NSW minister wants hunters back ASAP NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson says she wants amateur shooters back in the state's national forests as soon as possible. She told parliamentary question time on Tuesday that volunteer hunting in all 400 state forests was still on hold, pending the outcome of a risk assessment. But she wants to return to business as usual as soon as possible. "It is our intention to restore volunteer hunting in state forests to control feral animals as quickly as possible, and in a manner that's as similar as possible to previous procedures," Ms Hodgkinson said. She told parliament an eight-member game and pest management advisory board would be set up to represent hunters' interests, direct research and advise government. The establishment of the board was among the recommendations of a scathing review of the NSW Game Council by public servant Steve Dunn. In response to the review, the council was scrapped and its staff are being transferred to the Department of Primary Industries. Meanwhile, the functions previously carried out by the Game Council are being transferred to the Director-General of the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services, which will be the new regulatory authority in line with the Dunn review recommendations, Ms Hodgkinson said on Tuesday. A trial of hunting in 12 national parks is set to begin in October under the direction of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.