Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Glenn Lazarus for the question and I thank Gwenda for raising the issue as well. I say to Senator Lazarus and his constituent that it is correct that this government believe we can do much better in the management of Commonwealth marine reserves. It was our opinion that the previous government seriously bungled the creation of new marine reserves in 2012 and that, in doing so, they trampled over the sustainable maritime community to achieve a political outcome. They rushed consultation and they shut recreational fishermen in particular out of the process. In Queensland, I certainly invite and encourage Senator Lazarus to make sure that he is talking to both his professional and his recreational fishing communities about their concerns with the process that was undertaken. I think he will find that many of his constituents shared the concerns that the coalition had, which is why we acted.

Our intention is to deliver a better environmental outcome that reflects community views and maintains the sound economics required for our fishing industry as well. We want to strike the right and sensible balance. We are undertaking genuine community consultation with local communities. Five bioregional advisory panels have held more than 170 regional public meetings all over the country throughout February, March and April this year to ensure that we have proper consultation on how to get the marine reserve plans right in future and not repeat the types of mistakes that the Labor Party made. The four-month consultation period review received more than 13,000 written submissions and approximately 1,800 responses to the online survey. There is enormous community interest in this in this—I acknowledge that, Senator Lazarus—but also a lot of particular interest from the fishing communities, which I would encourage you to speak with as well. (Time expired)