Some Victorian Labor MPs were “shocked and disappointed” by the decision to continue to allow duck hunting in the state, despite a recommendation from a government-initiated inquiry.
After a marathon three-hour meeting on Monday, cabinet rejected a recommendation from a Labor-led parliamentary inquiry to ban the divisive practice, which would have brought the state into line with New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.
But the minister for outdoor recreation, Steve Dimopoulos, said ministers had accepted the inquiry’s remaining seven recommendations, including mandatory training and tougher penalties for hunters, which will come into effect from the 2025 season.
Guardian Australia has spoken to half a dozen Labor MPs, including two ministers, about the decision, which has divided the party room for years.
One minister said the meeting was “robust”, with everyone at the cabinet table given the opportunity to express their view on the issue.
“It was probably the first time we’ve had a big argument in cabinet for several years,” they said.
“Previously [under the former premier], it was more the case of, ‘This is what’s happening’ and we’d all just have to accept it.”
Another minister said it had been a “captain’s call” to allow duck hunting to continue, with much of the debate concerned with the restrictions for the upcoming season.
“We spent more time going through what the new restrictions would be rather than whether it was going to be banned or not, that part felt a bit like a done deal,” the minister said.
Several MPs outside cabinet, however, expressed alarm at the decision. One said many MPs who supported a ban and had “put their faith” in the parliamentary inquiry were left “shocked and disappointed”.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it,” another MP said.
“We set up the inquiry, we wrote the terms of reference and chaired it. It was my expectation, as well as many other MPs, that whatever the outcome we would accept [it].”
Another MP said they were “baffled”. They said there was little prospect the issue would be revisited prior to the 2026 election.
The parliament inquiry, chaired by Labor MP Ryan Batchelor, found there were significant animal welfare issues associated with duck hunting, including “the unacceptable wounding and death rate of threatened bird species, whether accidental or intentional”.
It received more than 10,500 submissions, a record for a Victorian parliamentary inquiry, including from a group of construction unions, who had threatened to walk off the job if the practice was banned.
Defending the decision on Tuesday, the premier, Jacinta Allan, said cabinet had followed its “normal” process.
“This was a consensus decision,” she said.
Allan also rejected suggestions her husband’s reported participation in hunting – as well as her Bendigo East electorate being home to a high proportion of licensed shooters – shaped her view on the issue.
“I don’t follow my husband’s view on all things and I’m sure if he was here, he would confirm that,” she said.
Allan said she has never gone duck hunting but for the “best part of 30 years” has believed it to be a “legitimate recreational activity”.
“I’ve been consistent on this view for the entire time I’ve been a member of parliament,” she said.
“We’re in a modern age where I think it’s expected that men and women who serve in Victorian parliament come to the table with their own views, not those of their husbands.”
