SUPER TRAWLER PETITION

The petition received today, with 75,000 signatures, shows just how strong concern about super trawlers is within the community.

“This extraordinary number of signatures is a stark indication of just how poorly Senator Colbeck is handling his responsibilities for managing Australia’s important Small Pelagic Fishery and responding to threats to our protected species”, Senator Singh said.

“This Government refuses to act to protect our environment, stand up for communities or provide industry any certainty.
“For over a year now, Labor has been offering the Government an opportunity to control fishing activities and ensure our oceans, recreational fishers and businesses are protected.

“Labor’s legislation will allow the government of the day to stop new super trawlers before they come to Australia – just as Labor did in office and which was opposed by the Coalition.

“Yet this Government has done nothing but ignore this Bill for more than a year now. They are ignoring the problem, ignoring the threats, but worse ignoring the Australian people”.

“Federal Labor has a proven track record of protecting the environment. Labor delivered the world’s largest marine reserve network. These conservation values of our reserves has now been completely undermined by the Abbott Government, which has undone the marine reserve management plans developed under Labor and recently embarked on an entirely new and wasteful consultation process,” Senator Singh said.

“It is extremely disappointing and disturbing that the Abbott Government is continuing to ignore the genuine concerns of so many Australians, many of them our fellow Tasmanians,” Senator Brown said.

“Size alone is not a sufficient measure and any assessment of vessels should be done on a case by case basis with strict checks and balances.

“Labor remains committed to our oceans and our fishers.

“We fought hard to stop the Margiris coming to Tasmania and we will continue the fight to protect our resources.
SENATOR LISA SINGH SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER LABOR SENATOR FOR TASMANIA SENATOR CAROL BROWN LABOR SENATOR FOR TASMANIA