'Public land' - there’s a clue in the name

We are often accused of taking ideological positions in regards to deer management and the administration of hunting in Australia. The people who tend to accuse us of that are typically arguing from an ideological position themselves and really don’t like what we have to say; it’s a double standard that we are all too familiar with.

What our detractors tend to write off as “ideology” is, in fact, our values shining through.

The two things are similar, but not the same. Ideology is a rigid belief which can limit options and box in decision-making. Values, on the other hand, are principles and standards that we hold tight while recognising that the issues we face are rarely black and white.

Ideologies are an eight-acre pen with strong fences … comfortable, but very limited in possibilities; values are a GPS, some steady boots and the freedom to move.

ADA’s mission is simple: “To effectively advocate for the sound management of wild deer and for public land hunting”. It’s a universal value that our members sign up to; a principle that hunting is an appropriate use of the land and that the land which belongs to the public should be available to the public for use wherever possible.

There are, occasionally, really good, really local, reasons why public land cannot be opened to hunters, but they are the exception.

Typically, the excuses we hear for why public access should not be pursued fall into three categories: self-interest, fear and our old friend ideology. The question for us for the most part is not “should public land be made available for recreational hunting?” it is “how should public land be made available for recreational hunting?”

Public land access grows hunting, it makes us all stronger and gives us all a louder voice in the decisions which effect us. We have seen this with the introduction of R-Licence hunting in New South Wales 20 years ago, with the opening up of public land ballots in Tasmania and with the extension of access for hunters in Victoria’s state forests and national parks. It also delivers triple bottom line benefits to society.

There is no one right model for doing this. What we have in Australia today with regards to hunting access is as much an exercise in politics as it is in land management. Most of our access systems are a reflection of what’s possible, not what’s optimal … which is fine, we live in the real world.

Systems for hunting access vary from the open and relatively unrestricted access to Victorian state forests to the tightly controlled balloted hunting opportunities we enjoy in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria … and pretty much every arrangement in between including seasonal access, bag limits, booking systems, gender restrictions etc.

ADA is up for the discussion about which areas of public land are opened to recreational hunters and about how that is managed. We have a proven track record of working with stakeholders to address genuinely held fears and concerns — fear of change is quite a natural thing, particularly with firearms in the mix.

We are not going to waste any time, however, in discussions about whether or not public land access should be pursued — it’s a value which is fundamental to the work we have done collectively since 1969 and it’s one which we’re not going to turn our back on.