2017-02-06
Greens Senator for Tasmania and spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Peter Whish-Wilson provides the following comments on the legal developments in the Tasmanian salmon industry.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The Greens warned that this would happen and we were labelled by the Tasmanian Minister in charge as scaremongers out to destroy the industry. Time and time again our warnings have been proved right.
“The Tasmanian Minister, Jeremy Rockliff, has shown that he can’t be trusted to properly regulate the industry to protect either the environment or the long-term economic sustainability of the industry in general. This is why one salmon company has had to turn to the courts to see basic environmental laws enforced.
“Having the regulators turn a blind-eye has put the future of the industry at risk and this could have been avoided if the Liberal government had been upfront about the environmental damage that was occurring in Macquarie Harbour.
“The Federal Environment Minister is now obliged to step in and revoke the original Federal Labor decision that the fish farm expansions in Macquarie Harbour was not a control action. Substantive evidence continues to come to light that the initial decision was based on flawed projections about the likely environmental impact.
“The health of Macquarie Harbour is going to hell and some industry players and the state government want to pull the wool over our eyes.
“Both Labor and Liberal need to take off their blindfold and see that the rampant expansion of this industry has to stop. Tasmanians are sick of special deals for special mates,” he concluded.