Senator BOSWELL(Queensland) (17:14): This morning the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Mr Burke, released the maps of the proposed Coral Sea marine reserve. The completion of that map encircles the whole of Australia with marine reserves, and I would like today to talk about some of the consequences of this. Unfortunately, the release was done in such a way that no debate can take place on it, and we were scrambling to speak on it for 10 minutes in the adjournment debate on the last day of sitting, when everyone else is trying to get on the planes.

It is ironic that trawling is shut out in any bio-region in Australia and is only allowed in the world heritage area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The Minister told the Senate that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has already indicated in the Outlook Report that the current plan is working. If trawling poses no threat in a world heritage area you have to ask why it poses a threat in less sensitive bio-regions within Australia.

Why has the Government allowed the green groups to close down the trawling industry without any scientific basis?

The release of the Management Plan, before any consultation takes place, doesn’t say much for the process. How does the fishing industry argue that fishing methods and trawling are compatible with good practice under a Management plan that has already been declared?

They are not in a strong bargaining position.

The Recreational fishing industry is huge.

4 million fishermen, who fish, float and boat.

The professional industry is much smaller. It is part of Australia’s iconic primary industries. Australians do not want to see farmers or fishermen sacrificed on the order of Green votes for no apparent reason. They don’t want to see well funded overseas green groups coming in Australia throwing money around in public relations exercises funding green campaigns.

We should look at their tactics.

Under the auspices of the Australian Conservation Foundation, the ‘Save our Marine Life’ campaign is financially supported by a coalition of Australian and International conservation groups to push the conservation agenda. They include, the Nature Conservancy, WWF-Australia, the PEW environment Group, Australian Conservation Foundation, the Wilderness Society, Conservation Council of South Australia, the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Project Aware.

We wait in anticipation for the proposed Marine plan for the Coral Sea. This is the prize in the green groups’ crown - the total lock up of the Coral Sea.

It is number one on their Christmas wish list. 

The 'Protect Our Coral Sea' campaign is an offshoot of the 'Save Our Marine Life' campaign, same website designer I note, another coalition of Australian and International green groups and of course PEW is all over it.

The 'Protect Our Coral Sea' greens coalition  have called on the Australian Government to declare the Coral Sea the world’s largest ocean reserve, covering one million kilometres. As recent as November 8 2011, Greens Leader, Senator Bob Brown put up a motion in the Senate that called for the Government to declare the Coral Sea the world’s largest protected marine reserve.

The Greens aim is to lock up the Coral Sea.

Then we can assume that they will then move on to the Great Barrier Reef, currently a Conservation Zone but that of course won’t be enough for them.

Enough is never enough for these rag tag of extreme green groups. The end game is more and more closures. That is what we are facing, make no mistake of it, there will be more closures and we will see the death of the demersal trawling industry.

I visited the website of the 'Save Our Marine Life' and on their home page was a 'call for action' in large blue letters, "SOS LEAP INTO ACTION FISHING INDUSTRY FIGHTING BACK! A phone call can save our sanctuaries and to join the Big Blue Army now. "

Too right the fishing industry is fighting back.

They are fighting for their economic survival.

The website goes on to tell us that 42,000 people had called for a network of large marine sanctuaries in Australia’s South West during the recent consultation plan. How many of the 42, 000 submissions, however, were from overseas? Given that this whole campaign to increase the closures and destroy the Australian fishing and seafood industry is substantially funded by PEW, an American foundation.  

Who is PEW?

This American organisation seems to wield an enormous amount of influence. Most Australians would be surprised that an American organisation seems to have enormous sway on our environment policy.

Australians have a right to know why an overseas foundation is wielding this enormous influence. 
They fund the campaigns of greens conservationists such as 'Save Our Marine Life' and 'Protect the Coral Sea'. Make no mistake PEW is all over these proposed marine closures. These campaigns are well funded and well resourced. The 'Save Our Marine Life' employs a multi- step targeted strategy on how to fight the cause of the Big Blue Army.

This is a highly professional campaign and it was first deployed for the South West bio-regional plan.

1. It begins with the first step - a PEW-funded, beautifully produced, glossy coffee table publication that highlights all the values that are being protected in this particular bioregion.  In this case of the South West it was called 'Atlantis Found Underwater, Icons of Australia’s Unique South- West'.  For maximum attention the book was laminated and launched underwater in Fremantle, making it Australia’s first ever underwater book launch.

2. The next step is for the PEW Charitable Trust to commission an academic, in this case University of Queensland Professor Hugh Possingh, and have him design a reserve system. 
In the brief to the Professor there is, of course, the prescribed level of protection. As a result the Professor then becomes a spokesperson for the cause.  We saw it all with the Carbon Tax debate, the Government put Professor Garnaut, Tim Flannery and Will Steffan on the payroll, and as part of the role they became spokespersons for the cause.

3. The third step is to then come up with the economic benefits of such a plan, given that you a delivering the deathnell to the fishing industry and destroying the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of fisherman, their families and the related industries.

So, the Conservation Council of Western Australian commissioned Allen Consulting to prepare an economic assessment of the benefits of the reserve system. The report titled 'The Economics of Marine Protected Areas' presents a rosy picture of the massive value on ‘non use’ or 'inflated assessment of tourism benefits'.

4. At each step the way the campaign ensures that these reports from ‘experts’ get all the media support and impact that can be mustered.

5. So once they have pushed these over-exaggerated claims of the benefits of tourism the final step is to then turn to demonising the Fishing industry and, in particular, trawling.  They find some zealot in Darwin and ask him to prepare a report on the negative impacts of fishing and trawling on the ecosystems of Australia. This report by an environmental consultancy group 'J Diversity' demonises demersal, gill netting and prawn trawling.

This dubious piece of work is summarised and handed to a spin doctor in the south and that turns into a sensational 'Death Nets sweeping Australia’s oceans clean of life' media release. This appears on the Wilderness society’s website which is then picked up by Getup and next thing you know over 42,000 punters have been conned into email outrage.

I am asking Senator Ludwig to stand up and defend the Fishing Industry.

You are the Fishing Minister.

You have the facts and figures.

You know that fishing is sustainable.

With the final South-West plan before Minister Burke, he must resist being pushed around by the green groups and have, at the forefront of his considerations, the potential detrimental economic and social impact marine closures will have on the industry.

From the outset the Minister has overseen a flawed process operating the consultation process in a ‘silo’ in splendid isolation with little regard for real transparency. The Minister in his secrecy has attempted to play off the green groups against the professional and amateur fishing industries, adopting an American Style 'win or loose' outcome.

Minister Burke needs to do better as Environment Minister given that he has total authority to declare vast networks of marine reserves, across Australia’s 16 million square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone, without any reference whatsoever to the parliament.

Australia is leading the way, we already have 24% of the world’s marine reserves and have the most managed and disciplined fishing industry in the entire world. Australian fishers took the least amount of fish from its waters and imported nearly 70% of its seafood.

This would never satisfy the Greens who would always want more closures and more loss of jobs.

The Greens and the American PEW group continue to press for the total closure of the Coral Sea.