LNP scaremongering reckless and damaging

Fisheries Minister Leanne Donaldson today accused the LNP of reckless and offensive scaremongering.

“Shadow Minister Dale Last has sunk to a new low, issuing a media statement peppered with wild and misleading allegations about the Palaszczuk Government’s plans for fisheries management,” the Minister said.

“In his desperation to snare a headline, Mr Last has resorted to baseless accusations and claims that destroy his credibility.

“It is clear he has no contribution to make to the consultation process on the Green Paper on Fisheries Management Reform other than to spout outrageous and groundless nonsense.

“There is absolutely no justification for his claim that the Green Paper threatens thousands of jobs and I urge all those involved in the industry to pay no heed to Mr Last’s comments.

“I have announced a 10 week period of consultation on 10 key proposals that flowed from previous consultation on the MRAG report which was commissioned by the previous Newman-Nicholls LNP administration.

“In government the LNP didn’t have the guts to even publish that report.

“Given his Party’s record in government I can understand that Mr Last is confused and confronted by genuine consultation but I can assure all interested parties that the process will be thorough and all submissions will be considered at length.

“The Palaszczuk Government’s aim is to protect Queensland’s fisheries resources so the industry can be sustainable and profitable in the long-term.

“The Green Paper seeks to ensure that all those involved in the industry have a voice and a stake in its future.

“No decisions have been made.

“We want lively debate. We want to hear informed, honest opinion and ideas during the consultation process.

“What we don’t want is ill-informed scaremongering from politicians who clearly don’t consider the potentially damaging consequences of their irresponsible statements before they make them.

“With his unjustifiable rant Mr Last has lost any semblance of credibility he might have had.”

Minister Donaldson said no-one who had read the Green Paper would be able to understand how Mr Last could conclude it threatened thousands of jobs or that the biggest impacts would be in Mooloolaba, Maryborough, Tin Can Bay, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Bowen and Innisfail.

“There is no mention of any towns or communities in the Green Paper. Mr Last has inserted the names of random locations in an attempt to spread fear in those communities,” the Minister said.

“His claim that there will be a reduction of between 40 to 50% in commercial harvests shows his ignorance of maths and science.

“A move to restore some fish stocks to 60% of unfished levels does not mean that existing catch will need to be reduced by 50%. 

“The green Paper proposes that the pathway to rebuilding of fish stocks (if required) in the short to medium term will be determined through a harvest strategy, developed in close consultation with all sectors.

“The size of a required reduction in catch and effort in order to rebuild stocks will depend on how much the stock needs to increase and over what time period the rebuilding will occur.  

 “In the longer term, once the necessary rebuilding has occurred, total catch and effort will be able to be increased to a level where the 60% stock size can be maintained.

“This is likely to mean that catch levels will actually be higher at that time than they currently are.

“Scientists from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, CSIRO and the University of Tasmania, among others, were consulted as part of process for determining 60% as a default target.”

The Minister said Mr Last’s claim there would be a surge of black market fish and crab sales was also completely baffling.

“Of course in his statement there is no attempt to explain his reasoning but the Green Paper specifically proposes that compliance be strengthened to help combat black marketing and other illegal activities.

“By the same token, Mr Last’s claim the Green Paper was drafted without any consultation with the commercial sector is simply nonsense.

“The concepts in the Green Paper are not new and were discussed extensively through 2014 and 2015.  Industry and other stakeholder views were considered in its development.”

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