The Victorian Labor government wants to expand the Game Management Authority (GMA) into a highly controversial, powerful new “super agency” called Fishing, Hunting and Outdoor Victoria. This move highlights how the state government has been "captured" by a pro-gun sector, operating through powerful, male-dominated trade unions, resulting in environmental degradation and privileging a small group of shooters over all other Victorians who wish to enjoy and protect nature.
Key Takeaways from Katherine Wilson’s “Calling the Shots”, The Monthly, August 2026
SUMMARY:
The Victorian Labor government wants to expand the Game Management Authority (GMA) into a highly controversial, powerful new “super agency” called Fishing, Hunting and Outdoor Victoria. This move highlights how the state government has been "captured" by a pro-gun sector, operating through powerful, male-dominated trade unions, resulting in environmental degradation and privileging a small group of shooters over all other Victorians who wish to enjoy and protect nature.
Read the article here: https://www.themonthly.com.au/august-2026/essays/calling-shots
Key Themes & Findings
Factional Capture: Prominent "Big Build" unions — such as the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), and the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) — have formed voting blocs within Victorian Labor. Union leaders (such as the ETU's state secretary Troy Gray) have used this political leverage to block environmental protections, the creation of parks, and actively threaten strikes on major infrastructure projects if, for example, duck hunting bans are introduced.
A Conflicted Regulator: The GMA is heavily criticised by wildlife advocates, vets, and former staff as a "taxpayer-funded gun lobby" that promotes hunting rather than regulating it. Former GMA compliance manager George Bucchorn and groups such as Animals Australia say the agency routinely fails to prosecute illegal hunter behaviour and alters its compliance figures.
Targeting of Wildlife Rescuers: Instead of penalising rogue hunters, the GMA is accused of weaponising legal loopholes to harass, fine, and ban wildlife rescuers (such as Helen Round and Emma Lemmon) who enter wetlands to retrieve wounded birds and record hunter violations.
Misogyny and Intimidation: Activists and MPs (such as the Animal Justice Party’s Georgie Purcell) report a distinct "macho culture" where female wildlife protectors are subjected to severe online and physical intimidation, including death threats, sexual violence threats, and stalking, with little to no response from state ministries.
Environmental & Cultural Degradation: Ecologists state that Victorian Labor has overseen rapid ecosystem declines, gutted environmental funding, and ignored Indigenous counsel. The duck hunting season results in the desecration of ancient Aboriginal scar trees and cooking mounds.
Political Shift: Because the current Labor leadership relies on the gun-lobby-aligned union faction to maintain power, traditional progressive voters and conservation groups are increasingly turning to unlikely allies, such as Liberal shadow environment minister Nick McGowan, who has been far more receptive to their ecological concerns.
NOTE: This article was written while Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan was being replaced by her deputy Ben Carroll. Carroll has pledged to put integrity at the centre of his new administration, in what many see as an effort to distance himself from previous premiers Allan and Daniel Andrews.
It is unknown whether the push to expand the GMA into a new hunting “super agency” called Fishing, Hunting and Outdoor Victoria, will be approved by the lower house of parliament prior to the state election in November 2026.