Coalition pushes to lock in hunting and fishing rights in new outdoor authority

Eastern Victoria MLC Melina Bath says the Nationals and Liberals will move a package of amendments to the Outdoor Recreation Victoria Bill 2026 to better protect the long-term rights of the state's hunting fishing and regional recreation communities.

The bill merges the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the Game Management Authority into a single statutory body, Outdoor Recreation Victoria, due to start on July 1.

The Coalition does not oppose the amalgamation, but the Nationals MP said Labor's framework failed to safeguard regional users and the commercial fishing sector.

Their amendments would rename the body the Victorian Fishing, Hunting and Outdoor Authority, insert explicit legal protections for existing commercial fishing licences, quotas and entitlements under the Fisheries Act 1995, and formally recognise pastimes including trail-bike riding, prospecting, fossicking and horse riding so they cannot be locked out.

Other changes would force the authority to keep services available in physical, non-electronic formats so older and regional Victorians are not left behind by a digital-only shift.

The Coalition also wants the access framework upgraded into a Land and Aquatic Access Panel covering lands, coastal zones and marine waters, a ban on ministerial interference in specific licensing and enforcement matters, and public reporting on the deployment and vacancy rates of authorised officers.

A further amendment would legally require the board to hold practical experience across the commercial and recreational sectors.

"We want more Victorians enjoying recreational fishing and the proud tradition of hunting, not more land locked up and access restricted," Ms Bath said.

"The commercial sector has been overlooked and placed in the too-hard basket by the Allan Labor Government, and that must change.

"These are primary producers delivering fresh, sustainable food.

"They deserve certainty, recognition and a real voice."

Ms Bath said the amendments would shift decisions away from city desktops and ground future choices in science, regional data and stakeholder knowledge.

The Government has defended the bill as a major reform of the sector.

In his second-reading speech, Outdoor Recreation Minister Steve Dimopoulos told Parliament the new authority would regulate hunting and fishing while expanding support to grow outdoor recreation, and that every staff member from the two existing authorities would move across with all jobs retained.

Mr Dimopoulos said hunters and fishers had been overwhelmingly supportive of the proposal, and that the bill would establish a Land Access Panel of stakeholders and government to help more people use public land and waterways.

The bill passed its first reading in April and returns to the Legislative Assembly this week.