Despite the imminent risk of the ancient Maugean skate going extinct, the Premier and Opposition Leader are campaigning on a unity ticket for business as usual to continue with industrial fish farming in Macquarie Harbour.
The leaders of both Tasmania’s major political parties have together signed a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on him to intervene and make sure there’s no change to the profits of the massive multinational corporations who own the fish farms. Such a decision would be devastating for the environment, and ultimately would not be sustainable for local jobs either.
Liberal and Labor politicians have been so focused on being lapdogs for industrial fish farming corporations that they’ve lost sight of what’s at stake in Macquarie Harbour. The extinction of an ancient species would be terrible on its own terms, and it would also cause irreparable damage to Tasmania’s clean and green international brand. Our brand is what so many Tassie businesses and jobs rely on, and it must be protected.
The Greens understand fish farming is a big employer in Strahan, and these jobs are important for individuals and the community as a whole. That’s why we released a plan during the election campaign that would remove fish farms to give the Maugean skate a chance to survive – at the same time as guaranteeing every local worker a good job into the future.
Tasmanian Liberal and Labor politicians can campaign for their multinational corporate donors as much as they like, but ultimately the decision on industrial fish farming in Macquarie Harbour is out of their hands. The federal Environment Minister may very well order the removal of all fish pens. If the major parties care about jobs as much as they say they do, they should back the Greens’ position of guaranteeing every local worker a local job going forward.
Transitioning away from industrial fish farming in Macquarie Harbour – with the government guaranteeing local jobs for affected workers – is the best thing we can do to save the skate and ensure sustainable employment into the future. It’s well past time Liberal and Labor politicians recognise this, and get on board with a plan that’s sustainable for our environment and our economy that depends on it.
