Anti-shooting claims frivolous

Northern Territory News, Page 11. Wednesday, 30 April 2008

Mr Boehme (Northern Territory News, Saturday, April 26), seems to feel that established land users should make way for homesteaders at the cost of traditional pursuits.
One wonders how he would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and waterfowl hunters were asking homeowners to pack up and move away to preserve the wilderness.
Of course the idea is laughable.
Yet Mr Boehme has exposed his naivety in just such a fashion.
If he purports to represent the majority of local residents, which I very much doubt, then NTF&G president, George Hennessy, is correct in his assertion that the case be likened to those of people who call for airport closure after moving into the fight path.
It’s easy for the gun control lobby to smear mud upon shooters, but firearms owners are required to establish their responsibility within strict guidelines before being granted permits making them among Australia’s safest recreational land users.
That the NT set aside these areas for good reason seems to escape Mr Boehme. He claims that, "there have been problems every year associated with the shooting season out here" a frivolous statement which has no real empirical evidence and one I surmise will not withstand even faint scrutiny.
I call on residents to rebuff these maunderings and treat the request with the disdain it deserves.
Andrew Dahi, Alyangula.