NATURE: Bushwalking club members face a personal and public liability insurance cost increase with shooting being allowed in national parks.
INSURANCE costs for bushwalking clubs are likely to rise following the decision to allow shooting in national parks.
The insurance broker for the state’s 55 biggest bushwalking clubs, Marsh, has confirmed that public and private liability would rise as a result of the increased risk of being shot.
Shoalhaven Bushwalkers club member Peter Dalton has spent countless hours exploring Morton National Park which surrounds the Shoalhaven.
The park is one of those listed to be accessed by shooters.
“Ours would be one of the bigger clubs, however our insurance is at this stage only about $5 per person per year, which is very reasonable,” he said.
While he expected any cost increase would be minimal he did not agree with allowing shooting in national parks and did not think bushwalkers should be slugged with higher fees because of it.
“There will be complaints and stamping of feet but it will probably only amount to a further $1 per head.
“I think the idea of allowing shooting in parks is terrible but what can we do?
“The previous government allowed it in state parks and now it has been expanded to this.
“We dread the thought.
“Taking a realistic and possibly simplistic view I think shooters with the weight of a gun, ammunition, their food and other bits and pieces probably won’t go too far from their cars.
“The issue is always going to be difficult for bushwalkers,”
he said.
Representatives of the 30,000 bushwalkers who belong to
clubs say they will explore
possible legal recourse, including class action against the
state government.
The National Parks Association has said it would also fight against having its members pay the price of higher insurance costs due to shooters being allowed in parks.
