LAURIETON - ECOFISHERS RALLY 16/3/09.

[CEO]

                                ATTENTION RECREATIONAL FISHERS & BUSINESSES.

                                ECOFISHERS RALLY - LAURIETON, Monday March 16th

                     Laurieton Ex-Servicemen's Club, Seymour St Laurieton.  6:30pm for 7pm.

 Your opportunity to hear first hand, from the experts, the scientific, ecological, environmental, social and economic short comings, of Labor/Greens marine parks.

  The government funded Greens are demanding another marine park of at least 22,000 ha be established from Lake Cathie to Crowdy Head and out to the 3nm limit. People, this affects your rights, your access to your resource. And the extremists want it all cut and dried by 2010! There are dire social and economic consequences associated with government/green marine parks. Businesses actually go broke! People lose their jobs. Families have to go on the dole!
  An array of informed and challenging speakers have been arranged by ECOfishers, to present the facts, science and raw reality, of the impacts of government imposed marine parks, on coastal communities.
  Politicians and marine park experts, will be there to answer your questions. Hear the facts! Assess the social and economic consequences. There is so much at stake! And so much to lose! Be there! For you won't get another opportunity like this to hear from the experts. Next year could be too late! Bring the family, bring a friend, bring the neighbours, but BE THERE! For your fishing future is clearly at stake!

[CEO]

     Crikey! It sounds serious and very important. I'll be there to hear the experts - and the politicians! See you there.
    A huge show of strength is required to show the government and the greens we mean business - serious business!
    Recreational fishers across the state are not going to be dictated to by a bunch of green, extreme, preservationists!
   We pay a licence fee for access to the resources! And we fish to government regulations! Who do these green preservationists think they are?

[CEO]

   WE already suffer 34% of our state waters locked-up in government/green marine parks and these greedy preservationists want at least another 20% and BEFORE 2011! Folks, this is your opportunity to stop this madness in its tracks and kill it off for once and for all.
   BE THERE! BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM!   APATHY BREEDS MORE MARINE PARKS!

[CEO]

  CORRECTION: Laurieton UNITED Ex-Servicemen's Club, Seymour St Laurieton, is the venue. We wouldn't want the greenies turning up at the wrong address now, would we?

[CEO]

       Hey folks, Carmel Tebbutt, the Minister fo government marine parks, has been invited to the Laurieton ECOfishers meeting! Now she is the best person in the whole world to answer all our questions about what is proposed and what is going to happen between now and 2010. She has already referred the greenies "Torn Blue Fringe" to her MPA for assessment. Kidding they won't like it! More marine parks, bigger bureaucracy, bigger budget, (from our taxes) bigger portfolio for Ms Tebbutt.
   So the fact that Mid North Coast ECOfishers has invited Carmel Tebbutt, is worthy of your attendance alone.
  And then the Opposition has been invited to put their perspective on the governments marine parks! That too, will be a fascinating debate!
    It wont happen in parliament, but it sure as hell will happen in Laurieton on March 16th. We shouldn't miss it for quids. I know I wont! ECOfishers looks forward to seeing you there.

[CEO]

Our Laurieton ECOfishers getting really revved up!

[CEO]

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[CEO]

  Over 800 ECOfishers jam-packed the auditorium last night at Laurieton, to hear the ECOfishers answer to the proposed marine park. (Lake Cathie to Crowdy Head) The silent majority turned out last night in a massive show of support and solidarity, to hear the ECOfishers presentations. Not only did they turn out, but they also spoke out. Key note speaker, ECOfishers CEO, Ken Thurlow, wowed the massive crowd, with his knowledge of Labor's marine parks and his busting of the green myths and legends, that prop government marine parks up. What was clearly evident was the passion the local ECOfishers and the community at large have, about these extreme green anti-fishing proposals.  A motion from the floor put to the more than 800 strong crowd was carried unanimously. It requires (among other issues) an independent, site specific, scientific appraisal of all existing zones, in government marine parks, to justify their existence.
  One of the features of the night was the announcement by the Opposition Shadow Minister for Fisheries, The Hon Duncan Gay MLC, concerning the Opposition's marine park policy. That brought the house down! It was the best marine park news,  NSW recreational fishers have heard, since the first Labor marine park was announced, at Coffs Harbour in 1997!
  Carmel Tebbutt's (Minister for Marine Parks) chair, remained vacant on the stage all night!
  YET ANOTHER MIGHTY ECOFISHERS EFFORT AND A MASSIVE COMMUNITY TURNOUT TO SUPPORT ECOFISHERS!
 That's what we are all about. Conservation thru' sustainable use and making people part of the solution. Laurieton ECOfishers now has hundreds of new, keen and eager members! We will not be treated like second class citizens by NSW Labor!

[CEO]

    .......and what a media frenzy it has been all day for ECOfishers! Every politician in the neighbourhood is now jumpimg aboard the ECOfishers band waggon and supporting the ECOfishers marine park policy! Why wouldn't they? It is the best, most popular, most pragmatic, scientifically based policy, going around!
   WHO REPRESENTS NSW RECREATIONAL FISHERS? CLEARLY ECOFISHERS DOES - EVEN BY WEIGHT OF NUMBERS!

[CEO]

      "All existing government marine parks are environmental duds and fail to address the real impacts on our marine environment," says the first of three parts, of the Laurieton motion, to the NSW government.
      Now where have we all heard that before?

[CEO]

      "Greenies fish for votes. We fish for fun." was one of the many colourful placards on display at the ECOfishers Laurieton, marine park rally. Gee we hope someone got some photos of the ECOfishers banners and placards on display. There were flash bulbs going off all night so someone of the more than 800 strong crowd may be able to post some photos here. The stage and podium looked spectacular. Thank you so much again, to all concerned. It was a mighty effort. NBN 9 filmed the entire proceedings and your ECOfishers rally made the state news again, tonight.
          ECOFISHERS - THE VOICE OF NSW RECREATIONAL FISHERS!

[CEO]

     .....and the ABC's" Country Hour," gave ECOfishers another good old gallop today, concerning our Laurieton marine park rally.  Good old Aunty. It also featured very prominently on their Rural Reports, up and down the coast.
        ECOfishers - the voice of NSW recreational fishers. We don't just talk about issues. We get them done!

[CEO]

   Where's our next massive marine park rally we have been asked? Well, it will be in one of three places. Currently three large coastal towns (one is a city we think) are seeking the support of ECOfishers, the voice of NSW recreational fishers, to stage marine park rallies, for their communities. And then of course there is the "Great Debate." ECOfishers is challenging NPA's Nicky Hammond, to a marine park debate anywhere, any time. We've got wheels, we can travel! So that is yet another venue, somewhere soon and it could even be in Sydney! We don't care. So as you can see, we are constantly flat out, representing NSW recreational fishers, right across the state!

[Nete-Quette]

Lock out feared
HELEN MANUSU
18/03/2009 8:55:00 AM
Stories by Helen Manusu

RESIDENTS along the Mid North Coast are being urged to totally oppose the 'lock up ? lock out ? and throw away the key' mentality that is driving the latest push for more marine parks.


Eight hundred people who attended Monday night's meeting at Laurieton called by ECOfishers were scathing of the latest push by the National Parks Association of NSW to have another marine park created from Crowdy Head to Lake Cathie.


They have been urged to respond "loud and long" by writing personal letters to the NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt and their local media, opposing the imposition of recommendations in 'The Torn Blue Fringe', which is at the forefront of the NPA's current push to the NSW State government.


Described as an attack on the Australian lifestyle and an attack on the freedom of people to fish for food and recreation, more marine parks could also spell disaster for coastal communities such as Harrington, Laurieton and Lake Cathie, the meeting was told.


Instead of locking up more of the state's coast, the government should be looking at the real enemies of fish stocks, including water quality (ie sewage outlets emptying into the sea), industrial run-off, untreated stormwater, industrial pollutants, agricultural run-off, uncontrolled development, acid sulphate soils and thermal water changes.


ECOfishers president Ken Thurlow yesterday described the emotions of the 800 people at the meeting as "very angry".


"They arrived in large numbers to stand up and speak out, unanimously agreeing to oppose this mentality of lock it up, lock us out and throw away the key."


Close to 300 new members of ECOfishgers were signed up at the meeting, Mr Thurlow said, bringing its total to about 20,000.


They were urged to join or contribute to a fighting fund to combat the National Parks Association's hefty budget (almost $1 million in 2007-08 ? a sizeable amount of it from NSW government sources).


The meeting was highly critical of the no-show of the State's deputy premier and head of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Carmel Tebbutt, who made a "lame excuse" in turning down an invitation to attend, Mr Thurlow said.


"Shadow minister for fisheries, Duncan Gay, received the same invitation and he was there, exciting the crowd with the Opposition's proposals for managing marine parks in the future," Mr Thurlow said.


"The message was loud and clear from the community that they will not be dictated to by a green minority.


"Coastal communities are not going to be treated like second class citizens by people dictating the rules from an office in Sydney.

"Everyone supports conservation, what they don't support is mindless preservation by locking up more areas of our State's coastline.

"People won't countenance any more marine parks in any shape or form."

Port Macquarie's independent MP, Peter Besseling told the meeting that in his area alone, recreational fishing was a $23 million dollar a year industry which employed hundreds of people and he could not support any move which might jeopardise it.

[CEO]

     That article above folks, was the front page today, (18/3/09) of the Manning River Times. ECOfishers and marine parks, makes the front pages again!
                            ECOfishers, the voice of NSW recreational fishers!