Victorian Labor MPs are set to be targeted by duck hunters and unions in an effort to stop the state government from acting on an inquiry’s recommendation to ban the activity.
It comes as the upper house MP Sheena Watt, a member of the premier’s socialist left faction who is also on the select committee on Victoria’s recreational native bird hunting arrangements, “blindsided” Labor colleagues when she broke ranks to oppose a ban.
If the government accepts the committee’s recommendation, it would bring Victoria into line with Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, which have banned duck hunting.
Alongside a ban, the committee recommended reserves used for duck hunting should be converted into parks with the purpose of providing “greater access to outdoor recreation for all Victorians, with appropriate investment in camping, boating and related infrastructure”.
It also called for exemptions to be retained for farmers and for traditional owners.
Troy Gray, the secretary of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), told Guardian Australia that a campaign would be launched by an alliance of unions and outdoor recreation and hunting groups next week, urging a database of about 300,000 emails to contact their local Labor MP.
Members of the Building Industry Group of Unions, which includes the ETU as well as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the CFMEU and the plumbers’ union, have also committed to spending a further $2m on the campaign to “defend our rights to the great outdoors”.
“Our campaign is ready to step it up and we’ll be right on the doorsteps of all of these Labor politicians,” Gray told Guardian Australia.
“Plus, we’re doing all the face-to-face lobbying, and as I understand it, there’s meetings happening behind the scenes within Labor right now. MPs are asking, ‘How did we get here? How do we keep going in one direction without losing four of the biggest unions in Victoria?’”
Union members have also endorsed mass walk-offs from government projects and a ban on Labor MPs from attending union construction sites for photo opportunities if it agrees to end duck hunting.
Guardian Australian understands the unions and hunters will concentrate their lobbying efforts on newly elected MPs.
It is understood several ministers have indicated they support a ban, including Lizzie Blandthorn, Ben Carroll, Lily D’Ambrosio and Sonya Kilkenny, the minister for outdoor recreation.
Watt broke ranks with Labor MPs to issue a minority report on Thursday, arguing the government does not have the “luxury of closing an entire industry that contributes so significantly to rural communities” during a cost-of-living crisis.
“We can’t let down the rural communities who rely on the tourism income from
interstate and intra-state visitors for native bird hunting,” she wrote. “Many people from these industries and these communities have reached out to me directly and contributed submissions, showing how tough they’re doing it.”
Guardian Australia understands Labor MPs were unaware Watt would be releasing a minority report until it was tabled in parliament on Thursday morning.
“We were completely blindsided,” one MP said. Another said Watt had not raised her concerns with her fellow Labor committee members about the inquiry’s process.
Watt did not respond to requests for comment.
During drafting of the report, Watt voted with Labor, the Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell and the Greens’ Katherine Copsey to recommend a complete ban on recreational duck hunting in 2024. At the time, the committee chair, Labor MP Ryan Batchelor, was on leave, with deputy chair, Michael Galea, providing the casting vote.
Coalition MPs and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party MP, Jeff Bourman, voted against a ban and issued separate minority reports.
Purcell defended the integrity of the inquiry.
“There is no way that this is a whitewash or predetermined outcome. The reality is the overwhelming amount of evidence and submissions received pointed to a duck shooting ban,” Purcell said.
Batchelor said the five-month inquiry accepted a record 10,402 public submissions and involved multiple visits to hunting reserves and six days of public hearings.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, said he has yet to read the report but that its findings would be considered by cabinet.
