as well as highlighting the important contribution they make to conserving our environment. In entering into the partnership, SSAA NSW aims were to increase opportunities for our members to participate in hunting activities; to increase community acceptance of hunting and awareness of the valuable contribution of volunteer hunters can make to improving our environment; to align ourselves with other States such as Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, where the SSAA and NPWS organisations work together; and to continue to build long term positive relationships with Government agencies. We're currently planning our next round of Information Sessions. The details of those will be released shortly. Members wanting to fi nd out more should visit the SSAA NSW website and register their interest online. All members who have registered previously, as well as those that register now, will shortly be sent details of upcoming Information Sessions and instructions on how to book a place. Firearms Community Stakeholder Groups SSAA NSW congratulates the NSW Police Minister and the NSW Firearms Registry on the establishment of the Firearms Community Stakeholder Groups which is a positive step forward in building constructive relationships to enable input from those that participate in the shooting sports. SSAA NSW President Paul McNabb and I have been appointed to the groups. As representatives of the largest shooting organisation in NSW, we believe this will provide an excellent opportunity not only to represent the interests of our members, but importantly all involved in shooting sports in NSW. SSAA NSW has always been willing to work with Government on effective and sensible fi rearms laws and has openly opposed the introduction of pointless laws that further restrict those of us that are already abiding by some of the strictest fi rearms laws in Australia and the world. One of the Groups has been established specifi cally to look at the various legislation governing the shooting sports; this will provide the opportunity to review current laws, their interpretations and effectiveness, and then look to resolve the issues surrounding them. The fi rst meetings will be held later this month and updates will be provided in coming editions of the NSW Shooter. Diana Melham Executive Director - SSAA (NSW) Inc.

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