Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

We are opposing the amendments. The recently completed independent review of the EPBC Act identified the inflexibility of the legislation when it comes to the listing of species introduced, included in appendix 2 of the convention, and the limited exceptions to offences is a problem that needed to be fixed. While the government will be responding in full to the recommendations of the review, we think it is important to act separately on this matter, because the listing of makos impacts disproportionately on recreational fishers. The government will be working with fishery managers to improve data on mako and porbeagle sharks in Australian waters in order to ensure that we make future decisions about these species based on the best available science. The department will be working with other jurisdictions to collect, collate and analyse mako and porbeagle shark catch data from both the recreational and commercial sectors.