VIC Division President’s Report January 2024

25 Jan 2024

Happy New Year to you all! And what a busy start to 2024 it has been for the Vic Division.

  1. We advocated for the Victorian Government’s Select Committee Enquiry findings into recreational native bird hunting to be upheld and duck hunting banned in Victoria, to bring us in line with Queensland, NSW & WA. It is extremely disappointing that the Victorian Government has rejected the recommendations made by the Select Committee, disregarding the findings from more than 10,000 submissions. These were described as deeply impassioned and the most of any Victorian parliamentary inquiry, in addition to expert witness statements including from the AVA. The Victorian Division of AVA invested significant time to provide accurate, policy driven information as experts in animal welfare for the government to consider, including Hugh Millar’s 40-minute hearing in front of the Select Committee last year. We question why the government would reject information detailing:
    • environmental concerns, including the long-term decline of native bird populations
    • animal welfare, with unacceptably high wounding and death rates of threatened bird species
    • that effective enforcement is impossible

Especially disappointing in a year when animal welfare is purported to be being prioritized with the development of the new Animal Care and Protection Bill.

  1. We facilitated a very productive meeting of the CVO, Dr Graeme Cooke, AVA Victorian Division and the AVA poultry SIG to discuss ways to increase collaboration between the government and private Victorian poultry veterinarians to increase poultry health and welfare.
  2. As a member of the Victorian Animal Emergency Committee we worked with government before the start of summer to ensure an emergency response by private veterinarians could be mounted and have recruited the support the assistance of Vets Beyond Borders in the event of bushfires or other natural disasters.
  3. We have been endorsing branches as they complete the activation/reactivation process, with 6 Victorian branches now officially endorsed.

There is, of course, more to do. The state government is in the process of updating POCTA with the new Animal Care and Protection Bill. A draft of this has been released and is currently available for public feedback. AVA, along with other stakeholders, has been involved in the long process that has been required to produce the Bill involving stakeholder meetings, workshops and formal submissions. This is the last opportunity to provide our profession’s response on the draft Bill before it becomes legislation, and in developing the associated regulations. If you would like to contribute to our response, and the future animal welfare legislation in Victoria, please read the draft bill and/or regulations and forward your valuable opinion to kristen.steele@ava.com.au. Further details on how best to do this are included in this newsletter.

Another way you can contribute to the work of the Victorian Division of the AVA is by nominating for a position on the committee. Nominations are now open (closing February 12), and, with a simplified process in place now, all you have to do to nominate is send an email stating that you are nominating for a position on the Victorian Division Committee to rose.fitzgerald@ava.com.au. Why should you consider this, I hear you say? The following are the words of the President of the ACT Division, Michael Hayward, expressing his views on the benefits and experience of being on an AVA Division Committee:

  1. AVA people are friendly, passionate veterinarians with a concern for our profession, both inwardly and outwardly. These people see the value of the profession as a whole, and of its role in society. They value being a veterinarian, and want the profession, all its members, and the Association that we belong to, to succeed (or Thrive to use our new catchphrase!)
  2. They typically come from many aspects of the profession - the current ACT committee has Government Vets, small animal practitioners, an equine practitioner, a researcher, and a retired (but not retiring!) employee of the AVA. The range of perspectives is very instructive.
  3. Because committee members are typically passionate individuals, committee membership can be helpful in learning about personality types and managing meetings. The ACT Div committee is currently composed of an extraordinarily harmonious group who work well and enjoy each other’s company, but other committees I haves at on …..
  4. You maintain a broader overview of the profession you joined
  5. You start to understand all that the AVA does – both for you as an individual and for Australia as a whole. How the AVA interacts with and is integral to Federal and State/Territory Government committees and Statutory Bodies, its advocacy for animal health, welfare, biosecurity, for animal owners and industries, and especially for veterinarians and all who work with us
  6. You get to contribute to the development of better legislation and codes of practice etc in your jurisdiction
  7. You get a more direct say in the direction and development of the AVA
  8. You get to work with an amazingly talented and committed group of AVA employees, who take their work as seriously as we do our professional responsibilities
  9. Be warned, in my experience very few individuals who join an AVA committee leave after only a year or two – call it addictive, but many members choose to server for many years, seeing the value of their work, and receiving personal pleasure and benefits exceeding what they contribute.
  10. You get to rub shoulders with eminent members of the profession, with years of experience both in their professional roles and in service to the Association and to the Australian community.

 

L-R: Ben Moran, Grace Peck, Dr Cathy Deague, Katie Earnshaw, Genevieve Chapman, University of Melbourne Clinical Commencement Ceremony, 2023

I would add to this list of benefits, the opportunity to meet veterinary students and learn about their views regarding the current state and future of the profession. Late last year, I attended the DVM3 Clinical Commencement Ceremony at the University of Melbourne Werribee campus, presenting them with their AVA sponsored scrub tops, providing a few anecdotes and pearls of wisdom, and signing up new AVA members. I was also invited to attend the graduation ceremony for the final year DVM students, presenting two awards:

  1. Australian Veterinary Association (Victorian Division) Prize to Guen Hodges
  2. Australian Veterinary Association Student Award to Ruth Brophy

Guen Hodgkiss, Dr Cathy Deague, University of Melbourne Graduation Ceremony 2023

Congratulations to those two graduates, and all their peers, for completing their studies and joining the veterinary profession as qualified vets. I know we all look forward to seeing their eagerness and enthusiasm in practice or other veterinary endeavours. Please provide them with the support they need in these early days in the profession. With time I hope they will also hear the call, and choose to play a role in the AVA at branch, SIG or Division level, and give back to their profession.

Ruth Brophy, Dr Cathy Deague, University of Melbourne Graduation Ceremony 2023

If you would like any additional information regarding the Victorian Division and the opportunity to nominate for a position on our committee or be involved in the advocacy for the profession in Victoria, please reach out to me at drcdeaguevet@gmail.com. I, and the entire committee, would welcome anyone interested in contributing. A strong committee is a diverse committee, so we welcome vets from all backgrounds and aspects of the veterinary profession. I would also like to extend my gratitude to our current committee – those continuing on and those stepping down – for the time, knowledge and considered opinion they have contributed to ensure a strong and dedicated Victorian Division.