❓ Ms. Hanns questions the Minister for Environment on the South Coast Marine Park, seeking details on balancing conservation, recreation, and commercial activities, and community consultation. The Minister responds positively, highlighting fishing access and Recfishwest's support, while criticizing opposition claims.
AnsweredQoN 783Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOUTH COAST MARINE PARK
783. Ms J.L. HANNS to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
plan for our parks and the establishment of the South Coast Marine Park.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the new South Coast Marine Park will deliver
a balance between conservation, recreation and commercial activities?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how the marine park has been developed in close
consultation with community members and stakeholders?
783. Ms J.L. HANNS to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
plan for our parks and the establishment of the South Coast Marine Park.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the new South Coast Marine Park will deliver
a balance between conservation, recreation and commercial activities?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how the marine park has been developed in close
consultation with community members and stakeholders?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
certainly can. I thank the member for raising this point. There are a lot of
parallels with the success we have seen in Collie and on the south coast. This
is a government that is consultative and delivers positive outcomes for the
environment and new jobs and opportunities, including adventure tourism, which
we see playing out in Collie. Yesterday, we announced that people will still be
able to fish in 80 per cent of the marine park waters. That is in stark
contrast to this little bit of gutter press that was put into letterboxes
across Esperance by the member for Roe and Hon Colin de Grussa, MLC. It was
misleading and inflammatory and it was not the outcome. Yesterday, we told the
community that 80 per cent of the marine park waters will be open for
commercial and recreational fishing. A person can cast a line in and catch a fish
along 85 per cent of the shoreline. We have reached the right balance. Have we
made everyone gloriously happy? No, we have not. There are conservationists and
some fishers and people who have said that they would have wanted more this way
or that, but that is the job of a grown-up, mature, sensible government. We
talked to stakeholders. We reached a position somewhere in the middle where
everyone has been accommodated. Not everyone is dancing a jig, but everyone has
been accommodated and we have got a positive outcome that strikes the right
balance.
We
have heard so many times in this chamber from the member for Moore and others
about how this is a disaster and that we are not listening, the sky is
going to fall in and this is appalling. I was delighted to see the Kalgoorlie
Miner this morning, which covers Esperance. A lot of goldfields people love
Esperance. They go there to enjoy the coast. The big headline reads ''Line
in the sea''. The sub-headline reads, ''Fishers welcome sanctuary
zone changes''. I hope that the member for Moore will congratulate the
government for doing the right thing and delivering an outcome that is fair and
just. But, there is more for the members for Moore and Roe to hear.
Recfishwest put out a statement
yesterday. It is passionate about supporting its membership, its constituency.
I get it. People love to fish. They have a passion for fishing. I get it.
Recfishwest has been quite robust in its commentary. It has had the odd crack
at us and said what we should be doing, but the point is, we have listened. Since the draft zone plans have been out, we
came up with an approach yesterday that saw some sanctuary zones removed
and others shifted and adjusted for outcomes that get good results for
commercial and recreational fishers. Recfishwest, which has not always been our
biggest supporter in this matter, has been reasonable and come to this
conclusion about the marine park. I will quote its press statement. I am not
sure whether the member has read it, but he will hear it now. It states —
Recfishwest is pleased the State
Government has listened to thousands of recreational fishers and accepted more
than 80 per cent of the key points raised in Recfishwest's South Coast
Marine Parks submission.
Again, in case the member missed
it —
Recfishwest is pleased �
The second part states —
The result ensures that South
Coast fishers can continue to fish in locations that have been fished for
generations that would have been closed under the original marine parks plans.
We
listened and we responded. Its statement also points out that 23 of Recfishwest's
28 key recommendations were adopted in the final plans. I reckon it is a
pretty good strike rate for a lobby group to get that response from government.
Again, the member has not missed out on the opportunity. He can get on board
with this and get behind in supporting what is a great outcome. The south coast
is so biodiverse. It has creatures that
people will never see anywhere else on the planet. It is worth protecting. It
is not all locked up. There are plenty of places to go fishing. We have
listened to the community and to industry and we have responded appropriately.
During the course of this debate,
the member got onside with some pretty extreme voices and that caused a lot of upset and concern in the community. It
resulted in division that need not have been there. It resulted in
traditional owners feeling under siege and —
Ms L. Mettam: You guys always cause anxiety.
Mr R.R. WHITBY : Anxiety —
Point of Order
Mr R.S. LOVE : The minister is speaking out of his
normal place in the Parliament.
The SPEAKER : Yes.
Mr R.R. Whitby interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, minister!
Mr R.R. Whitby interjected.
The SPEAKER : Excuse me. Minister, if you would like to
respond to a point of order, you have to call a point of order yourself. You are not at liberty to respond—only
the Speaker responds to a point of order—unless you similarly seek the call. I am upholding that point of order because that is the
requirement. You are not the only person who has stepped out of your chair in
this chamber and perhaps stood in the corridor instead of your spot. Other
people have done it as well and they have all been called to order and they have
all been directed to stand in their place. I am directing you to stand in your
place and bring your answer to a conclusion.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.R. WHITBY : Thank you, Speaker. I am very sorry. I
will now follow your guide. Your wise counsel is appreciated. The member made
an excellent point. He got me there. Thank you very much.
Member, it is true that the opposition has aligned itself
with some very extreme voices. Yesterday, my electorate officer received a very
concerning email that was a death threat. The language that was used was
disgusting. Unfortunately, it was read by a young
female member of my staff. I am not saying that that represents a view in the community. We get those horrible, terrible responses from a tiny element in the
community, but we in this chamber have a responsibility. We know that when we
side with extreme voices, when we do not call out lies or have a moderate debate, people are empowered to do bad
things. I remind members of our obligation in this place to abide by
that.
certainly can. I thank the member for raising this point. There are a lot of
parallels with the success we have seen in Collie and on the south coast. This
is a government that is consultative and delivers positive outcomes for the
environment and new jobs and opportunities, including adventure tourism, which
we see playing out in Collie. Yesterday, we announced that people will still be
able to fish in 80 per cent of the marine park waters. That is in stark
contrast to this little bit of gutter press that was put into letterboxes
across Esperance by the member for Roe and Hon Colin de Grussa, MLC. It was
misleading and inflammatory and it was not the outcome. Yesterday, we told the
community that 80 per cent of the marine park waters will be open for
commercial and recreational fishing. A person can cast a line in and catch a fish
along 85 per cent of the shoreline. We have reached the right balance. Have we
made everyone gloriously happy? No, we have not. There are conservationists and
some fishers and people who have said that they would have wanted more this way
or that, but that is the job of a grown-up, mature, sensible government. We
talked to stakeholders. We reached a position somewhere in the middle where
everyone has been accommodated. Not everyone is dancing a jig, but everyone has
been accommodated and we have got a positive outcome that strikes the right
balance.
We
have heard so many times in this chamber from the member for Moore and others
about how this is a disaster and that we are not listening, the sky is
going to fall in and this is appalling. I was delighted to see the Kalgoorlie
Miner this morning, which covers Esperance. A lot of goldfields people love
Esperance. They go there to enjoy the coast. The big headline reads ''Line
in the sea''. The sub-headline reads, ''Fishers welcome sanctuary
zone changes''. I hope that the member for Moore will congratulate the
government for doing the right thing and delivering an outcome that is fair and
just. But, there is more for the members for Moore and Roe to hear.
Recfishwest put out a statement
yesterday. It is passionate about supporting its membership, its constituency.
I get it. People love to fish. They have a passion for fishing. I get it.
Recfishwest has been quite robust in its commentary. It has had the odd crack
at us and said what we should be doing, but the point is, we have listened. Since the draft zone plans have been out, we
came up with an approach yesterday that saw some sanctuary zones removed
and others shifted and adjusted for outcomes that get good results for
commercial and recreational fishers. Recfishwest, which has not always been our
biggest supporter in this matter, has been reasonable and come to this
conclusion about the marine park. I will quote its press statement. I am not
sure whether the member has read it, but he will hear it now. It states —
Recfishwest is pleased the State
Government has listened to thousands of recreational fishers and accepted more
than 80 per cent of the key points raised in Recfishwest's South Coast
Marine Parks submission.
Again, in case the member missed
it —
Recfishwest is pleased �
The second part states —
The result ensures that South
Coast fishers can continue to fish in locations that have been fished for
generations that would have been closed under the original marine parks plans.
We
listened and we responded. Its statement also points out that 23 of Recfishwest's
28 key recommendations were adopted in the final plans. I reckon it is a
pretty good strike rate for a lobby group to get that response from government.
Again, the member has not missed out on the opportunity. He can get on board
with this and get behind in supporting what is a great outcome. The south coast
is so biodiverse. It has creatures that
people will never see anywhere else on the planet. It is worth protecting. It
is not all locked up. There are plenty of places to go fishing. We have
listened to the community and to industry and we have responded appropriately.
During the course of this debate,
the member got onside with some pretty extreme voices and that caused a lot of upset and concern in the community. It
resulted in division that need not have been there. It resulted in
traditional owners feeling under siege and —
Ms L. Mettam: You guys always cause anxiety.
Mr R.R. WHITBY : Anxiety —
Point of Order
Mr R.S. LOVE : The minister is speaking out of his
normal place in the Parliament.
The SPEAKER : Yes.
Mr R.R. Whitby interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, minister!
Mr R.R. Whitby interjected.
The SPEAKER : Excuse me. Minister, if you would like to
respond to a point of order, you have to call a point of order yourself. You are not at liberty to respond—only
the Speaker responds to a point of order—unless you similarly seek the call. I am upholding that point of order because that is the
requirement. You are not the only person who has stepped out of your chair in
this chamber and perhaps stood in the corridor instead of your spot. Other
people have done it as well and they have all been called to order and they have
all been directed to stand in their place. I am directing you to stand in your
place and bring your answer to a conclusion.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.R. WHITBY : Thank you, Speaker. I am very sorry. I
will now follow your guide. Your wise counsel is appreciated. The member made
an excellent point. He got me there. Thank you very much.
Member, it is true that the opposition has aligned itself
with some very extreme voices. Yesterday, my electorate officer received a very
concerning email that was a death threat. The language that was used was
disgusting. Unfortunately, it was read by a young
female member of my staff. I am not saying that that represents a view in the community. We get those horrible, terrible responses from a tiny element in the
community, but we in this chamber have a responsibility. We know that when we
side with extreme voices, when we do not call out lies or have a moderate debate, people are empowered to do bad
things. I remind members of our obligation in this place to abide by
that.
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