Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, it is not a property right. It is a gift that can be repossessed. The fishing and boating industry have sought some advice from the ANU, the Australian National University. They paid for the advice and received a presentation to their stakeholders advisory group which suggested that the issuing of permits is regarded as a privilege which can be withdrawn without compensation. I want to refer to the permit and read out one of the conditions. I know Senator Nigel Scullion will expand on this further, because he is a fisherman and a boat operator. This is from general condition 2:

The Permit cannot be sold or transferred (including transfer of the benefit of the Permit, whether by lease, hire or otherwise) to another person, body or organisation.

You might have a fishing boat or a charter boat. These boats are not cheap; they could be worth $1 million, particularly the mother ships. They could be worth $2 million, and that would just be a good boat—nothing flash, but a reasonable boat. That is accompanied by a fishing boat, which would be a 42-footer or something like that. So if you had two permits and for some reason you wanted to sell—if you wanted to retire or get out of the industry—you have to put those permits in. They cannot be transferred; they cannot be leased out. So you, in effect, have lost control of your business. If you have lost control of your business, you cannot sell your business. People are worried. I know Senator Macdonald was visiting some people on the jetty the other day that were particularly worried—deckhands thought their jobs were on the line. He will expand on that more.

In summary, the East Marine Bioregional Plan will provide detailed information about key habitats, species, natural processes, conservation, heritage values and human issues in this region. The draft plan will be released halfway through next year, and that is when this decision should be made—when everyone has had the right to put their submissions in and be judged. But that has not happened now. Two people have had this right—Pew Charitable Trust and the Conservation Council. That is unfair.

The declaration of the Coral Sea Conservation Zone has created uncertainty with professional fishermen. They have already been through great disruption with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park closures—as we know them, RAPs. They are concerned that the declaration of the Coral Sea Conservation Zone and the continuing campaigning by Pew Charitable Trust in going for a no-take zone is going to have a huge impact on their industry. They are concerned that licensing will be devalued, and they just cannot face any more uncertainty on their livelihoods. They want out. The uncertainty has become too much for them. They have been through it once, and it looks like they will have to go through it again, under a similar process to RAPs. They now want the government to buy them out. With no public consultation, with only two green groups having had their say, this disallowance motion should not be carried. It is unfair. It is uncertain. The whole issue of the Coral Sea will be addressed with the Eastern Marine Bioregional Plan, the correct consultation process taking place over the Coral Sea area, and the outcomes will be known next year. I urge the Senate to disallow this regulation.