Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Senator Conroy. Is the minister aware of the concerns raised by Allan Hansard, the CEO of the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation, which represents five million recreational fishers, when he says the marine bioregion closures will lock fishers out of Australia's oceans and many iconic fishing spots and that mums, dads and kids will be banned from trying to catch fish? The government has said it will compensate commercial fishermen for losses resulting from the marine bioregion closures. What form of compensation does the government intend to offer recreational fishermen, who are normally blue-collar workers, who have been let down badly by the Greens-Labor alliance that has locked them out of their traditional fishing areas?