Key points:
- Fisheries Minister David Kelly has not released a study he has been using to defend the onerous changes he is proposing to the rock lobster industry.
- Fishing Families WA (FFWA) today asked Mr Kelly's office for a copy of the study, which he used as the basis for a press release today, and is yet to hear back.
- The rock lobster industry has been arguing for many years that local supply needs to be increased, and that the Local Lobster Program (LLP) needs reform.
- Industry has put multiple proposals to Government on ways to increase supply to the domestic market, but the Government has not engaged with us.
- The problem with the current LLP is that there is too much red tape, including having to tag lobsters, only being able to sell lobsters from a boat, not being able to transport them at all, fishers not being able to hold any lobsters in their home at all, and only being able to sell them alive, not cooked.
- The rock lobster industry would welcome an increase to local supply, but not at the expense of diluting the entire industry and handing over 17 per cent to the state government.
- The rock lobster industry is united in fighting David Kelly's proposed changes while they include state ownership and asset dilution. The FFWA will continue to fight on behalf of fishing families who have not been consulted about the changes, and for which there is no sound justification.
Fisheries Minister David Kelly has today not released a study he is relying on to publicly justify the onerous changes he is proposing to the rock lobster industry.
FFWA spokesperson Brad Arnup said that while it appeared that the study echoed what industry had been telling the Fisheries Minister for several years, it was impossible to be sure, given the Minister's office has not made the study available.
"It is particularly galling that the first point the Minister makes about his secret study is that it says significant amounts of rock lobster are used by fishers themselves. We completely refute that. This is because the fishers are selling them, giving them to charity, or giving them to local families. It is illegal for fishers to have tagged lobsters in their homes," Mr Arnup said.
"It isn't really surprising the Minister isn't releasing a study about something we have been telling him for a long time, given what he is proposing to industry. Any problems with local supply are the fault of the Government – industry has suggested how to fix this many times and the Government hasn't done anything about it.
"He's trying to sell these appalling reforms as giving more lobsters to the people of WA, something we have been trying to do for a long time, and it isn't necessary to cripple the entire industry to make that happen. These reforms will destroy fishing families' lives, impact hundreds of family run businesses, the sustainability of the industry, and thousands of regional jobs. When you take out all the Minister's smoke and mirrors and misdirection, what you are left with is Mr Kelly's cash grab," Mr Arnup said.
"The rock lobster industry deserves better than this, and so do the people of Western Australia. We have been trying to increase local supply for years, and the Government has not engaged with us at all on this. Instead, they have been assisting us with our export market, which they are now saying is a bad thing. We are proud our product is world renowned and there is massive demand offshore. The market in WA is only so big, and it's never going to compare to China, where the population is over 1 billion people.
"The reality is the problem with the current system is that it is unworkable because there is too much red tape. In September 2017, industry submitted a proposal for a permanent Local Lobster Program which would have resulted in four times more lobsters at more affordable prices than are on the local market right now. We heard nothing back from the Minister on that."
FFWA is aligned with the Western Rock Lobster Industry Council, and fully supports its efforts to prevent this destruction of the rock lobster industry. FFWA has been inundated with support from those in the rock lobster industry and other primary producers, both in WA and around Australia. Donations to fund the campaign are increasing daily. FFWA will hold meetings up and down the WA coastline this week with professional fishing associations, it has been conducting meetings with WA politicians, and will continue an advertising campaign targeting Mr Kelly's changes.
Website: https://fishingfamilieswa.org.au/
