And so to New South Wales and darker imaginings. In the last few years we have had Kangaroo migrations from west to east, from north to south, in my latest dream I imagine vast mobs of Kangaroos heading to the north of New South Wales.

I also dream, I have done that all year, that Kangaroo populations have exploded again, and in each and in every species that is hunted for commercial gain. These are not the gentle Oxford dreamings, they are nightmares indeed.

“For all species exploited commercially in New South Wales, that is, the Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Red Kangaroo, Western Grey Kangaroo and Wallaroo, the actual take in the first 9 months of 2024 was 396,666 against a full year quota of 1,484,072. That is 27 per cent of the full year quota”.

The population estimates and quotas for 2024 were published by the New South Wales Government on 18 December 2023. This year, my looking glass tells me populations estimates and quotas for 2025 will be published in the week after Christmas and no one will see and no one will notice. That is very clever as it saves so much fuss, and that I am afraid, is one of the problems with democracy.

• For 2023, the population estimate for Kangaroos in New South Wales was 9,634,900  (down from 11,882,215 in the previous year) giving the 2024 Quota of 1,484,072 (down from 1,850,228 in 2023); and
• For 2024, I dream the population estimate for Kangaroos in New South Wales has risen to 13,910,688, an increase in the population of Kangaroos in New South Wales of 4,275,788 in just 12 months.
• Gosh that is a lot, so for 2025 leading to a commercial quota for Kangaroos in New South Wales of 2,186,952, an increase of 702,880, gosh that is a lot. I dream of the ABC and its reports of booming and exploding plagues of Kangaroos.

These are early and very silly numbers, so let's see what the published report tells us when it lands in the week following Christmas.

• Looking into the looking glass once more, I can tell you now that the probability is that actual take against commercial quota in 2025 will be 523,000 Kangaroos, just 24 per cent of quota. So did the shooters miss? No, I dream they are shooting at the shadows, fading fast.

New South Wales is not alone in its largess in estimating significant increases in Kangaroo populations in the last 12 months. For  Queensland:

• The Queensland Government population estimate for the three species exploited commercially in Queensland in 2024 was 19,948,800 (from 2024 surveys), up from 17,727,700 in 2023 and up from 16,267,200 in 2022. An increase in population over the last 12 months of 2,221,100.
• 2025 Quota: Total commercial quota for Queensland in 2025 is 2,941,550, a significant increase  from 2024 when the quota was 2,486,400 and again up from 2,210,400 in 2023. An increase in commercial quota over the last 12 months of 455,150.

Combined:

• So for New South Wales and Queensland combined (from the early numbers) that is an increase in population over the previous year of 6,496,888. The combined quotas rising by 1,158,030 over the previous period. Our latest forecast for the combined actual take for Queensland and New South Wales for 2024 (looks to be accurate at this point given the actual numbers we already have for 2024) is 1,068,800. So the combined increase in quota alone for 2025 is MORE than the actual take in 2024. How can this be possible? The answer is that it can’t be.

The question for you all, is if they do get to 24 per cent of quota in 2025, where are the Kangaroos coming from? That question will need an answer.

‍

As I dream there is a mist in the looking glass, I rub its surface, then I see a New South Wales Government Inquiry, the cover ups know no bounds, this is far-fetched, how can that be, surely this can’t be true?

Ahh, I see it now as clear as day, I don’t think this nightmare will go away.

What follows are comments and statements from committee chair, Cate Faehrmann MLC, New South Wales Government Inquiry into the Health and Wellbeing of Kangaroos and other Macropods in New South Wales.

“The robustness of the science and population estimates behind setting quotas for how many Kangaroos may be harvested has been called into question through this inquiry. Without independent oversight and greater transparency, we cannot have confidence that the government's Kangaroo management program is not contributing to potentially devastating declines in some Kangaroo populations”.

“This inquiry has also heard troubling evidence of inhumane, disrespectful practices that are not acceptable to many in the community, including the treatment of joeys. There are several recommendations that, if acted upon, will increase the transparency around the deaths of joeys that are occurring in both the commercial and non-commercial industries”.

In my selection of dissenting statements (removed from final report’s findings and recommendations) the chair says:

“Overall, the committee is concerned that Kangaroo numbers are in serious decline in New South Wales, with mobs becoming marginalised and fragmented across the state's landscape. The committee believes that, notwithstanding the impact of drought on Kangaroo populations, land clearing and licensed killing for agricultural interests and the commercial harvesting industry are major factors in this decline”.

“That there is currently no humane method of killing macropods and their joeys for either commercial or non-commercial purposes”.

“That, as a matter of urgency, the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment introduce a moratorium on harvesting Wallaroos in the Northern Tablelands and Red Kangaroos in the Western Plains, until new population surveys are conducted. The survey methodology must be independently peer reviewed, and primary data (including photographic evidence) must be made available for public, independent scrutiny”.

‍

‍

SUMMARY OF ACTUAL TAKE FROM 2020

Actual take against commercial quota (note quota differs each year, sometimes difference is substantial) (excludes death of joeys):

• 2020 - 469,186 or 22 per cent of original quota
• 2021 - 497,285 or 31 per cent - rise a function of a small quota for the year
• 2022 - 402,719 or 24 per cent - small rise in quota from 2021
• 2023 – 509,671 or 27 per cent of quota

As a comparison, in 1997 in NSW the actual take was 897,937, in 1998 it was 940,789 animals - so in a range of roughly 900,000 to one million. So the take has fallen significantly as has percentage of take against quota.

‍

‍

And finally a poem:

I saw a Kangaroo that wasn’t there
All I could do was stand and stare
These Kangaroos are everywhere
Or could it be it wasn’t there?
And now Kangaroos aren’t anywhere