Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water, Minister Watt. In the space of two months, we've seen Labor bring forward their own nature-positive bills only to them kill them by withdrawing them from the Notice Paper this week. There were plenty of industries who were loudly opposing the bill, including forestry and mining, but salmon producers were also worried about what it would mean for them when they're already facing uncertainty. Salmon farms at Macquarie Harbour have been in limbo for almost the entire time Labor have been in government. When can workers in the West Coast community finally expect to receive some clarity from Labor?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Tyrrell. There are a couple of things that your question involved—first of all, the nature-positive laws. Of course, our government did seek to pass laws that would actually deliver on the requests of many in the business community and those concerned about the environment.

But the guy who's yelling at me at the moment was instrumental in stopping those laws being passed. He likes to yell. So do the rest of the Greens. They like to yell, but they don't actually like to get anything done.

Honourable senators interjecting—

They're still yelling—yell, yell, yell—never actually doing anything.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Hanson-Young.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point on relevance, it seems as though Roger Cook is a member of the Labor Party, not the Australian Greens.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson-Young, that is a debating point, and you know that. Minister Watt, please continue.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our view was that there was a sensible path to delivering the nature-positive laws to speed up approval times and provide strong environmental protections, but unfortunately neither the Greens political party nor the coalition have chosen to take it. So it's obviously well understood—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat—

Order! Order, Senator McKim! Minister Wong.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKim continued to yell very loudly after you called. I'd ask him to be brought to order.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He did do that, Minister Wong, very disappointingly. I am going to remind the chamber that this is Senator Tyrrell's question. She has a right to hear the answer in silence. Minister Watt.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was clear—and we've seen it demonstrated again today—that neither the Greens political party nor the coalition was prepared to come to a sensible conclusion on the nature-positive laws, and for that reason we're not proceeding with them this term.

On the second issue in your question, regarding the workers at Macquarie Harbour, there is no-one in this chamber or this parliament who has fought harder for the workers at Macquarie Harbour than Senator Urquhart, who was onto this issue of supporting those workers well before the opportunists that we see opposite us or anyone else in this chamber. Senator Urquhart had me down there when I held the agriculture and fisheries portfolio. She's had Senator Gallagher down there a couple of times. She's had the Prime Minister and Senator Farrell down there—and numerous others—listening to the local community and working with them as Minister Plibersek makes her decision. We are strong supporters of the salmon industry. Of course the laws need to be complied with, and I know that Minister Plibersek is taking this into account right now.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Tyrrell, first supplementary?

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a visit to Tasmania on 15 January, the Prime Minister said that he would consider legislation so that these kinds of reviews of past approvals can't be triggered against salmon farms. Is that a personal opinion of the Prime Minister, or is this a reform that the Labor Party is having?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt—

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Very good question.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm sorry, Minister Watt. Please resume your seat. I think that was you, Senator Whish-Wilson. My apologies if it wasn't. You are out of order. I had just called the minister. You are to listen in silence. Minister Watt.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not directly familiar with the comments that the Prime Minister made, and I am conscious that we are going through a legal process at the moment, but what I know is that the Prime Minister has made very clear his support for the workers in the salmon industry. It's why our government has provided substantial funding in partnership with the industry to, for instance, do trials of oxygenation of Macquarie Harbour, given that oxygen levels are an issue there. It's why we've funded a captive breeding program for preserving the maugean skate, which I understand has been quite successful, because of course the outcome that I think everyone wants to seek here, certainly from the discussions I've had with the workers in the industry—people want to see a viable salmon industry go forward but also want to make sure that we don't have an extinction of the maugean skate on our hands as well.

There are some people who are only concerned with one of those issues. From the government's point of view, we think that we can do both, and that's what we'll keep working with the scientists and the local community on.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Tyrrell, second supplementary?

Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor say they're friends of the salmon industry, but actions speak louder than words. Why has Labor delayed this decision and pursued bills like nature positive that would harm the salmon industry, if you're such great friends?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have to respectfully disagree with you on one point there, Senator Tyrrell. The nature-positive laws were not intended to harm the salmon industry—quite the contrary. Those laws came from a report, commissioned by the former government, by Graeme Samuel, the former head of the ACCC, which found that our existing environmental regulation under our existing laws hurt business, by providing a lack of certainty and lengthy approval timeframes, and also hurt the environment. So we were trying to cure rather than to hurt any particular industry.

Senator Urquhart in particular and our government in general have been strong supporters of the salmon industry. It's why we're investing in those oxygenation trials. It's why we're investing in the captive breeding program. Senator Farrell and I, when I held the portfolio, worked very hard on increasing our trade of salmon and other fisheries exports around the world. That's the way we want to see things continue, going forward.