There is ongoing ill-judged green political pressure to destroy Cooloola Coast fishing interests. To fight this all the fishers hold a meeting in Gympie to save their livelihoods. Tin Can Bay trawler operator and Chamber of Commerce president Kevin Reibel told the meeting all industries built on any kind of fishing would need to stand “shoulder to shoulder” and say no to political pressures which could see fishing bans or restrictions over a huge area of ocean off the Cooloola and Fraser coastlines.
In the meeting the fishers discussed that the Federal Government was out to destroy them to please the Greens and help a minority Labor government retain power. The call for unity appeared to have been lost on some recreational fishers, however, with the meeting told of a less co-operative attitude from Sunfish, which represented the amateur sector.
Reibel’s Chamber of Commerce colleague Peter Todd spoke of his experience of Marine Queensland lobbying in Canberra to try to impress on decision-makers the importance of fairness in their assessments. The main speaker, Marine Queensland’s Don Jones, said the political atmosphere in Canberra was difficult for the industry.
