Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Again, I thank Senator Colbeck for his question. Again, it seems to me that the opposition missed the press conference yesterday and what it actually entailed.

We are amending the environmental act to allow Minister Burke to deal with environmental concerns that he had raised. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority continues to be well supported by government. It is an independent regulatory authority and it has been getting on with its job of managing the fisheries. It does deal with individual fisheries, such as the small pelagic fishery, but there are two different issues. One is the concerns that Minister Burke raised under the environmental act; and those others, which are created under the small pelagic fishery. What the opposition are missing in all of that is that they seek to confuse the two. They are two separate—