Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Crossin for her question. The network of marine parks will have—unlike what the coalition have cried foul of—little to no impact on recreational fishers, while securing our ocean environments for the future. The bottom line is that, for 96 per cent of the ocean, 100 kilometres offshore, access for recreational fishing remains unchanged. What that means in practice is that, if a fisher could travel 100 kilometres offshore at Cape York, continue down the east coast past Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, around Tasmania and all the way to Kangaroo Island in South Australia, they would experience no change to recreational fishing access—no change. That is, from the Torres Strait straight to the Bass Strait, there is no change to the waters 100 kilometres offshore for recreational fishers. What is more, in two-thirds of the announced reserve areas there are restrictions for other sectors while recreational fishing is unimpeded. It is good news for— (Time expired)