SSAA NSW

The NSW Shooter is published by the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc Disclaimer: Please note that the views expressed are not necessarily those of SSAA (NSW) Inc. Attention: Branch Secretaries/Publicity Officers. Editorial deadline for the December 2016 issue of the NSW Shooter Quarterly Review is Friday 4 November 2016. Editor: Diana Melham Graphic Designer: Craig Rogers Post all correspondence and contributions to: Newsletter PO Box 1001 ST MARYS NSW 1790 or email nswshooter@nsw.ssaa.org.au Cover: Photos from the 2016 SSAA SHOT Expo held at Rosehill, group photo of Branch delegates at the 2016 SSAA NSW AGM and competitors at the 2016 SSAA Junior Challenge held in Batemans Bay. 4 Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. From Diana's Desk Gold for Australia sadly highlights media hypocrisy… It's been absolutely wonderful to see some positive media coverage of shooting sports in the Olympic Games. The catalyst being the fantastic efforts of Catherine Skinner who won a gold medal in the Women's Trap event. Sadly, many of those very same journalists that were falling over themselves to interview Catherine, were the same journalists who, only a few months ago at the time of the Port Arthur anniversary, were only too happy to facilitate the publicity of outrageous and misleading claims about firearms licensing and ownership peddled by the anti-gun protagonists. At the time SSAA NSW made contact with a number of media outlets in an attempt to correct the record, providing clear corrections of the ridiculous claims made by Gun Control Australia and the Greens. Unfortunately, our offers to correct the record and provide factual information were ignored. SSAA NSW did not receive a single response to, let alone acknowledgment of, our correspondence - but we didn't really expect anything different. Despite this continued disparity, SSAA NSW continues to take advantage of every opportunity to positively promote the shooting sports, recreational hunting and the Association. Continued Recognition for Recreational Hunters Recreational hunters and the role they play in conservation and pest animal management continues to be recognised with a number of reports released by Government agencies: • Natural Resources Commission (NRC) released their interim evaluation of the Supplementary Pest Control Program in April. The report is very positive and recognises the collaborative approach and positive relationships that have been established between NPWS and SSAA NSW. • NRC also released the draft report on their review of pest animal management in NSW at the end of March. The report recognises the value of recreational hunters, not just in their capacity on the ground but also as part of the development of regional pest management plans. It is also pleasing to see the report reference SSAA's Farmer Assist Program as an example of a community based program designed to foster relationships between landholders and hunters. • The Department of Primary Industries released a report "Can recreational hunting contribute to pest mammal control on public land in Australia?" which concludes that more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of recreational hunting. The report references the Supplementary Pest Control Program as one that involves partnerships between agencies and hunting groups. Whilst all are not conclusive, they are highlighting recreational hunting and bringing it into the public arena in a positive context and this is definitely a step in the right direction. We've long been advocating, and will continue to do so, that volunteer shooters and hunters are an underutilised resource and this is an area where SSAA NSW, and our members can make a greater contribution to pest animal management. Diana Melham Executive Director - SSAA (NSW) Inc.

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