Lin Thorp (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Ludwig. Can the minister please inform the Senate on the government's role in maintaining long-term, sustainable fish stocks in Australia and the role of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority?

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

I thank Senator Thorp for her question. The Gillard government has today announced it will introduce legislation to strengthen the environmental controls on vessels like the Abel Tasman. The new legislation will also allow the government to establish an expert panel to conduct assessment of all of the potential impact before a vessel can be approved to fish in Commonwealth waters. The Gillard government remains a strong defender of Australian fisheries.

Our fisheries management system was established under the Hawke government in 1991 and is recognised as one of the best in the world. However, times have changed over the last 20 years, even if those opposite have not. Today I announce that the government will conduct a major root and branch review of the fisheries management system to ensure it is in line with community expectations, socioeconomic concerns and environmental measures. The review is supported by the Commonwealth Fisheries Association, who believe that it has come at the right time. These actions will give our system and our fishers the confidence they need to continue to be among the most productive, profitable and sustainable in the world.

My responsibility as fisheries minister is to make sure our fisheries remain among the most sustainable and best managed in the world and that they are served by the very best system. We have a very effective independent regulator, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, which manages and closely scrutinises all fishing activities in Australian waters in accordance with the Fisheries Management Act. AFMA and the fisheries minister are required to operate under the parameters provided by this act, which was written in the late 1980s and passed in 1991. These arrangements have served us well and the science and management conditions remain at the right level. But there is no doubt that our fisheries management system is world class— (Time expired)

Lin Thorp (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister please inform the Senate how Labor has strengthened our fisheries, resulting in some of the best managed fisheries in the world, and how this will support the fishing industry in the future?

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

I thank Senator Thorp for her first supplementary question. Labor governments have always been strong defenders and managers of Australian fisheries; you need only look at the record to know that is true. Our world-class fisheries management system was established by the Hawke government in 1991, not by the coalition, and it is a proud Labor legacy. Under the Howard government the number of fisheries assessed as overfished and/or subject to overfishing increased significantly from seven per cent of species assessed in 1997 to 29 per cent of species by 2005. Under Labor the proportion of stocks whose status is uncertain has nearly halved again since 2007. The Gillard government continues to be committed to ensuring strong and sustainable fisheries. Where there is room to make improvements we have made them. We are pursuing the rollout of e-monitoring to complement and support on-board observers. E-monitoring is a proven way of increasing the coverage of vessel activities— (Time expired)

Lin Thorp (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister please share some of the recent concerns of members of parliament regarding Australian fisheries and tell us how the government amendments will alleviate such concerns?

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

I thank Senator Thorp for her second supplementary question. The Liberals and Nationals should support the review and the government's amendments. Senator Colbeck himself said just three weeks ago that he acknowledged that 'the science continues to evolve and we should continue to invest in science so that we can get a good outcome and we must continue to improve our fisheries management'. I could not agree more. That is why I have called for a comprehensive review into the entire fisheries management system for the first time in almost 20 years. We need to move with the times, and Senator Colbeck has urged that we continue to improve our fisheries management. As recently as 16 August, a senior coalition frontbencher, Mr Greg Hunt, said his party was calling for 'an independent scientific panel to assess the impacts over and above what has already occurred. This should be an independent scientific panel to assess the sustainability'— (Time expired)