❓ Mrs. O'Malley asks about shark hazard mitigation, specifically regarding the Bicton Baths enclosure and other safety strategies. The Minister details the Bicton Baths project, expanded shark tagging, new monitoring receivers, system upgrades, and other measures, while also criticizing the opposition's stance.
AnsweredQoN 610Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SHARKS — HAZARD
MITIGATION
610. Mrs L.M. O'MALLEY to the Minister for
Fisheries:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's world-leading shark hazard mitigation strategy backed by a
$17 million investment in safety measures.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the Bicton Baths swimming enclosure will keep
local swimmers safe this summer?
(2) Can the
minister update the house on other strategies being implemented to keep the Western
Australian community safe when enjoying the Swan River and Western Australia's
coastal waters?
MITIGATION
610. Mrs L.M. O'MALLEY to the Minister for
Fisheries:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's world-leading shark hazard mitigation strategy backed by a
$17 million investment in safety measures.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the Bicton Baths swimming enclosure will keep
local swimmers safe this summer?
(2) Can the
minister update the house on other strategies being implemented to keep the Western
Australian community safe when enjoying the Swan River and Western Australia's
coastal waters?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I certainly can, Madam Speaker, and I thank the
member for the question. I am pleased to inform the house of ongoing
improvements to strengthen the Cook government's comprehensive shark
hazard mitigation strategy. I thank the member for Bicton, who is a strong
advocate for her community and a committed supporter of the enclosure at Bicton Baths to help keep her
community and other members of the Perth community safe, and also add to the
amenity of the area. I also acknowledge Cameron Wrathall for his tireless
advocacy as well.
The
City of Melville is leading the project to install a shark barrier at the
Bicton Baths and has been working closely with the Department of Primary
Industries and Regional Development and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions—an
excellent partnership leading to an excellent outcome. I am pleased to
say that the project is on track and the barrier will be ready to be enjoyed
this summer. It will be the first shark
barrier to be installed in the river. I commend the City of Melville for taking
up the Cook government's offer to assist with the purchase and
installation of a barrier that has been offered to all councils along the
river. It will cost up to $320 000 to build and install, and I am very pleased
that a local company Global Marine Enclosures, which has previously supplied
these enclosures, has been awarded the contract. The design of the barrier that
has been supported by our government is different from the shark nets used on the east coast; it is very
important to remember that. Our barriers are designed to minimise harm
to marine life and prevent larger animals from getting into the enclosed swimming
area.
We are also going to extend the
highly successful shark tagging program to include bull sharks in the Swan and Canning Rivers. DPIRD has been
undertaking tagging operations in the warmer summer months when bull
sharks use the river for their breeding cycle. This complements existing work
carried out by DBCA to tag juvenile bull sharks as part of its research
program. Any shark caught and tagged will be reported to Water Police and
published by the shark notification system.
We are also installing three new
shark monitoring receivers in the river later this year to be connected to the shark monitoring network consisting of 37
receivers from Perth all the way to Esperance. That provides near real-time notification of tagged sharks. To
make sure that the technology that supports these automated systems keeps people safe, our government has
invested $4.5 million to upgrade the state's shark notification and response system to a more reliable cloud-based system.
These measures are based on science
and are part of a comprehensive strategy, including ongoing white shark tagging with 178 sharks tagged; the $200 personal
shark deterrent rebate, a work-first scheme set up by our Labor government that has been claimed over
8 800 times; helicopters, drone, beach and jetski patrols have been
provided through our partnership with Surf Life Saving WA; beach emergency
number signs have been used more than 2 000 times when requests for assistance
have been made to Western Australia police; and we have had over 134 000
downloads of the SharkSmart app as part of our ''Switch on Your Sea
Sense'' campaign.
I
have looked to see what our opposition's policy is in these respects,
and I did not find a lot of sense there . In fact, the only thing I could
find from the shadow Minister for Fisheries was a transcript of a media
discussion held very early on the morning of 29 July 2021. There was not a lot
of anything in it to be honest, members. When he was asked whether there was a role
for government to protect fishermen, spearfishermen, divers or anyone in the
water for that matter, his response was —
� I think there is a role for
government in this space that's for sure and I think earlier � or last
year and the year before the Government trialled drum lines —
Of course, that was the year we took
drum lines out because we found they were totally ineffective. The opposition's
policy framework seemed to be calling for drum lines to be spread right along
the coast from the south to the north. There was no evidence behind it; it was
just an idea on the run. In fact, in this interview, the most common phrases
were, ''I guess'', ''I think'', ''I guess''
—
I guess the other thing to of course
is � whether we use the shark deterrent devices, now I'm not sure how
effective they are —
Well, 8 800 people certainly do think
they are effective —
I would suggest though that it's
not a bad idea to be using something that may help, anything you can do to try
and stay safe.
That is the difference between our
government and the members opposite. Our government is about evidence, science, structure, strategy and
continuous learning and the members opposite are about ''I guess''.
member for the question. I am pleased to inform the house of ongoing
improvements to strengthen the Cook government's comprehensive shark
hazard mitigation strategy. I thank the member for Bicton, who is a strong
advocate for her community and a committed supporter of the enclosure at Bicton Baths to help keep her
community and other members of the Perth community safe, and also add to the
amenity of the area. I also acknowledge Cameron Wrathall for his tireless
advocacy as well.
The
City of Melville is leading the project to install a shark barrier at the
Bicton Baths and has been working closely with the Department of Primary
Industries and Regional Development and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions—an
excellent partnership leading to an excellent outcome. I am pleased to
say that the project is on track and the barrier will be ready to be enjoyed
this summer. It will be the first shark
barrier to be installed in the river. I commend the City of Melville for taking
up the Cook government's offer to assist with the purchase and
installation of a barrier that has been offered to all councils along the
river. It will cost up to $320 000 to build and install, and I am very pleased
that a local company Global Marine Enclosures, which has previously supplied
these enclosures, has been awarded the contract. The design of the barrier that
has been supported by our government is different from the shark nets used on the east coast; it is very
important to remember that. Our barriers are designed to minimise harm
to marine life and prevent larger animals from getting into the enclosed swimming
area.
We are also going to extend the
highly successful shark tagging program to include bull sharks in the Swan and Canning Rivers. DPIRD has been
undertaking tagging operations in the warmer summer months when bull
sharks use the river for their breeding cycle. This complements existing work
carried out by DBCA to tag juvenile bull sharks as part of its research
program. Any shark caught and tagged will be reported to Water Police and
published by the shark notification system.
We are also installing three new
shark monitoring receivers in the river later this year to be connected to the shark monitoring network consisting of 37
receivers from Perth all the way to Esperance. That provides near real-time notification of tagged sharks. To
make sure that the technology that supports these automated systems keeps people safe, our government has
invested $4.5 million to upgrade the state's shark notification and response system to a more reliable cloud-based system.
These measures are based on science
and are part of a comprehensive strategy, including ongoing white shark tagging with 178 sharks tagged; the $200 personal
shark deterrent rebate, a work-first scheme set up by our Labor government that has been claimed over
8 800 times; helicopters, drone, beach and jetski patrols have been
provided through our partnership with Surf Life Saving WA; beach emergency
number signs have been used more than 2 000 times when requests for assistance
have been made to Western Australia police; and we have had over 134 000
downloads of the SharkSmart app as part of our ''Switch on Your Sea
Sense'' campaign.
I
have looked to see what our opposition's policy is in these respects,
and I did not find a lot of sense there . In fact, the only thing I could
find from the shadow Minister for Fisheries was a transcript of a media
discussion held very early on the morning of 29 July 2021. There was not a lot
of anything in it to be honest, members. When he was asked whether there was a role
for government to protect fishermen, spearfishermen, divers or anyone in the
water for that matter, his response was —
� I think there is a role for
government in this space that's for sure and I think earlier � or last
year and the year before the Government trialled drum lines —
Of course, that was the year we took
drum lines out because we found they were totally ineffective. The opposition's
policy framework seemed to be calling for drum lines to be spread right along
the coast from the south to the north. There was no evidence behind it; it was
just an idea on the run. In fact, in this interview, the most common phrases
were, ''I guess'', ''I think'', ''I guess''
—
I guess the other thing to of course
is � whether we use the shark deterrent devices, now I'm not sure how
effective they are —
Well, 8 800 people certainly do think
they are effective —
I would suggest though that it's
not a bad idea to be using something that may help, anything you can do to try
and stay safe.
That is the difference between our
government and the members opposite. Our government is about evidence, science, structure, strategy and
continuous learning and the members opposite are about ''I guess''.
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