Don’t let the Government lock you out with their plans for the world’s largest marine reserves network.

THE COALITION IS DETERMINED
TO GIVE FISHERS A BETTER GO.

Marine Protected Areas

The Coalition and community way

• The Coalition began establishing Marine Protected Areas in Australia’s territorial waters when it was last in government.
  
  
• The Coalition remains committed to the responsible development of MPA’s to protect iconic marine environmental assets.
  
  
• The Coalition holds deep reservations about how federal Labor has managed continuation of the policy since it has been in government.
  
  
• The recreational and commercial fishing sectors, as well as businesses and communities reliant on them, have raised serious and justified concerns about a lack of consultation - and green bias – from Labor.
  
  
• The Coalition will immediately put on hold the Marine Bioregional Planning process to restructure it to deliver a bigger, better, fairer, say for recreational and commercial fishers, and associated industries and communities, in all stages of the process.
  
  
• New Bioregional Advisory Panels will be appointed for each marine bioregion to provide the vehicle for this expanded industry and community consultation.
  
  
• In line with pre-existing Coalition policy and practice, the Coalition will genuinely seek to minimise socio-economic impacts of MPA’s.
• All MPA proposals will have to be accompanied by a comprehensive, publicly available, socio-economic impact statement.
  
  
• Peer reviewed science used in the development of MPA’s and any associated no-take zones will be made publicly available in a timely way, and will be considered by the panels.
  
  
• Where consultation and negotiation cannot reduce impacts of proposed MPA’s below levels that are reasonably compensable, compensation, structural adjustment, or other appropriate measures will be delivered - before any constraints are implemented.
  
  
• The displaced effort policy for commercial fishers will reflect the results of risk assessments.
  
  
• The displaced effort policy will be developed by a Ministerial panel jointly chaired by the Minister for Fisheries and the Minister for the Environment.
  
  
• The Minister for Fisheries and Minister for the Environment will be jointly responsible for approving final boundaries and management plans for MPA’s.

Download the map as a PDF here.