George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was kept secret for way too long. And the science was not real science; it was based on political horse trading with the coalition partners of the Gillard Labor government—the Greens.

This proposal is going to result in lost revenue for fishing industries and fishing businesses right around the country. There are at least 60 regional communities that this will impact upon. It is estimated by the Australian Marine Alliance that there will be a six per cent gross downgrade in local government revenue as a result. There will be thousands of jobs lost as a result of this fishing lockout. There will be 70 to 80 trawler operators displaced and an increase of probably $1½ billion in seafood imports into this country. We already import into this country 70 per cent of our seafood. That figure will increase. It will probably be at 80 per cent within a few years of this marine park proposal coming into effect.

The southern eastern scale fishery is threatened as a direct result of this. We have basically wiped out a $2 billion commercial aquaculture industry. The Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery is threatened. There is $12 million displaced in Jervis Bay and we have $58.2 million in management costs for closures around the country. The minister and the government say that compensation is around $100 million, but the industry is saying that it could be closer to half a billion dollars. One of the big things that I am worried about is the complete closure of the Coral Sea to any form of fishing. This is ridiculous. This is clearly ridiculous.

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