Hansard - 13th Nov 2007
HAWKESBURY AND SOUTH COAST MARINE PARKS
Page: 3898
The Hon. ROBERT BROWN: My question is addressed to the Minister for Primary Industries. Is the Minister aware of the fishing industry's alarm in Eden about the latest claim by environmentalists over the need for new marine parks and reserves on the New South Wales far South Coast? Is the Minister aware that in a recent edition of the National Parks Journal the National Parks Association outlined a demand for two new marine parks?the Twofold Shelf Marine Bioregion on the far South Coast and a large marine park on the Hawkesbury Shelf? Will the Minister indicate what impact the creation of two such parks between now and 2011 would have on recreational and commercial fishing, and whether the Government supports the National Park Association's outrageous demands?
The Hon. IAN MACDONALD: The former Minister for the Environment, the Hon. Bob Debus, who will star in a couple of weeks time, made it clear in a statement at the time of the discussion about the Batemans Bay Marine Park and the Port Stephens Marine Park that there were enough reserves in place around Twofold Bay, and that for the foreseeable future there was not a need for a marine park in that area. I state categorically that there is no proposal before the Government for a marine park in the Hawkesbury bioregion or the Twofold Bay region. The Government recently created two marine parks, one at Port Stephens of 97,000 hectares and one at Batemans Bay of 85,000 hectares. Both marine parks provide very adequate protection along the coast. We are in a period of consolidation. There is no proposal before the Government to create the two aforesaid marine parks.
