Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

The government comes in here seeking to deal with a bill on an urgent basis but does not give any reasons in support of its motion. What this government has done is indicative of the shambolic way that it treats every major policy issue and indeed minor policy issue that comes before it.

Only today a week ago, the science on matters relating to a fishing trawler that is to operate in Australian waters was 'robust' and was to be supported. Indeed, we had Minister Ludwig in this place fully supporting the science. But 24 hours later somehow the science had changed. It was the political science that had changed: the Greens had insisted on this legislation.

And make no mistake: the legislation that was introduced was exactly what the Green-Labor alliance would have wanted to inflict on the Australian people if they had had the opportunity. But, due to the coalition's opposition to that bill, it became apparent that this was such a big and wide a net that it would have put the Margiris's to shame. What they tried to do in casting their big net was to include every recreational fishery, every charter fishery and every commercial fishery. What the legislation said was that if the minister felt 'uncertainty' on social, environment or economic grounds he could shut a fishery for two years. What do you think that did overnight to the value of fishing licences? It absolutely decimated them. What do you think that did to the future of charter fishing in Australia waters? It decimated their value. And, of course, for those reliant on the recreational fishery, it also placed their businesses under great, great uncertainty.

But for the coalition's opposition to this legislation, those factors would not have been aired in the other place. So reduced was this shambolic government that they had to rely on the member for Dobell—the one of fishnets fame as opposed to fishing fame—Mr Craig Thomson, to move an amendment. That is how reduced the ALP-Green alliance has become.

Then they realised they had other problems, and so they had to move even more amendments. Do you know what? This is what this government does with every piece of legislation. Remember how they introduced the carbon tax? It was rock solid; it was going to stay. Now, they have been changing it, haven't they, bit by bit because they would not listen to the coalition.

This bill, which was introduced into the House less than a week ago, all of a sudden has great urgency. It has to be passed as a matter of urgency. I simply ask the question: why—when the two ministers concerned only a week ago were still arguing and advocating that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act was sufficient to look after the interests of our fishing stocks. So what changed? What was the issue that concerns the Labor Party? What it clearly is is a sign of a desperate government seeking to cling to any populist policy to try to regain support within the Australian community.

This legislation sets a very dangerous precedent and the reason that I want to air that precedent is that, if the government can do it to Seafish Tasmania, it can do it to anybody. Let me give you an example: you want to build a house. You approach the local council and say, 'Can I build a house on this block of land?' They say yes, so you go and buy the block of land. You buy all the building materials and then just on the day you are about to dig the first bit of the foundation, the council says, 'Guess what? We've changed the rules: you can no longer build your house.' Having committed your money to a block of land and all the building materials, and just as you were about to really start the project, the council says, 'Sorry; we've shifted the goalposts.'

This is exactly what the government has done to Seafish Tasmania. Indeed, it was no less than the minister for the environment, Mr Burke, who, whilst he was minister for fisheries signed off on the Commonwealth harvest strategy that specifically suggested that there be a trawler of this nature in the Australian waters to economically harvest this particular fishery. It was he who signed off on it. He was on TV over the weekend saying, 'Look, I didn't actually sign off on it.'

I used to be a fisheries minister. I know about the Commonwealth harvest strategy and I know that briefs go across your desk about these matters each and every day. He could have stopped this in 2009 if he had any uncertainty about the social, economic or environmental consequences. In 2009 he did not have any problems. He did not have any problems Monday last week. So when did the uncertainty finally hit him? Having been briefed by his department, having been given all the details, where has this uncertainty been created for this minister?