NSW to allow recreational hunting in national parks?

The NSW Shooters Party has introduced a private members bill to the NSW Parliament that would open the state's national parks and reserves to recreational hunters.

The bill, which would overturn NSW laws that prevent the enclosing of animals on land solely for hunting purposes, would allow private game reserves to be set up for professional safari hunters where they could shoot native animals and birds.

Among the birds and animals that could be hunted are the Australian wood duck, the chestnut teal and grey teal ducks, galahs, corellas and eastern grey, western grey and red kangaroos.

The bill may well become law as The Shooters Party has provided critical support for the Labor Government in the upper house, especially since the 2007 election. Last week the Shooters voted with the Government and the Christian Democratic party to defeat a bill backed by the Greens and the Liberals to preserve prime agricultural land from mining developments.

The bill has been condemned by the NSW Greens, the Liberal Party and environmental groups, with the NSW Opposition's environment spokeswoman, Catherine Cusack, attacked the bill, saying key elements were unacceptable.

Cusack has stated "we totally reject the idea of shooting in national parks and the concept of shooting native animals in national parks is repugnant to almost anyone."

A spokeswoman for NSW Environment Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, said the Government would consider the bill's merits but it did not support "the hunting of native animals or hunting in national parks".

Shooters Party MP, Robert Brown, says the bill draws on many of the recommendations of a government-backed review of existing laws undertaken with staff from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Game Council.

The NSW Greens leader, Lee Rhiannon, called on Minister Tebbutt to reject the entire bill, not only the provisions concerning national parks, stating "opposing shooting in national parks may well be a tactic Labor is using to divert attention from the fact it will support other equally regressive changes being pushed by the Shooters Party."

The Greens are also concerned about provisions in the bill that would make it an offence to approach anyone or interfere with anyone "lawfully hunting game animals" on any land that had been declared public hunting land.