Anger in Aussie tourist region after council ban rejected: 'So wrong'

The Yarra Ranges is famous for its vineyards and nature-based tourism. Source: Getty

An Australian council’s unanimous decision to ban a controversial industry has been rejected by a state government, leaving local legislators “disappointed”. Shire of Yarra Ranges councillors voted to be excluded from the commercial kangaroo harvesting program due to concerns about the impact of ongoing shooting on the region’s tourism, but it was told it did not have the power to make the request.

Located less than an hour from central Melbourne, the Yarra Ranges encompasses suburbs, farms and the world-famous Yarra Valley wine region, which attracts 3 to 5 million visitors annually. Many international tourists bus out to its rolling hills to see wild kangaroos, and some residents delight in watching mobs of the animals over the fence in paddocks and parks.

But kangaroos don’t understand fencelines, and a friendly "skippy" that’s chilling in a family's backyard could hop over to a neighbouring farm and face danger. Under the Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP), introduced by the Labor state government in 2019, it could then be shot and processed into pet food, or even sold for human consumption.

The program has resulted in conflict in the region. In 2021, Yahoo News spoke to a teary dog walker who discovered that her local kangaroo mob had been shot and butchered, with body parts left strewn across the paddocks of Chirnside Park.

Councillor worries about kangaroo harvest's impact on tourism

Council's official request to be excluded from the Gippsland Harvesting Zone of the KHP was made in May, following a vote in April, and it was rejected in July. Council responded with a strongly worded letter, telling the Allan government the decision would “cause distress and concern among members of our community”.

Councillor Tim Heenan seconded the motion for the Yarra Ranges to be excluded from the KHP. Speaking with Yahoo this week, he said he had concerns about entire families of kangaroos being depleted, and accused the government of being “bloody-minded” in its response.

“I just can't understand why the state government thinks it's a good thing. We’re a tourist area. We have people who come up here for nature, and shooting kangaroos here is so wrong,” he said.

Protest planned against government kangaroo decision

Chirnside Ward Councillor and Acting Mayor, Richard Higgins, told Yahoo councillors had tried to “advocate for the community” and now that the request had been rejected, there was little they could do. He said if kangaroo advocates continued to garner the support of other councils around Victoria, the state government could change its mind.

Angry Yarra Ranges residents have planned a protest on August 2 to urge the state government to reconsider its decision. Protest organiser and Yarra Ranges resident Alyssa Wormald accused Victoria Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos of “thumbing his nose at the community”.

“Council took their due diligence seriously and conducted a great deal of research and consultation before they agreed unanimously in April 2025 that we need commercial kangaroo shooters out of our communities,” she said.

The Allan government maintains that kangaroos can significantly impact the environment. Source: Getty

Claim kangaroos causing 'significant harm' to environment

Dimopoulos did not respond to questions from Yahoo News about the decision, but his office shared a statement from a state government spokesperson maintaining the program was “humane and sustainable”, and that changes to harvest zones were not decisions that could be made by councils.

"Victoria takes a conservative approach when setting kangaroo control levels to no more than 10 per cent of the population each year, to ensure harvesting does not compromise the sustainability of kangaroo populations," it said.

"Changes to harvest zones, including the adjustment of the exclusion zone boundary are not made at the request of local councils, but by consideration of local kangaroo population levels."

The spokesperson continued, saying kangaroos can have “significant impacts on Victoria’s environment” and that “sometimes it is necessary to control their population”. Yahoo asked Dimopoulos’s office where specifically in the Yarra Ranges kangaroo populations were causing “significant impacts” on the environment, but it did not respond.

Separate from the KHP, farmers who are concerned about kangaroos damaging property can apply to shoot or disperse them under an Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW). This is not something councillors voted against.

They have challenged the KHP, which allows licensed “harvesters” to enter properties at the request of landholders and potentially shoot all the kangaroos in a paddock so they can be processed for meat and skins.

The Yarra Ranges is home to many large farms, and when kangaroos compete with operations, property owners can apply for an ACTW permit to control them. Source: Michael Dahlstrom

What did the councillors have to say?

A number of councillors have expressed frustration that attempts to advocate for their constituents were unsuccessful. Some, like Heenan, have a fundamental objection to kangaroo harvesting, and despite assurances from the government about sustainability, he has concerns about its impact on local populations.

“As a kid, I always understood that we had tonnes of wildlife — emus, koalas, kangaroos — but the times are changing,” he said, before noting that once stable koala populations in NSW and Queensland plummeted following the Black Summer bushfires.

Yahoo News reached out to all councillors from the shire about the state government’s decision to reject their request, except for Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child as he recused himself from the April vote.

Councillor Jeff Marriott said he was disappointed by the state government's determination, adding, “We made our decision and we’d hoped that would have been paid attention to.” Councillor Len Cox, who raised the motion in April, said in an email he had “a strong opinion on this matter”, but was unable to be reached for further comment.

Councillors Mitch Mazzarella and Peter Mcilwain referred all questions to the acting mayor. Councillor Gareth Ward was unable to be immediately contacted. Councillor Fiona McAllister gave a strong indication she would not speak with Yahoo about the matter.

The author, Michael Dahlstrom, grew up in the Yarra Ranges farming town of Steels Creek, which has an abundant population of kangaroos.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/anger-in-aussie-tourist-region-after-council-ban-rejected-so-wrong-024647991.html