How Barilaro's Brumby Bill of 2018 is coming back to divide the NSW Coalition
Liberal backbenchers Aileen McDonald and Robert Dwyer said they were inclined to support the bill while former treasurer Matt Kean and former planning minister Rob Stokes both urged the party to repeal the legislation.
Kean went as far as saying the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act, also known as the Brumby Bill, was a 'mistake of potentially historic proportions'.
Introduced by Barilaro in 2018 to recognise the cultural significance of brumbies in the south-west NSW national park, the bill mandated protecting a 'heritage herd' of feral horses but sparked uproar because of the environmental damage the introduced species caused.
Provisions within the bill that prohibited culling, including aerial shooting, meant the population of brumbies rocketed until amendments in 2023 allowed lethal means. The number of horses dropped to between 1579 and 5717, according to a government survey in May.
Wagga Wagga independent MP Joe McGirr's Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Repeal Bill 2025 was due to be debated in parliament this week but will probably be delayed. The Coalition's shadow cabinet has not yet considered the bill, and neither have either of the parties' caucuses.
In May, a petition with 11,000 signatures calling for the repeal of the Brumby Bill was debated in parliament.
In an email obtained by the Herald, Dwyer's electorate office says the recently elected Liberal MP has informed Opposition Leader Mark Speakman he would support McGirr's repeal bill.
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