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I know there will be people who will simply not believe some of what is written in ‘The Red Sands of Hattah’.

After all, could a 3-metre-tall rubber kangaroo, supported by hundreds of protesters be involved in the dumping of a dead kangaroo on the Minister for Conservation’s doorstep? Ironically, in August 2022, the Victorian Labor Government steam-rolled through changes to our forestry laws. People now face draconian fines of up to $21,000 or 12 months in jail for protesting peacefully in logging areas. Can you imagine the fines and jail terms we would have faced back in the 1980s?

We really did camp in Hattah-Kulkyne National Parks for months on end to stop the killing and we really did plant a lemon tree in front of the Minister’s office to show how bitter we felt over his betrayal.

But still, there will be some who ask :
• Could the National Parks and Wildlife Service really conduct secret kangaroo kills in a National Park?’
• Did they really bury the carcasses in dry lake beds and then contaminated the entire lake system come the next flood?
• Did they really do this more than once?
• Did Minister after Minister really ignore the practical advice from the Conservation and Animal Welfare movements and from independent and university scientists for decades?
• Has commercial shooting now been introduced in National Parks because quotas in other areas no longer meet the demands for pet meat and ‘roo leather.