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

There are always general considerations and specific considerations in determining the approach that should be taken with any particular set of facts. I suppose the general approach is that, if somebody is aware of illegal activity, rather than they themselves bringing the court action or seeking to enforce the law they should report it to the relevant authority to undertake the prosecution. In this particular case, we have an independent body that by its very nature will have had to make a number of on-balance decisions. We believe that the enforcement role is best left up to this particular authority in these circumstances.