Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Duncan Gay said that the NSW Liberals & Nationals Marine Parks policy claims to outline: “Positive, practical plans based on independent, scientific evidence to give local communities a proper say in decisions that affect their livelihood and lifestyle.”
According to Gay the policy finds the right balance between allowing fishermen appropriate access to fishing spots and protecting the marine environment. The Coalition policy includes many points like
* Not abolish any of the existing six marine parks and continue our moratorium on the creation of new marine parks and fishing closures, pending the outcome of our independent scientific audit.
* Immediately commission an independent scientific audit of the effectiveness of existing zoning arrangements in meeting domestic and international commitments to the conservation of marine biodiversity.
* A separate audit to examine which lead agency (Fisheries or the Department of Environment and Climate Change) is more appropriate to manage Marine Parks.
* Trial appropriate recreational fishing techniques in marine parks under review.
* Expand the current Habitat Protection Zones within marine parks subject to the results of the scientific independent audit.
Gay also said that fishermen in NSW have long suffered under NSW Labor’s failed marine parks policy which was designed to achieve a political outcome rather than an environmental evidence-based outcome. He also said that the NSW Liberals & Nationals do not believe that Labor’s approach of locking communities out of their waterways is the answer to protecting their marine environments.
