Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The irony of this motion is not lost on us. Those on the other side are claiming bipartisanship is needed, but this political stunt is anything but that. Those opposite know that Labor is the party protecting the mighty Tasmanian salmon industry. We're doing so by working with the industry and with communities. We are investing tens of millions of dollars in evidence based measures to secure a future for the industry and for Macquarie Harbour.

As recently as a fortnight ago, the Prime Minister visited Braddon to announce $28.6 million in sustainability measures. This funding is intended to secure a future for the industry in Macquarie Harbour. That's right; it's $28.6 million, in case you didn't hear it the first time. That will put the industry on a firm footing for the future. It will support the natural habitat of Macquarie Harbour and the preservation of the endangered maugean skate. This funding builds on the government's announcement in September 2023 of $2.15 million for skate conservation and a trial of harbour oxygenation. Labor's new funding commitment allows this important work to continue and expand.

We are the party investing in the sustainability of the industry, and that will deliver its future. Those opposite aren't. This motion has happened without consultation with the industry, who know nothing about it. It's a blindside—so much for your community connections. It's happened without consultation with us—so much for the call for bipartisanship. Those opposite are embarrassingly rogue on this one.

The Prime Minister could not have been clearer about Labor's position when he visited Braddon. He said: 'What we are doing here is making sure that every step is made to ensure the industry can continue. The salmon industry is the backbone of many regional Tasmanian communities, and we are backing that and delivering stability for workers and their families into the future. I'll be visiting Strahan over the coming months at the invitation of the mayor, Shane Pitt, and talking about ensuring that those jobs and that industry can continue.' He went on to say:

We want jobs and we want sustainability. It's not either-or. It's a matter of how we achieve both.

And the Prime Minister said, in that same statement, 'I am committed to that.'

Labor knows that salmon is a really important industry for Tasmania, and Labor is a great supporter of this industry. But that's not what the opposition wants people to believe, because they want to engage in a divisive political fight. I can tell you who your divisive behaviour will hurt: the industry, the workers, their families and the communities who rely on good, well-paid regional jobs. We are also the party that takes seriously the legal obligations with respect to the environment—obligations which were set up under a former Liberal government. The grandstanding and politicisation of this issue by those opposite is a betrayal of the workers and their families and communities. What those opposite know but are not telling the workers, the council or the community in calling for the minister to bypass the legislation is that it would plunge the industry into an illegal quagmire.

Labor stand on the side of jobs, and we also stand on the side of sustainability. These two things are not contradictory; they go together. I stand on the side of workers, their families and communities on the west coast and on the north-west, and I'll keep working with those who want to secure a better future for the industry—not the wreckers opposite.