Australia

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”.

If you’re a member of one of these unions it might be a good time to get in touch and ask them wtf they think they’re doing with your dues.

Fucken ripper, good to see the dues going to such important issues. Not like there's a massive affordability crisis or anything going on.

This is the type of bullshit that gives Unions a bad name.

The only reason they would be doing this would because one desk jockey at the Union likes to kill, and him and his mates like to go camping once a year.

What in tarnation?

Fuck's sake. Why the actual fuck are unions getting involved in this? Jesus - I'd prefer they blockade the Westgate Bridge again. At least I could skip having to drive to work that day.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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”.

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.

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.

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