Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I shall. Obviously education cuts touch a raw nerve with those opposite. Turning to the issue of fishing sustainability and the FV Abel Tasman, Minister Burke introduced legislation yesterday to toughen environmental controls on vessels which undertake activities such as those of the Abel Tasman. In doing so, he was responding to community concerns, in particular to concerns in those communities to the south of Australia—in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania—and indeed responding to the concerns of the experts in the field, most notably those who work in fishing communities throughout Australia.

I, like most of those opposite, am not an expert when it comes to matters of fishing sustainability, in particular in the Southern Ocean. But I do have an affinity with the ocean. I have an affinity with the sea, through my time as a surfer off the coast of Sydney. I have been in the water in Maroubra and many beaches around Sydney when they have dragged the shark nets up. When they have dragged the shark nets up off Bondi or Coogee or Maroubra, I have seen what gets pulled out of those shark nets on regular occasions: dolphins, small whales, grey nurse sharks. This is what has been referred to over recent days as bycatch: the unintended consequences of netting in these areas.

I believe that, when the experts in this area, the people who are commercial fishers and recreational fishers, raise issues of concern on behalf of their communities on issues such as bycatch, we should at least listen and consider the potential environmental damage and damage to fish stocks which they say is quite alarming.

When the experts expressed this concern, the government listened, as all good governments should. That is why this reform has been undertaken. Through this process that was introduced by Minister Burke yesterday, proper consideration and scientific studies will be undertaken to ensure that all environmental controls are considered. I do not see a problem with that. I see that as a prudent approach to the management of our nation's fish stocks and something that has the support of fishing communities and environmentalists throughout the country.

I draw the Senate's attention to the views of those who are the experts in this field, those who have expressed an opinion on the government's decision publically.