Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 29 October 2015.)

Mr PEDERICK ( Hammond ) ( 11:02 ): I rise to speak on the Marine Parks (Sanctuary Zones) Amendment Bill. I will be brief because we need to get this voted on. I acknowledge the great work of the member for Goyder with regard to marine parks around this state and their impact on our fishing fraternity, and I welcome fisher families to the house today. It has been a real struggle for our fishing community. I have always believed that their activities have been very well managed under the Fisheries Management Act.

I think we have the best act in the world. I think we have the best managed fisheries in the world, for that matter, so why do we need to bring the environment department in to manage the fisheries? There is no need at all, but that is essentially what has happened with the marine parks legislation. Eighty-three no-take zones have been introduced. What the member for Goyder is wishing to do is to make 13 of them (instead of no-take zones) habitat protection areas.

We need to have more equity in our society, more equity in our state. That means that we need equity for our fishermen and our fishing families so that they have the perfect legal right to make a good income. These people have been displaced from many areas. It has had a huge impact around Port Wakefield and Kangaroo Island and around the south coast as well. It has caused a lot of issues, such as people fishing harder in areas where they are allowed to fish now, causing some conversations between people who are probably not too happy about that.

What I will say is that if this environment department, if this environment minister, the Hon. Ian Hunter, was so concerned about fisheries, why does he show little concern about the impact the long-nosed fur seals are having on our fisheries population right around the state? They eat at least 400 tonnes of fish a day, tear our nets to bits in the lakes and Coorong and are destroying livelihoods, but whenever I write to the minister I get a glib response, even if it is in relation to the suicide watch notice that we have on some of those fishermen.

I ask the minister to have a very good look at what they are doing. In fact, I believe that the environment department should stay right out of managing fisheries. I acknowledge the work of the member for Goyder, and may this bill proceed through the house.