The Rockliff government today confirmed they will not investigate the preconditions for the most serious Tasmanian biosecurity marine disaster, to avoid uncovering their own responsibility for the biosecurity breaches that likely caused it.
Ten million kilograms of diseased, dead salmon were hauled from Tasmania’s once pristine waterways in just two months. This amounts to at least 13% of annual statewide production for the fish farm industry.
The dead salmon were infected with a bacterial disease not recorded in southern waters before 2023. Somehow this bacteria moved between biosecurity zones but the government isn’t curious about when and how this occurred.
In a recent briefing to MPs, the Chief Veterinary Officer confirmed advice existed warning the government not to make a special carve out in the biosecurity plan for Tassal, in order to allow them to move their equipment and fish between zones.
Despite that warning, the Liberal government weakened regulations and allowed the multinational corporation to move its fish and equipment between Okehampton Bay and the southeast zone – a highly irregular special exemption that contravenes the whole purpose of biosecurity zones.
The government is refusing to investigate the preconditions of this mass salmon die-off event, in all likelihood to avoid uncovering their own role in enabling the transmission of a highly virulent bacteria.
Primary Industries Minister Howlett asserted today, without any scientific evidence to back her, it was a “natural event”. There is nothing natural about millions of fish suffocating and starving to death in sea cages.
Salmon Tasmania, the Premier and various ministers continue to falsely pretend this has been an unprecedented event. If this were true, why wouldn’t they want to investigate how their biosecurity plan failed so badly?
Liberal ministers are happy to declare the mass-mortality event is “over”, despite the fact March salmon mortality figures are some of the highest on record. In addition, the month of April recorded sustained extremely high warm water temperatures and the April figures are not yet known or added to the salmon mortalities total.
This event is far from over and the government-authorised biosecurity breach is the obvious smoking gun to why it happened.
Through not accepting responsibility for this marine disaster, or setting up an independent investigation into the cause of the biosecurity breach, the Liberals are utterly failing all Tasmanians and our beautiful marine environment.
