Game Animal Council Submission - Section 2

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2.0 A CASE FOR TWO OR MORE COUNCIL MEMBERS

NZDA welcomes the proposal in the ECDD (S2.8.4) that the Association should nominate two of the council positions representing recreational hunters on a new game animal council. NZDA believes it has earned this opportunity by virtue of its 72 year record of delivering a wide range of services and offering a range of benefits to its membership. It regards itself as New Zealand’s premier recreational hunting organisation and sees real benefit in being able to offer its physical, social and intellectual resources, and members’ expertise and experience to the new council.

Besides its large membership noted in section 1 of this submission, NZDA offers the following points about its physical resources, which already provide benefits for members and the general public:

• NZDA branches collectively own 25 huts and 32 ranges;
• NZDA has a Heritage Trust museum and library, which are available for public and members’ use;
• NZDA has more members and affiliated clubs than any other hunting organisation in the country.

Nationwide, NZDA enjoys the patronage of many skilled volunteers who provide essential training and development services to the outdoor recreation community. They include:

• In excess of 100 trained range officers;
• Around 240 firearms instructors, actively involved in firearms licence testing;
• 100 assessors trained to use the Douglas Score. These members provide scoring for internal competitions and for the annual Taupo Sika and Christchurch Tahr Shows;
• 50 HUNTS Hunter Training Course instructors. These members trained 214 hunters over 19 courses in the 2008-09 year, and hunter numbers are increasing annually;
• 6 Qualified range certifiers.

International and national organisations on which NZDA is represented by one or more members include:

• Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (one board member);
• Coalition of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand (three board members);
• International Hunter Education Association (one board member);
• Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (with whom we are closely involved, especially with Pacific Regional Shooting Championships);
• New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (one council member and one on the firearms committee).

Regional committees and trusts in which NZDA is heavily involved include:

• Lower North Island Recreational Hunter Liaison Group (with representatives from five branches);
• Kaimanawa Forest Park Management Plan Group (with two NZDA representatives);
• Kaweka Recreational Hunting Area Liaison Committee (with representatives from all Hawke’s Bay NZDA branches);
• Stewart Island Pest Management Liaison Group (with representatives from the National Executive, and Southland and Southern Lakes NZDA branches);
• Rakiura Camp Trust (with all four trustees being NZDA members). This group has engaged a total of 50 members in the construction and maintenance of 8 huts on Stewart Island.

The Association expects many of these resources will assist and even stimulate the growth of the new council. However, it insists that NZDA will continue to grow, and differentiate itself from the new council. Members do not wish to see the new council competing with NZDA in delivering crucial services to hunters, nor do they want duplication by the council of important functions their Association subscriptions already pay for.

Notwithstanding this assertion, the Association endorses the proposal that NZDA should nominate two of the council positions representing recreational hunters.