One view on HuntFest
In answer to Susan Cruttenden’s letter (Narooma News, August 7), the people have voted overwhelmingly to support HuntFest it would seem.
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What happened to the 81 per cent or the majority of the community who SAFE kept telling us were against HuntFest? Community Voice Eurobodalla (CVE) had three groups standing in the Eurobodalla Shire Council election, made up of those aligned with SAFE and the Animal Justice Party, telling everyone they would stop HuntFest. Let’s not forget The Greens. One could say we had four groups against HuntFest.
With the vote now counted, we have not 81 per cent, or the majority of the community, support for your groups, but 15.23 per cent. What happened to the other 84.77 per cent? Did they all go on holidays? No; they voted for others against you in support of HuntFest.
Seems the Eurobodalla’s voice has been heard loud and clear. Maybe the community can all get some peace at last.
Looks like The Green vote was down also. The most surprising thing was Labor man, Jim Bright, standing against Country Labor Party’s own candidate, Maureen Searson. Let’s not forget that CVE leader, Anthony Mayne, told us all he was not a Green. Oh, the poor old Greens. Not even the CVE leader will align himself with them. If the CVE groups had not run, the local Greens would have got two elected, but silly games have cost them another councillor. Thank you for that.
Let’s hope we have heard the last of the Anti-HuntFest movement and that our newly elected councilors and mayor can get on with the job of making our community a better place to live, instead of wasting more of ratepayers’ time and money on a campaign of hate against HuntFest, an event that brings huge financial benefits to the whole community.
Dan Field
President South Cost Hunters Club
… and another
The continuation of HuntFest was not made an issue in the recent election, apart from The Greens resolving to “Stand up against arms fairs in Eurobodalla”.
Never-the less it remains an important matter to be revisited by the new council if it truly represents the wishes and welfare of the shire.
Opponents of HuntFest in 2013 were mocked and ridiculed and accused of exaggerating the damage likely to be caused by an event that was little more than a photographic competition and a celebration of the great outdoors which would benefit the shire financially. Complaints a celebration of hunting should not be held in a public building were brushed aside by the council and staff, and yet, three years later, it has morphed into a fully fledged American style festival of hunting, with sale of guns and promotion of African safaris. It will be embedded for another seven years unless the licence is revoked.
A clear message from the election was one of widespread dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency, accountability and engagement shown by the Lindsay Brown-led council, in spite of the belated flurry of meetings and exercises in “public engagement”.
Lack of engagement was seen by the Environment Defence Office as a basic flaw in the decision to allow sale of guns at HuntFest. This was compounded by a decision “behind closed doors” to extend the licence to 2022.
Mayor Liz Innes said: “The overwhelming issue was a desire for change in management style.” If by this she means to lead her council to consider the interests of the community before their own and those of the hunting lobby and to re-examine the legality and morality of a further seven years of HuntFest, then her election could be a good sign. An event with such far-reaching consequences (should be) fairly debated and determined by the majority of residents.