Primary Industries and Water Minister Jo Palmer needs to be upfront about proposed changes to the rules and policies of the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishery which have the ability to destroy regional communities and a Tasmanian way of life.
I invite Ms Palmer to immediately outline what she has labelled "misinformation" regarding the proposed rule and policy changes.
It is fact that small fishers will be impacted by changes outlined by the government, namely the expansion of the 60-pot rule.
The Minister has not broadly engaged on this important matter regarding a precious public resource and seems to simply be relying on her department to do the work.
Minister Palmer was in St Helens recently yet she failed to meet with small fishers who will be impacted by this rule change, despite a personal invitation being extended.
How can the Minister make a well-informed decision and say she has consulted when she hasn't reached out personally and engaged with those impacted?
I will make it easy for the Minister to meet these fishers. I personally invite the Minister to meet with these fishers in my office. I know they will make themselves available because this issue is extremely important to them.
I sincerely hope that the Minister does not simply bow down to pressure to implement this rule without doing the work because it's a decision which will have devastating impacts on regional communities across our state.
Shadow Minister for Primary Industries
