House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-06-19 Daily Xml

Contents

Marine Parks

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (14:56): I refer to the comment from the minister about different industry groups being comfortable—and I think that was the word that he directly used. Is the minister therefore aware of the EconSearch company research that has been done on Marine Park Regional Impact Statements Main Report, which refers on page 11 to an estimate of 124 job losses in the commercial fishing sector alone from the introduction of marine parks, and does he still think that people are comfortable with that amount of job losses?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport, Minister for Racing) (14:56): I again thank the member for the question. I have not actually read that report, but the fishing groups that have come to me, as I said, have not mentioned any jobs in that sort of number. There may well be some changes that need to be made as a result of the marine parks but, as I said, we have been out there consulting for 10 years and we have listened to communities from Port MacDonnell to Ceduna. It is time, in October, for these marine parks to be introduced and we will see how they will go. We will keep talking. We will be out and about in the regions, as we so often are, listening to what people have to say about them.