Hasbeen, I find your argument strange. I suggested professionals should be allowed to do the job of feral animal control and you pooh-pooh the notion. If you required medical attention would you seek it from an amateur, I think not. On the question of feral animal control you seem to think the amateur way is best, I find that odd.

Here in NSW we have had 2 years of turmoil over the issue of hunting in national parks, culminating in a farcical trial which if it was not such a serious matter could best be described as laughable.

JayB, I have no issue with 1 to 5, I see not need for 6 when I do not support amateur shooting in national parks. I don't know if my son tells me stories just to fire me up on this issue or not, but tells me this; A bloke who uses a shot gun to blow rabbits to pieces, shooters paying big bucks to go to Africa to illegally shoot lions, elephants etc, he has seen the pics. People with cross-bows shooting at game, having it run off wondered. I don't believe shooters are responsible enough people to be allowed to endangers others in the way they potentially could in national parks.

paul1405: you seem to think the amateur way is best, I find that odd.

Hasbeen didn't say that. You are reading too much into it. I agree that Farmers/Property owners should be allowed to keep their weapons locked up on their Property. It's the City Slickers that Must have them in a Central Armoury. I did mean to say that.

paul1405: I see not need for 6 when I do not support amateur shooting in national parks.

Jayb: 6. A Letter of permission from the Parks Department must be held before shooting on a National or State Park.

The National Parks Rangers would only give a letter of Permission if a Cull was called for, & only to Qualified professional Shooters.

And again, purposely reading too much negativity into it & I don't care if you support shooting in National Parks or not. That's your choice. National Parks Rangers may see it differently from time to time. Especially when Wild Goats, Horses, Pigs, Deer & Camels are destroying everything in sight. I suppose you want someone to go in & ask them if they would like to see a Greenies Movie on Birth Control.

Paul it is you who has a problem. You appear to have this blind faith in what you call professionals. Who the hell are they.

You haven't answered me on which professional I should have called to stop some city dill running into horses on the road. It is a regular problem around here, when fences are damaged by vehicles or trees. The council have people to deal with barking dogs in town, but try them with a bull.

We could call in the army for animal culls, they have the firepower to do the job, if not the accuracy, otherwise where are these professional shooters you want to call in. As mentioned, the last people you want are national park rangers. Most of them could not hit a barn, even from inside. I have all too often cleaned up after them in the reef islands.

People who shoot for a living are not interested in culling goats or wallabies, or anything else, where a vehicle can't pick up the kill.

We suffer far too much from your city professionals, who have got to the top of the chain, merely by doing nothing, so getting no black marks. Then having people like you, think we should listen to their rubbish in a dangerous situation would be a joke, if it weren't so deadly.

Please name me one city based organisation, other than the volunteer SES, or the electricity lines people, [private company employees], that has not stuffed when called upon to do what they are paid for.

Professionals, ass lickers, more likely.

The Watermelon Greens find problems where they make them and it is all for headlines. Because they are members of a protest party, not any alternative for government. They have no credibility at all. Honestly, what more might be said of a Trotskyist outfit of ne'er do wells who would picket a humble shopkeeper, who was astonished to find that he was being made an example of by a picket of rag-tag ratbags, serial protesters, who were demanding a blockade in the Middle East.

Is it a fact that the Watermelon faction of the Greens Protest Party conducts workshops to find and train serial protesters? It is, isn't it? One way to get a not-so-flash mob for demos I suppose.

Interestingly, while the Watermelon Greens deliberately conflate and blame the many thousands of respectable, licensed firearms owners with common criminals, the Greens have the hide to always be spruiking for criminals rights (drug-dealing OMG bikies rights at present) and have demonstrated no interest whatsoever in higher penalties for illegal use, which is obviously the crimes being committed.

The rangers and the closed off parks have resulted in exotic pests and weeds taking over. National parks are a mess and there are treated pine logs everywhere to corral ordinary visitors and large entry fees for the public to pay again, TWICE, for they have already paid for in the taxes.

I can't believe this discussion is still going.

Anyway, as is my tradition, I'd like to Thank all
of the contributors. And am looking forward to
more interesting discussions in the future.

Take care folks.

BTW: otb - don't hold back.

Tell us what you really think about the Greens.
(smile). I understand why you call them watermelon
your views are crystal clear however why not in
fairness and balance do you not assign colours to
the other political
parties as well, just to make things more
interesting.

The Coalition could be Blue on the outside
(We all end up singing the Blues when we vote for them,
after all). And brown or black on the inside.
Labor red on the outside, white on the inside.
Red and white look so good together and stand out from
the norm.

Foxy,

If you want to burn someone for describing the Greens as 'just a protest' party it will have to be ex-PM Julia. Here Julia is on the news, in video,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouJ5NqpOU78

Julia added that she, "always knew the Greens would revert to type and they have done so".

She should know too, after being in partnership with the treacherous Greens who sabotaged her government daily and jumped in first where they could see some kudos.

BTW, that clip is interesting for Labor's factional politics too. -Which are about to surface again (as in Deliverance?) as factions have set Shorten up with a 'hospital pass' (sl., sport) to protect the more valuable indigenous woman senator from the NT.