While the dust has yet to settle from these new laws, with some details still undetermined at the time of going to print, there are many stark lessons learnt and subjects worthy of deep reflection.
Situations such as these are by default uncomfortable, not only is it because we are confronted with change forced upon us that will impact many people's lives, but if we are honest in this reflection, there are some uncomfortable truths and realities that we must reconcile if we wish to better equip ourselves and do better the next time we are dealing with such an incredibly challenging landscape.
A starting point for context is to appreciate the situation we faced and the reality of being unable to change circumstances or decisions, no matter how much we wish we could. We are all familiar with the phrase “you can’t put the genie back in the bottle”, meaning that once a situation or action has occurred, it is impossible to reverse. In this case, that was the horrendous events of Sunday, December 14, 2025. This set off a chain of events that saw what are typically the slow wheels of Western democracy turn at a rapid pace at both the state and federal levels. Both the NSW government and the federal government recalled parliaments early to rush through laws that adversely affected recreational firearm owners.
As part of this accelerated process, there was little to no time for consultation with industry before drafting the proposed legislation that ultimately passed both parliaments. While this was acknowledged in meetings and engagements with ministers, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened, and we, as an industry, suffer as a result.
While there were some changes or issues avoided at the eleventh hour as a result of advocacy, such as tidying up the federal bill to ensure that the carriage service provision didn’t wrongly target legitimate users and the avoidance of mental health checks in NSW, it still didn’t make the legislation okay.
It serves as a stark reminder that, as obvious as it sounds, governments enact laws and regulations. Both of which govern how we, as firearm owners and recreational deer hunters, go about our way of life.
If we wish to preserve or improve what we have, we must endeavour to become more accepted in the political mainstream. That isn’t to say the minor parties that may support our interests at particular times don’t have an important role to play, but that they are somewhat complementary in a parliament where we are accepted and championed by the major parties who compete to form government.
This is all much easier said than done. We have experienced the challenges of trying to become more widely accepted into the majors, and if it were that simple, then it would have happened already.
Lessons and realities like these demonstrate the strategic importance we placed on advocating for the creation of Outdoor Recreation Victoria (ORV). While change from what we know can be confronting, we know that if we want to build a bigger and better future, then we must change the operating environment that currently prevents our industry as a whole from taking the next step. Consequently, we will remain focused and dedicated to doing all we can to ensure ORV is the success we need it to be.
We know that other jurisdictions will be watching to see how ORV goes, which could provide us with an opportunity to have it duplicated one day.
These are the building blocks that will provide us with the best possible outcomes, come what may. But to create them and capitalise on them, we have to be inside the tent and valued as a trusted, respected association that whatever government of the day can engage with and deliver policy to the benefit of the industry.
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