Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

On 22 March on a Radio National report on marine parks dealing with the consultation I had personally undertaken in 2012, the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Minister Frydenberg, claimed I made the decision 'without proper consultation', and fisherman Bruce Davey stated that I had personally made the decision 'without even consulting with any fishermen'. Any claim I did not adequately consult on marine parks is false. I undertook six rounds of consultation, held 250 stakeholder meetings personally attended by over 2,000 people, and received almost three-quarters of a million submissions, which is almost six times more submissions than the minister's process received. Even the government's own hand-picked review panel found that my consultation had been extensive, with the report saying that a common initial comment from stakeholders was: 'We've already been through this. Can't we just get on with it?'

With respect to the criticism made by the fisherman Mr Davey, not only did I consult with fishermen; on Sunday, 6 May 2012 in Cairns, I personally consulted with him to conduct a meeting about the marine parks.

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