2025-11-28
The Victorian Greens have stopped recreational deer hunting from being introduced in the new Mount Buangor National Park, with the Greens amendment to new national parks laws passing the Upper House.
The Bill will create long-promised new national parks in Victoria, but as a sweetener to the shooting lobby, Labor initially proposed gifting hunters tens of thousands of hectares to shoot deer in the new national parks Mount Buangor, Pyrenees and Wombat-Lerderderg national parks.
Labor’s original proposal would’ve seen hunters shooting deer right near existing school camps and outdoor recreation businesses in Mount Buangor, potentially threatening both school kids as well as visitors to the park, and more than thirty local families that rely on the area for employment.
The Greens have been able to secure an amendment to remove deer hunting from the national park entirely - which are supported by the Victorian National Parks Association, Outdoors Victoria, Australian Camps Association and the community in the area.
The Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell said that bringing hunters into Mt Buangor specifically would pose an unacceptable threat to existing bush users, school kids, and more than 30 jobs in outdoor education and tourism.
The Greens support professional deer-control efforts to bring down deer numbers, rather than amateur hunters who have been shown not to make a dent in deer populations.
Quotes attributable to the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:
“We’re glad that the Greens have been able to use our power in Parliament to make this common-sense change to keep kids and the community safe from deer hunters, and protect our beautiful natural areas”
“Victorians fought for decades to protect these forests and finally see them become national parks, they should never have been put at risk by Labor’s dodgy deal with the shooting lobby.
“Our national parks are for protecting nature for all of us to enjoy, not to be a playground for shooters, so we’re glad that we’ve been able to secure some really important improvements to ensure people can enjoy our national parks safely.”