Park staff want body armour for hunters' bullets Workers in national parks being opened to amateur shooters by the NSW government are demanding bright orange bulletproof vests for "self defence." The union representing park workers is calling on the government to buy the vests for all employees who are potentially endangered by the hunting program and will write to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione seeking his consent. "We think they should be issued at no expense to themselves or their agency in blaze orange so they are readily identifiable," said Geo Papas, an officer with the Public Service Association of NSW. Body armour is classified as a prohibited weapon, but its use may be allowed if there is a "genuine reason." The Weapons Prohibition Act says one reason is if it is "necessary in the conduct of the applicant's business or employment to possess or use the prohibited weapon for which the permit is sought." The parliamentary secretary for police, Geoff Provest, has written to the NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge confirming that the act potentially allows the use of bulletproof vests for the purpose of "self defence." "The commissioner is at liberty to issue a permit to any NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service employee who may wish to apply and who can support their application with evidence of a genuine reason," Mr Provest wrote. Asked if Mr Scipione would consider working in national parks a genuine reason, a NSW police spokeswoman said applications for use of prohibited weapons "are considered on their merits." "In the case of body armour, an applicant would be required to provide a risk assessment conducted by a suitably qualified person showing that an identified risk, warranting the use of personal body armour, existed," she said. Mr Shoebridge said the government was "proposing to have a kind of bizarre arms race going on in our forests by first arming the amateur hunters and then having to defend the forest workers with flak jackets." Environment Minister Robyn Parker said a risk assessment process "is dealing with all safety issues around the introduction of the Supplementary Pest Control program in some NSW national parks. Safety will be paramount. The start of amateur hunting in 79 parks and reserves has been delayed until at least June pending a review of the Game Council NSW, which will oversee the program. A Fairfax Media/Nielsen poll shows that 60 per cent of voters oppose the program, with 38 per cent in favour. In Sydney, 68 per cent are opposed and 30 per cent are in favour but, in the rest of NSW, 52 per cent support the plan compared with 46 per cent against.