Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. More details are available on our website: https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/
KEY FACTS:
· The Herald Sun (15 July 2026) revealed that legislation before the Victorian parliament will merge the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the Game Management Authority into a new agency, Outdoor Recreation Victoria, with the power to promote shooting and gun ownership to children as young as 12.
· Under current Victoria Police rules, any teenager wanting to undertake recreational shooting must hold a junior firearm licence and a junior game licence, and must be supervised by a licensed adult at all times.
· Alannah & Madeline Foundation chief Sarah Davies and Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell have both criticised the plan, drawing a comparison to Victoria's under-16 social media ban that Family First rejects given the licensing and supervision requirements involved.
· Family First's firearm policy backs "the freedom to have responsible gun ownership" and recognises the positive, inclusive community impact of lawful shooting and hunting activities, including their role in reducing feral animal populations and supporting agricultural and environmental outcomes.
· The government already runs the taxpayer-funded Little Anglers program to introduce Victorian schoolchildren to fishing; Family First says supervised junior shooting sports deserve the same practical, family-first approach.
· Junior sports shooting bodies such as the Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia report that structured, supervised participation helps build young people's confidence, discipline and self-esteem, and is widely regarded as a family-oriented pastime.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 July 2026
Lock, Stock and Family Values: Foreman Backs Junior Shooting Sports
Family First's Jane Foreman says the outcry over a new Victorian agency's power to promote junior shooting sports is inner-city hysteria that ignores decades of safe, supervised, family-based participation in shooting and hunting across regional Victoria.
The Herald Sun revealed this week that legislation before parliament will merge the Victorian Fisheries Authority and the Game Management Authority into a new super agency, Outdoor Recreation Victoria, with the power to promote shooting and gun ownership to children as young as 12. Outdoor recreation minister Enver Erdogan has conceded as much. The move has been met with a predictable backlash from the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, who compared supervised junior shooting to unsupervised social media use by children.
“Comparing a supervised, licensed sport to a 13-year-old scrolling social media alone in their bedroom is a false equivalence, and everyone pushing it knows it. A junior shooter needs a licence, a supervising adult, and a lawful reason every single time they pick up a firearm. There is no algorithm, no stranger, and no unsupervised access. If anything, it's one of the most tightly regulated activities a Victorian teenager can take part in.”
A government spokesperson confirmed the safeguards already in place: any teenager wanting to shoot recreationally must hold a junior firearm licence and a junior game licence from Victoria Police, and must be supervised by a licensed adult at all times. Family First's own firearm policy backs "the freedom to have responsible gun ownership", recognising the positive, inclusive nature of shooting sports and the role hunting plays in reducing feral animal populations that damage farms and native wildlife.
Family First believes Victorian families are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves whether shooting sports are right for their children, without inner-city activists dictating what a "legitimate" family activity looks like. Just as Little Anglers safely introduces kids to fishing, junior shooting sports under strict licensing conditions build the same discipline, patience and respect for safety that Victorian families have passed down for generations.
“The government's response has been to hide behind existing licence rules while refusing to defend the policy in public. Family First won't be so timid. Shooting and hunting are lawful, regulated, family activities enjoyed by tens of thousands of Victorians every year, and they deserve to be championed, not treated as a guilty secret every time an inner-city lobby group objects.”
Family First supports maintaining Australia's National Firearms Agreement and the strict, fit-and-proper-person licensing checks that come with it and firmly backs law enforcement efforts against illicit firearm access and trade. None of this changes when a 14-year-old, supervised by a licensed adult, attends a shooting club with their parents on a Sunday afternoon.
“Every family who takes their kids fishing, camping or clay target shooting on a weekend is doing something good for their kids, not something to be ashamed of. Family First will keep standing up for families who want to pass on outdoor traditions, responsibly and lawfully, instead of letting a small group of critics dictate what a normal Victorian family looks like.”
— ENDS —
About us:
About Family First
Contact details:
