Shooters & Fishers in NSW

[kc]

Now that the dust is settling we can sit back to the next 2 years and see if the holy grail of fishing politics....a balance of power role for a "fishing party" brings with it real change for the better.

Regardless of how some in the rec fishing community baulk at the "shooter" tag the fact remains that a "fishing party" can exert meaningful influence over the direction of a government, just as the greens have been doing for years.

We should expect change, even demand change. The "fishing vote" is demonsrabley real, evidenced by the fact that the old "Shooters Party" went through the grief of changing its name...an already winning brand because they saw the writting on the wall. The shooters formed as a "backs to the wall" response to gun laws and no doubt fishos are shifting their vote due to similar pressures.

Some positive comments today in the Australian about the simple focus of the party in representing its support base, not wandering off on variuos social justice agendas and, more importantly, not getting in the way of letting the Government govern (this was abroad critisism of the Greens in the article).

The rest of Australia should watch closely the effect of S & F in the next 2 years as a precursor to what they may be able to acheive at a federal level.
From what I know of them they are the real deal and wholey about looking out for their voters, not a sub branch of the Nationals.

Well done those involved.

KC

[Thunderace2]

Now that the dust is settling we can sit back to the next 2 years and see if the holy grail of fishing politics....a balance of power role for a "fishing party" brings with it real change for the better.

Regardless of how some in the rec fishing community baulk at the "shooter" tag the fact remains that a "fishing party" can exert meaningful influence over the direction of a government, just as the greens have been doing for years.

We should expect change, even demand change. The "fishing vote" is demonsrabley real, evidenced by the fact that the old "Shooters Party" went through the grief of changing its name...an already winning brand because they saw the writting on the wall. The shooters formed as a "backs to the wall" response to gun laws and no doubt fishos are shifting their vote due to similar pressures.

Some positive comments today in the Australian about the simple focus of the party in representing its support base, not wandering off on variuos social justice agendas and, more importantly, not getting in the way of letting the Government govern (this was abroad critisism of the Greens in the article).

The rest of Australia should watch closely the effect of S & F in the next 2 years as a precursor to what they may be able to acheive at a federal level.
From what I know of them they are the real deal and wholey about looking out for their voters, not a sub branch of the Nationals.

Well done those involved.

KC

Why was there 2 parties, the fishing /and the shooters and fishing party
surely this dialutes the total vote ?????

[FNQCairns]

Looks like the grrens may get a seat? and displace labor I think, doesn't matter they are one and the same.

[TimiBoy]

Looks like the grrens may get a seat? and displace labor I think, doesn't matter they are one and the same.

Yes, looks like one seat in the Lower house, meaning they won't matter a fig. Just what they deserve, too!

Cheers,

Tim

[kc]

Why was there 2 parties, the fishing /and the shooters and fishing party
surely this dialutes the total vote ?????

A long sad story, best left for another time.

[Mike Delisser]

KC can you tell me the fishing side make up of the F&S? Is it still the guys that ran the old Shooters party and they just changed their name, or did the join up with one of the Fishing parties or a fishing organisation, and if so do fishers have some fixed representation in their management committee?
Either way a good result.

[Captain Incredible]

One of the great strengths of the Greens is that somehow they have got all splinter parties to unite under the Greens BANNER.

Fishers, shooters, 4WDers, horse riders, bee keepers, etc and other recreational groups which rely on access to the great outdoors need to join together.

To put this bluntly, this is a maturity issue with the individual protagonists unable to relinquish their grasp on the heady power of control over a membership of three people to achieve the common good through numerical superiority.

Don't bag the splinter groups. What is needed is dialogue between all those extracters to get a common voice we can all stand behind.

This is our really big challenge.

[kc]

Shooters and Fishers are the old shooters party, rebadged. They do however take a seriuos interest in fishing issues because above all else they are a "personal freedom" party and fishing, 4WDing, general outdoors lifestyle issues are certainly less "free' than they used to be. The shooters, and I have personally been in dialog with them since my TFPQ days, have always recognised that the fishing groups have numbers. They also recognise that the world "guns/shooting" is always going to be a problem for them in terms of mass appeal, but, true to their ethics, they are not going to drop "shooting" just for the sake of popularity.

I am also aware that "The Fishing Party" aka Bob Smith does not have a good relationship with them...or, from my own experience, many other groups for that matter and will never see the value of amalgamation for the betterment of the cause. As was/has been the case at the last 2 federal as well, more particularly in 2007.

AFLP are a different proposition again and I think I have made my thoughts clear on this in the past and is now for others to comment. One need only look at the variuos preference flows to see that some minor parties are really just vote gathering sub branches of the majors, while other minor parties work flat out with their "peers" to get the best result for their voters. S & FP, IMO, are THE best opportunity into the future and with their new role in NSW politics will have , to some degree, the ear of the press and when they run, across at least 3 states in the next federal senate election will have a reasonable profile as the party of and for fishermen. Hopefully, we collectively, get behind them, regardless of any personal views on guns. These guys are the real deal and absolutely on "our" side. For the record. I am not a member and have not owned or fired a gun in almost 30 years but I do communicate with Robert Brown on a regular basis.
If I was ever to "get back on the horse" it would be with these guys.

KC

[Lovey80]

Thanks for that KC. If I was in NSW Shooters and Fishers would get my vote for sure.

I think the time has come for a legitimate third option for a party that is purely Liberty based. I don't think it is necessary to have the words "Fishing" or "Shooting" or the like in the name of a party..... If the parties policies are based on keeping Australian liberty and freedoms in check then they would become more main stream.

Short of those that sit in the far left in politics there are LARGE numbers of people that are pissed off with being over governed, over taxed and our individual rights being stripped away. I think there is a legitimate demand for such a party and if the right people could be brought on board they could make a real dint as state and federal level.

[Shawn 66]

Shooters and Fishers are the old shooters party, rebadged. They do however take a seriuos interest in fishing issues because above all else they are a "personal freedom" party and fishing, 4WDing, general outdoors lifestyle issues are certainly less "free' than they used to be. The shooters, and I have personally been in dialog with them since my TFPQ days, have always recognised that the fishing groups have numbers. They also recognise that the world "guns/shooting" is always going to be a problem for them in terms of mass appeal, but, true to their ethics, they are not going to drop "shooting" just for the sake of popularity.

I am also aware that "The Fishing Party" aka Bob Smith does not have a good relationship with them...or, from my own experience, many other groups for that matter and will never see the value of amalgamation for the betterment of the cause. As was/has been the case at the last 2 federal as well, more particularly in 2007.

AFLP are a different proposition again and I think I have made my thoughts clear on this in the past and is now for others to comment. One need only look at the variuos preference flows to see that some minor parties are really just vote gathering sub branches of the majors, while other minor parties work flat out with their "peers" to get the best result for their voters. S & FP, IMO, are THE best opportunity into the future and with their new role in NSW politics will have , to some degree, the ear of the press and when they run, across at least 3 states in the next federal senate election will have a reasonable profile as the party of and for fishermen. Hopefully, we collectively, get behind them, regardless of any personal views on guns. These guys are the real deal and absolutely on "our" side. For the record. I am not a member and have not owned or fired a gun in almost 30 years but I do communicate with Robert Brown on a regular basis.
If I was ever to "get back on the horse" it would be with these guys.

KC

Morning KC
Probably a sturpid question , however do you know if they have a valid and strong branch(for want of a better word) in Queensland . I am very interested in your reply as the mainstream parties up here fill me with nothing but contempt.
Shawn

[kc]

Shawn,

there is no branch in Qld and not sure if one will ever be formed. The organisation is based in NSW and has Federal registration. The Qld system of no upper house means it is hard for minor parties to get traction in Qld. There is however, no real need for formal branch or state registered organisations, except how it helps with electioneering issues...which is important. The TFPQ "experiment" demonstrated how hard it is for fledgling political parties to set up, maintain and organise at a branch level.....all with out any money!

The strenght of the S & FP is the SSAA (Sporting Shooters Association of Australia). This is a very well organised, well run group with good internal communication and have been forced into this position by the "backs to the wall" nature of Governments threat to their very existence. The SSAA are the ground troups for the S&FP, just as the likes of the wilderness society, WWF, AMCS etc etc are the ground troups for the greens.

One of the great things about the rise of ecofishers is they are potentially the ground troups for the fishing political activists, whoever they may be. As our fishing "freedoms" have been taken away, average Jo fishos, who have never before given a rats arse about politics are starting to recognise they they have been placed in increasingly "backs to the wall" situations are are deciding to fight back....plus recognising that "fighting back" is most effective at the ballot box.

The biggest single thing to me is the media term "The Fishing Vote" is being used more and more often. I even heard a GetUp guy this morning (ABC TV) saying the Canberra Carbon Tax protest was organised by radical political activitists like the fishers and shooters .

I also fondly remember a greens candidate in Brisbane in 2007 calling us a "minority intertest group with too much influence over coallition policy" Talk about hypocrits.

So I would say in simple terms Shawn, I don't think there will be branches in Qld (I don't know...just don't think) but that does not mean S&FP won't form links with the likes of ecofishers and 4WD organisations into the future and if you were interested in being involved with S&FP, either go to their web site and keep yourself informed or join ecofishers. IMO

I should also clearly point out I am not a member of ecofishers and probabely never will be. They may take a totally different view as to support or otherwise for S&FP. S&FP should be judged on their actions in the next year or so and earn a reputation for action on fishing issues. They will NEVER be better placed to do so. A balance of power role is akin to the political keys to the kingdom of heaven.

As I understand it ecofishers is apolitical and will support the party which best represents the values of its members. The ball, in this case is in S&FP.

Kev

[Bros]

Looks like the grrens may get a seat? and displace labor I think, doesn't matter they are one and the same.

Worse than labor!

[FNQCairns]

Worse than labor!

Hi Bros, not sure where you live?, i agree labor is as labor does/is capable of Australia wide very often worse than the greens.

[Bros]

Hi Bros, not sure where you live?, i agree labor is as labor does/is capable of Australia wide very often worse than the greens.

Gladstone. I can accept labor when they are in office and liberals when they are in office even thought I would complain bitterly about both but I accept the majority voted for them. What I object to the government being run by a minority group e.g. Greens, Independents etc

[kc]

& so it begins

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...404-1ctf4.html

every time ALP or Greens attack shooters and fishers and their influence over the new NSW Government they are breathing oxygen into brand S&FP. I am so glad I have lived to see the day that common sense started to fight back and those whose values I share in terms of both our rights and responsibilities as users of our natural resources have finally gained political traction. We are part of the ecology of this planet not some undesirable element to be excluded from it.

The next 2 years in NSW should become to the fishing lobby, what Franklin Dam was to the greens and I think we will owe a great debt of graitude to those within the Shooters Party for doing the hard yards AND for opening the doors to fishers to join the "party", both in name and in spirit.

They are a party as much about personal freedom as about guns.

I saw a great quote the other day along the lines of "The greatest right a Government can bestow on its people is the right to just be left alone".

KC