Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

I do. Last week the environment minister issued a statement claiming I had welcomed a supertrawler to Australia and was not responsible for it being banned. The facts are these: when the supertrawler MV Margiris first came to Australia there was no power under environmental law to refuse it entry. I introduced amendments to the House to provide the environment minister, who was then me, with the power to ban the supertrawler. Those laws were put to the House on 13 September 2012, with the member for Kooyong and the member for Flinders voting against them. Once the laws were in place I used them, and the supertrawler left Australian waters. Mr Speaker, I seek to make another personal explanation.

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