Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Senate will consider the proposal from Senator Duniam, which has also been circulated as shown on the Dynamic Red, as follows:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for Environment Minister Plibersek to urgently guarantee that the economic and social importance of, and the hundreds of direct and indirect jobs that depend on, Tasmania's salmon industry are not in any way negatively impacted by any decision taken by the Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999".

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clocks in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Duniam I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for Environment Minister Plibersek to urgently guarantee that the economic and social importance of, and the hundreds of direct and indirect jobs that depend on, Tasmania's salmon industry are not in any way negatively impacted by any decision taken by the Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

I want to thank my Tasmanian Liberal colleague Senator Duniam for bringing this urgency motion before the Senate today, because this is an urgent situation which needs to be immediately addressed for the sake of an industry, the hundreds of jobs that it supports and the communities which would be adversely impacted by any decision made by this government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Tasmania's salmon industry is an important contributor to the state's economy and plays a significant role on the West Coast of Tasmania by stimulating economic activity and supporting local jobs. But the industry and the jobs that it supports both directly and indirectly are currently under threat from this Labor government and environmental activists. The Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, has been threatening to pause, or even shut down, that industry—an industry that provides immense economic and social contributions to Strahan, the West Coast and Tasmania as a whole.

The review into the Tasmanian salmon industry's operations in Macquarie Harbour—initiated by the environment minister and three activist groups: the Environmental Defenders Office, the Bob Brown Foundation and the Australia Institute—has created extreme uncertainty not only for those Tasmanians working directly in the salmon industry but for the West Coast community as a whole. We know that Labor and the Greens are joined at the hip, and I'm sure that we will see that on show once again this weekend at the Tasmanian state election—

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is all about the Tasmanian state election!

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

where Labor and the Greens have a very strong track record, Senator Polley, of teaming up to trash regional industries. The minister's initiation of this review shows just how far the minister is willing to go to appease environmental activist groups and the green elements which we know exist within her own party.

Let's get one thing straight: it is perfectly reasonable to hold serious concern about the future of the maugean skate. The view that protection and conservation of endangered species is important isn't a view which is exclusively held by environmental activists. It's not even a view which is exclusively held by the Greens. It is a view that is shared across industry, across the community and across the political spectrum. But, unfortunately, under this minister, that same level of concern is not shared for the hundreds of jobs directly and indirectly supported by the salmon industry—a sustainable and environmentally regulated industry, I might add.

All of these issues—environmental, economic and social—should be examined as a whole. But, unfortunately, there are some—namely, those groups who are part of the minister's review—who hold an ideological opposition to the salmon industry, devoid of any scientific basis or any shred of concern for communities. A case in point is that those opposed to salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour seem to skim over the fact that the maugean skate was first discovered in Tasmania in Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour and has since completely disappeared from that part of the state, even though there is no form of aquaculture or industrial activity in those areas.

Unfortunately, those working in the salmon industry on the West Coast have been left in the lurch by this government. The minister's decisions and actions all appear to be based on what she thinks green activists and inner-city voters might like best. The Prime Minister himself desperately attempted to provide reassurance to West Coast communities on a fleeting trip to the island state in January, where he tried to convince salmon workers that he is pro jobs and was backing in the industry—except he didn't even make it out of Hobart, which is hundreds of kilometres away from Strahan, where the jobs and the communities under threat from the Prime Minister's government are actually located. But at least the Prime Minister actually managed to make it to Tasmania. As far as we know, the environment minister, Ms Plibersek, hasn't even visited the relevant area since announcing her review.

Tasmania's salmon industry is an incredibly important contributor to the state's economy, and it plays a significant role on the West Coast of Tasmania by stimulating regional economies and supporting local jobs. But that industry and the jobs that it supports, both directly and indirectly, on Tasmania's West Coast are currently under threat from this Labor government and, as I say, from the environmental activists who are party to this review.

Tasmanians need a prime minister who backs in our regional communities and the industries and the jobs they support. Frankly, they need an environment minister who will do exactly the same thing. But that's not what we're seeing here today.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a shameless political stunt from Senator Duniam and those on that side of the chamber. This isn't about trying to protect the maugean skate; this isn't even about protecting jobs or the salmon industry. This is purely about the Tasmanian state election that's coming on Saturday, when they're going to go from being a majority Liberal government to maybe trying to cobble together a minority government with the help of their great mates the Jacqui Lambie Network. We will wait and see, but on the Wednesday before the state election that's what this is all about. Quite clearly, they're concerned about the Labor team, led by the very competent Rebecca White, and how she will become the new leader in Tasmania. We will wait and see about that. But what they are not concerned about is the west coast. They're not concerned about skates. All they're about is scaremongering and trying to raise this issue prior to the state election.

I have a few facts for those opposite. Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the minister for the environment is required to undertake a reconsideration if there are valid requests. They know that from when they were in government. This process was not initiated by the federal government, but it is required under the national environmental laws passed by the Howard government back in 2000, so this is not the makings of this government.

There was consultation with the public and interested stakeholders from 4 December 2023 to 2 February 2024 about salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour and, in particular, the impacts on the endangered maugean skate. There were over 2,500 submissions received through the public consultation process, and Minister Plibersek is now considering all the relevant comments, together with other information relevant to be reconsidered. Throughout this process, we have sought to ensure that the industry is supported as well as it can be to engage in the consultation, along with any others in this community who have views that they believe should be considered.

Those on this side and those on that side know very well that we have a unity ticket on protecting and supporting the salmon industry and regional jobs, but, then again, it serves their political purposes to raise this issue around the state election. But Minister Watt, as fisheries minister, met with the West Coast Council, industry and community representatives in Strahan. In those discussions, it was very clear that everyone wanted to protect the maugean skate. We want to ensure the conservation and recovery of those skates, but we also understand the importance of—and I've spoken many times in this chamber about this—salmon aquacultural jobs in regional communities and how important that sector is, and we want to protect those jobs.

It's important that all sectors operating in sensitive environments do so in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner. Our government is committed to supporting the sustainable growth of the Australian fishing and aquacultural sector. The salmon-farming sector is an important contributor to the Tasmanian and Australian economy, providing high-value, healthy seafood for the Australian community and export market. The industry itself recognises that it needs to manage its operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. The salmon industry takes these issues very seriously, which is why it is leading the work to protect the maugean skate.

We are partnering with the industry through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation on an initiative, worth more than $7 million, to stimulate oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour. The Australian and Tasmanian governments have established the National Recovery Team for the Maugean Skate to recover skate while minimising community impact. These are the facts that needed to be put on the table—that the Australian government is funding research, including $2.15 million for a captive breeding program and $3.3 million for an oxygen generation trial. With the Tasmanian government and the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre, we are working to allow a trial of aquaculture in Commonwealth waters further offshore. These are the facts that are on the record. It's not about scaremongering, and— (Time expired)

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We hear a lot about unity tickets in this place—unity tickets between the Australian Labor Party and the LNP opposition. I'll tell you what the only unity ticket running today is: the unity ticket to drive the maugean skate into extinction. That is the unity ticket that this chamber is hearing about today. The toxic salmon-farming industry in Tasmania has wreaked havoc on our natural environment in the Macquarie Harbour, in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and in multiple other coastlines and waterways in Tasmania. It has poisoned our waterways. It has slaughtered native marine life. It has tarnished Tasmania's brand, and it is driving the maugean skate to extinction.

But according to the Labor and Liberal parties this is all terrific stuff. This is all terrific stuff according to Senator Duniam and Senator Polley, because they're going to rock down to Macquarie Harbour, put on a safety helmet and a hi-vis vest and pretend to be standing up for workers. But what do they do when this industry, which is owned by massive multinational corporations, engages in automation and lays workers off? Absolutely nothing. Their mouths are closed. There is absolute silence from these so-called friends of the workers.

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek has promised no extinctions on her watch—zero extinctions. What she's relying on, as she signs off on the logging of swift parrot habitat—driving into extinction the swifties, the fastest parrot on the planet—and as she drives the maugean skate into extinction by allowing the toxic salmon industry to keep poisoning Macquarie Harbour, is the fact that we will put a few maugean skates into some aquariums somewhere and hope they survive and put a couple of breeding pairs of swifties into an aviary somewhere and hope they survive. That is Environment Minister Plibersek's version of no extinctions. She is happy to drive these amazing, complicated, so-special creatures into extinction in the wild, because she is a lackey to the corporate interests, whether it be the native forest logging sector in Tasmania or the toxic fish farming corporates.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens' business model is one of division and fear. It doesn't matter what the subject matter is; they will find something to create fear about. Senator Polley quite rightly talked about fearmongering. That's exactly what we have from the Australian Greens when it comes to this serious issue.

I was delighted to hear Senator Polley's sparkling repartee about the salmon industry in Tasmania. This party that used to be the friend of the worker is no longer, because it is this party that is hanging the axe over the heads of 400-plus workers on the West Coast of Tasmania and preparing to drive a stake through the heart of the community of Strahan. It's a disgrace. They come and stand here and say, 'Oh, we support workers and we're improving the cost of living.' Not in Strahan, they're not, when they're going to take away the jobs of hundreds of workers, shut the school down and rip the guts out of the community.

Part of Senator Polley's defence of this insipid government was the fact that, by law, the government is required to act on requests for review of permits. This permit, I might add, was put in place under the last Labor government, by environment minister Tony Burke, in 2012. Apparently he got it wrong, can I tell you, so now they're reviewing it. The people and entities that made the request are what was missing from Senator Polley's defence of this insipid government's approach. The fact is that the application for review was put in place by the Australia Institute, which we know is an entity very, very closely aligned to the Australian Labor Party; by the Bob Brown Foundation, an entity closely aligned to the Australian Greens—we should know that by its very name—and of course the Environmental Defenders Office. Who funds the Environmental Defenders Office? It's the Labor government. So they're paying an organisation to lodge applications to unpick permits for industries that support hundreds if not thousands of jobs. Yet they can't make a decision on this.

The Premier of Tasmania, quite rightly, along with the Leader of the Labor Party in Tasmania, has asked for certainty for the industry. Those requests have fallen on deaf ears. The minister refuses to act because of exactly what Senator Polley said. I think it bells the cat on exactly where we're headed. This government are preparing to shut the sustainable, science based salmon industry on the West Coast of Tasmania, and they don't want to do it before the Tasmanian election this Saturday.

I will be interested to see how the Australian Labor Party vote on this urgency motion today, including my very good, outstanding Tasmanian Labor Senate colleagues. I'll be very interested to see where they go, particularly when you consider the remarks of respected individuals of the Tasmanian community, including Kade Wakefield, the assistant national secretary of the AWU, who made a good point about the decision that Ms Plibersek, the Minister for the Environment and Water, has before her. He said:

The government has been dragging its heels on this review …

I might add that we, and all Tasmanians who actually care about the workers on the West Coast, did ask for this review to be completed by the end of March—fail. We're getting there, and there will be no decision.

The government has been dragging its heels on this review but at the end of the day Tanya Plibersek will have to decide what she thinks is more important: the livelihoods of blue collar regional Tasmanian families or the overblown concerns of inner-city activists about a fish they've decided to make famous.

That is one of their crew, a union representative, asking this Labor government to do what they claim to do—that is, to stand up for workers—but they're not doing it; there's silence. They are working through a process which was activated because of a taxpayer funded organisation by this Labor government, the EDO—those around the countryside destroying jobs. There are people who cheer this on. I hope everyone knows in Tasmania exactly who is standing up for this industry and these workers.

It's not just union officials. It's not just the Tasmanian Premier. It's not just the Tasmanian Liberal Senate team. It's also people like the Mayor of the West Coast Council, Shane Pitt, who said:

I urge Minister Plibersek and the Prime Minister …

The Prime Minister who, of course, flew into Hobart, couldn't get out of Hobart, didn't go and see the workers on the West Coast.

… to think about the people here on the West Coast. It's cruel to let the kids and the families start the school year with this hanging over their heads.

The mayor's right. The government don't care. They're not going to do a thing to support the workers of the West Coast in the salmon industry. You know what? Today it's the West Coast. Mark my words, if this industry fails on the west, it'll be the rest of Tasmania. (Time expired)

Debate interrupted.