Dr WOODRUFF question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
[10.39 a.m.]
Your government’s lack of transparency and failure to regulate the salmon industry is exactly why yesterday a CSIRO survey has shown a collapse in Tasmanian support for salmon farming. Recreational and commercial fishers, marine scientists, government and council employees, water enthusiasts, environmental groups, tourism operators and the general public all speak with one voice: the salmon industry is one of the biggest threats to Tasmania’s marine environment. Luckily for you, Premier, the CSIRO report outlines exactly what you need to do to restore public confidence. Tasmanians want greater transparency, credible governance and regulations, genuine engagement from your government. They want visible marine improvements, not degradation, and access to real-time information. You do not need to wait for the salmon study to be completed to implement these urgent reforms. Will you take charge of your ministers and demand that they happen immediately?
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the honourable Leader of the Greens for her question and interest in this matter which is also of interest to the member for Franklin, Mr George, as it is to all of us, noting that there is not the desire amongst the CSIRO to close the salmon industry, as there is in the Greens. Should there be a study of the value of the salmon industry done amongst the workers of the salmon industry right across this state, I know they and their families would highly value the salmon industry as well.
There is an enormous amount of daylight between the regulation of the salmon industry in 2026 as there was in 2014 after a Labor Greens government, I can tell you that right now, in terms of compliance, penalties for noncompliance, environmental transparency, and even set-up where we have the independent regulator – that being the EPA – rather than, as we inherited, having the Department of Primary Industries and Water and Environment, both in charge of both the growth of the salmon industry and the regulation of it.
It seemed very sensible to me, as Primary Industries minister 12 years ago, or a bit before, to listen to community concerns, recognising that the value of this industry is enormous to rural and regional Tasmania. It’s our largest primary industry sector with some $1.2 billion, if my memory serves me correctly, which is massive, which is why we embarked on the salmon study. We engaged two eminent Australians to work within that framework of the salmon study, providing recommendations for continuous improvement. The salmon study aligns exactly with what we’ve been doing as a government over the last 12 years, that is, continuously improving the openness and transparency and the regulations of the salmon industry to ensure we maintain social licence within the community, to your point. I look forward to the salmon study being undertaken and the findings and recommendations that will eventuate.
Supplementary Question
Dr WOODRUFF – Thank you for talking about the salmon study and that was the question you didn’t answer. While we’re waiting for the salmon study to happen, there has been absolutely no change to the regulations on the salmon industry since the mass mortality event. Will you listen to the findings of this study and implement these changes that they’re recommending need to be done to improve the devastating social licence while a salmon study is occurring?
Mr ROCKLIFF – I thank the honourable member for the question. I’m not sure you’re exactly right making the assertion that there’s been no improvement in recent time. There has been more regular reporting in recent times –
Dr Woodruff – We still don’t know how much florfenicol was used.
The SPEAKER – Order, Dr Woodruff.
Mr ROCKLIFF – I’ve answered that question and will endeavour to seek more detailed answer for you on that matter.
The point that needs to be made in a very measured way, is that there has been continuous improvement over the course of the last dozen years since we came to government in delivering greater transparency to, and, frankly, more regulation of, the salmon industry to ensure public confidence in an industry that is highly valuable for this state in an export sense and in the rural and regional job sense as well, and a social sense in rural and regional communities.
The SPEAKER – The honourable Premier’s time has expired.
