Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Duck hunting

Mr MEDDICK (Western Victoria) (09:43): The duck-shooting season has finished for another year. May it be the last. This was the season that never should have gone ahead. The case for a ban on duck shooting is both environmentally and politically sound. More than ever Victorians care for our wildlife and for our climate. Victorians have shown at the most recent election that they want politicians who make decisions that protect our planet and all those who inhabit it. They do not want politicians who prioritise the interests of a dwindling few. This government must listen to the overwhelming majority of Victorians, who for years have been calling for an end to this brutal pastime. Our wetlands should be used as a sanctuary, not for slaughter. Victorians abhor the cruelty we saw this season—protected species killed, swan nests and eggs destroyed and wounded birds left to slowly die. They do not want to see it ever again. That is why in November we will be doing all we can to return my seat to this Parliament along with a bigger, stronger team so we have the political power to end the recreational cruelty that is duck shooting once and for all.