If Premier Jeremy Rockliff is serious about his commitment to collaborative and honest government, he needs to intervene to have the Terms of Reference for the so-called ‘review’ of the salmon industry withdrawn and rewritten.
When the Premier first announced his plan to take a look at the salmon industry, the Greens and other crossbenchers chose to engage constructively on how this process should work. Given this good faith approach, and being promised we would see a further draft of the Terms of Reference before they were finalised and published, we were surprised to receive last minute notice of their release yesterday.
Releasing Terms of Reference contrary to commitments made, and without taking on board the major concerns of the crossbench is unacceptable. It feels like the government is treating us, and the communities we represent, with contempt.
When Jeremy Rockliff said he was putting the industry ‘on notice’, there was a clear community expectation about what this meant. Tasmanians rightly thought a review into the fish farm industry would be a proper look at what is happening in our waterways, and what needs to be done to prevent another summer disaster.
What’s been released by the government doesn’t deliver on community expectations. Instead, it looks designed to give cover to an industry that only cares about profit and a government that still seems determined to protect that industry.
If the Premier wants to live up to the promises he made for this Parliament, we urge him to intervene. These Terms of Reference should be withdrawn and rewritten to deliver a proper review of the salmon industry – including public consultation and recommendations.
After the devastation of last summer, a huge number of Tasmanians voted to reign in the salmon industry. On behalf of the coastal communities the Greens represent, we will continue taking the matter up with the Premier.
