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

My question is to the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator Abetz. Will the minister update the Senate on the decisive actions the government has taken to secure a profitable long-term future for Australia’s crucial Commonwealth fishing industry? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank that excellent senator Senator Boswell for his excellent question. He is a very keen supporter of the fishing industry. All senators would be aware that the Howard government have taken decisive action to better position the Commonwealth fishing industry for a sustainable and, equally importantly, profitable future through our landmark $220 million Securing our Fishing Future package. I acknowledge Senator Ian Macdonald, the leader of the coalition Senate team in Queensland, for his impressive role in that regard. We have voluntarily bought back over 550 fishing concessions at a cost of $149 million to improve the profitability of the catching sector. We are, at the moment, rolling out the onshore elements of the package. I had the pleasure of announcing over $6 million in grants for Queensland businesses just last week. I am pleased to report that today I have taken the next step on the journey towards a sustainable and profitable Commonwealth fishing industry through the release of a world’s best practice Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy. The policy aims to maximise the net economic returns to the Australian community from the harvest of Commonwealth fish stocks while at the same time maintaining stocks at safe and productive levels. I thank all the stakeholders who contributed to its development, in particular the fishing industry, who have engaged very responsibly throughout the whole Securing our Fishing Future package, and those environment groups who have also come to the table very positively.

I am asked about alternative policies. There are alternative policies out there, and they are policies that would destroy this vital sector, because there are being espoused by the would-be environment minister of this country, Mr Peter Garrett. We are all aware that Mr Garrett served as President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, during which time he presided over and advocated the policies of that organisation. He has not recanted from those policies. It is instructive for Australia’s valuable seafood industry to have a close look at those policies. Here is what Peter Garrett’s ACF said about the commercial use of wildlife, including commercial fishing:

No existing commercial use of a wild stock, in particularly those harvested for export, can be demonstrated to be ecologically sustainable.

I say to the seafood industry: this is the man that Mr Rudd would put in charge of deciding whether Australian fisheries can export their products under the EPBC Act, a man who supported a policy which says that no export fisheries are acceptable. What about marine parks? Mr Garrett’s view is to ensure that 20 to 50 per cent of the marine environment per bioregion is highly protected by 2010. We can see what the state Labor governments are doing at Moreton Bay and Batemans Bay and then we can have a look at the way the Commonwealth, under the Howard government, has handled marine parks in the south-east marine area. Our friends in Queensland would be interested to know that Mr Garrett believes that we should increase the green zones on the Great Barrier Reef to 50 per cent. I will finish on this note: the fishing industry in Australia knows that in the Howard government it has a great friend. It also knows that if the Rudd government were to be elected then Mr Garrett would be the minister for the environment and he would spell the end of the fishing industry.