Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend motion number No. 303 on the grounds that part of what we were calling for has actually been delivered by the minister this morning.

Leave granted.

I move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

a federally-funded independent review into the sustainability of shark and other protected species in the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery, which includes Queensland’s Moreton Bay, was released on 27 November 2008,

(ii)

the future of fishers in the Moreton Bay area could very much depend on the outcome of this federally-funded review, and

(iii)

the Queensland Government is closing tenders for the Structural Adjustment Package for Moreton Bay fishers on 28 November 2008, the timing of which will prevent fishers from making fully informed decisions, taking into account the outcome of the federally-funded review; and

(b)

calls on the Queensland Government to extend the closing date for tenders for the Structural Adjustment Package to 1 February 2009 to give fishers the opportunity of considering the independent federally-funded review to determine whether or not they should be exiting the fishery and making application for the Structural Adjustment Package.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—As Senator Macdonald has indicated, the independent review of the proposed management regime for Queensland’s east coast inshore finfishery has been released and is available on the website of the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The independent review, which Minister Garrett commissioned in September, will help to inform the minister’s assessment of the fishery against sustainability guidelines under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The primary objectives of the review were to assess the fishery’s level of interaction with protected species such as dugongs, whales and swordfish, and the management of shark and commercial fishing efforts. While the review looked at the entire fishery, its focus was on the operation of the fishery in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

The review found that the proposed changes to the fishery represent a significant step forward but also identified further improvements that should be made in the future to ensure best practice management. The Queensland government is conducting the Moreton Bay structural adjustment package to address the displacing of fishing efforts as a result of the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan review. Whilst the area of the inshore fishery includes Moreton Bay, the structural adjustment package is a separate process from the proposed management changes to the fishery and the timing of the structural adjustment package is a matter for the Queensland government. On that basis, we will not be supporting the motion.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—In view of what Senator Ludwig has said, I want to reiterate that this report will assess the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park issues happening in the Moreton Bay area. Whilst it is not directly related to the structural adjustment package, it will mean that fishers in Moreton Bay could be affected and therefore could find that they want to take an exit package and be part of the structural adjustment package. It is for that reason that this motion calls for the Queensland government to extend the time to allow the fishers to fully observe the report that has been released this morning.

Question agreed to.