Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to put some thoughts on the record with regard to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2014 introduced by Senator Ludwig. It will not surprise those in this chamber that I am opposed to the bill put forward by Senator Ludwig and also the amendment put forward by the Greens.

Before I address the specific substance of the bill, I do feel it is incumbent upon me as a South Australian senator, just like Senator Wright, to respond to some of the statements that Senator Wright has made. I must say from the outset that I am very, very disappointed that Senator Wright would choose this chamber to attack one of the most important industries to South Australia, and that is the southern bluefin tuna fishing industry. It is an industry that is extraordinarily valuable to our state. It generates some hundreds of millions of dollars worth of revenue. It is very important to the town of Port Lincoln, where I spend quite a bit of time. I consider many of the tuna fishers to be my friends and I consider them to be great contributors to South Australia. They invest in South Australia, they invest in jobs and they invest in developing best industry practice in the tuna fishing industry—