Deputy Premier & Minister for Environment, Susan Close has confirmed that the banning of bow hunting was not in the 2022 policy platform upon which the Malinauskas Labor party were elected.
The Deputy Premier revealed that in February before the election, an unpublished commitment was given in secret to the Animal Justice Party regarding a ban on bow hunting.
The exposure of this secret correspondence occurred only after the unnecessary decision to ban bow hunting was placed under scrutiny.
Fundamental questions relating to transparency and process remain outstanding:
- Why is the Malinauskas government pursuing a ban on bow hunting when it wasn't a part of their published 2022 election policy commitments?
- How many more commitments were made to minor parties or any other special interest groups that have not been published?
- How does such behaviour reconcile with transparent governance?
Bow hunting is pursued throughout mainland Australia, New Zealand and is widely followed overseas.
When pressed for clarification, the Deputy Premier has demonstrated a lack of understanding of the fundamental difference between a commitment before an election and an actual election commitment. South Australians have now been provided with two contradicting stories; how can they be expected to believe either of them?
