Protecting Australia’s marine parks
The Abbott-Turnbull government has spent the last three years undermining the protection of Australia’s environment and a Labor government won’t let it continue.
Labor has a strong record of protecting Australia’s environment says shadow environment minister Mark Butler, and that extends to Australia’s oceans.
“The Whitlam government established the nation’s first marine reserve to protect the Great Barrier Reef,” Butler said.
“Marine park management plans were deliberately designed to have minimal impact on industry and recreational fishing.”
“The last Labor government established Australia’s marine park network: the largest network of marine protected areas anywhere in the world.
“Unfortunately, the Liberals set aside the management plans for the Commonwealth marine parks so that they could conduct a review — a review Labor had already undertaken.
“The review was apparently provided to Greg Hunt in December 2015 but he has not released it.
“We’ve been told it won’t be released until after the election,” he said.
A Shorten Labor government would restore the management plans in order to protect Australia’s precious marine life.
Labor’s network of marine parks will help to ensure that Australia’s diverse marine environment, and the life it supports, remain healthy, productive and resilient for future generations.
“The marine park management plans were deliberately designed to have minimal impact on industry and recreational fishing,” Butler said “but we know there will be some impacts on some users.
“That is why a Labor Government will re-commit to a $100m fisheries adjustment package to assist those fishers impacted by the Commonwealth marine reserves,” he said.
“Labor understands the importance of protecting our environment.”
The package will include:
- Transitional business assistance — payments to fishing businesses based on their recent fishing history in those parts of the new marine parks where they are impacted once marine park management plans are operational.
- Sectoral measures — competitive grants to improve the long term sustainability of fisheries impacted by the marine parks.
- Removal of commercial fishing effort — the purchase of individual fishers’ entitlements or quota units in fisheries where the scale of the fishery has been reduced by the marine parks to help ensure that they remain sustainable.
“Labor understands the importance of protecting our environment, especially our marine parks for current and future generations as well as supporting sustainable, well managed industries,” the shadow minister said.
“Only Labor can deliver both,” he added.
