Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian seafood is a delicacy, a world-renowned product that we take pride in sharing with the world. But this Albanese Labor government is putting the future of our seafood industry at risk. In a race to spruik an announcement on World Environment Day, the Minister for the Environment and Water made a decision to phase out N2 and N4 fishing licences by December 31 2023.

N2 and N4 licences allow our fishers to engage in set-mesh netting in offshore waters. Products like barramundi, grey mackerel, king salmon, flake, queenfish and blue salmon are all caught in this way. The phase-out was a decision that was made without any community consultation, and so many commercial fishers have been blindsided by this change—fishers in the electorate of Herbert, like Lound's Seafood owner, Colin Lound, who has owned and operated a net licence for 40 years. He is set to lose 30 per cent of his annual turnover with this change.

This decision is cutting off the hand that feeds the nation, resulting in a loss of jobs and closure of businesses who rely on this source of seafood product. Further, a shift from wild caught to farmed fish will affect the sales in retail shops—along with the health of Australian customers. Consumers will be forced to eat farmed and imported fish from unregulated overseas fisheries.

I have written to the Minister for Environment and Water, and I'm yet to receive a response—I wrote to the minister some six weeks ago. I also take this opportunity to ask the minister: what happens to the fishers, their employees and their families? Where do they go? What they do? But it's not just about the fishers or the local fish shops that will be affected by this change; Townsville based fishers, like Paul Ryan, have informed me of the ripple effect that this decision will have. The nets, the boats, the parts suppliers; ancillary trades and personnel; and the entire tourism industry will see a negative repercussion because of this change.

The minister 's answer to support fishers through this transition is to buy back the N2 and N4 portions of their licences. This solution clearly shows that the minister does not understand her own portfolio. Our fishers have comprehensive licences that often allow them to fish for a variety of species using multiple techniques. Buying back a portion of this licence significantly devalues what is left, not to mention the other components that come with providing the service. Further, what happens to their equipment that is now obsolete?

One of the responses that the minister has given is that we don't want gillnet fishing on the reef. But we don't have net fishing on the reef; you can't put nets across the Great Barrier Reef, it simply doesn't happen. The minister needs to answer these questions.