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

I thank the senator for his question. The government will be providing up to $20 million to support a number of sectoral measures projects designed to assist the fishing industry to adapt to large-scale Commonwealth marine reserves. Funding will be focused on large grants of $200,000 to $2 million for projects to be delivered from 2014 to 2016. Eligibility and selection criteria for sectoral measures projects will be developed in consultation with industry organisations, fisheries managers and relevant research institutions. Entitlement buyouts will be undertaken to avoid the unsustainable concentration of commercial fishing outside of the reserve areas. The need for, and the level of, effort reduction—entitlement buyouts—will be assessed on a fishery-by-fishery basis. The relevant fisheries management agency, industry organisations and other experts will be consulted before decisions on entitlement buyouts are made. It is not surprising that, as we approach the end of what has been an extensive and lengthy process of consultation, various groups feel the need to emphasise their views through vigorous public campaigns. The sort of misleading of the Australian public that those opposite, and particularly Senator Boswell, have been engaged in is quite frankly laughable. It is simply misleading the Australian public. Petitions, rallies and email campaigns are a valid way of telling the government what people think, unless they are based on misinformation and outright lies about the government's marine reserves proposals. Some of those opposite are going very close to what I have just said.

It is worth noting that, despite these campaigns, the public and informed scientific response to the marine reserves has been overwhelmingly— (Time expired)