Senator LUDWIG (Minister for Human Services) (9:41 AM) —by leave—As Senator Macdonald has indicated, the independent review of the proposed management regime for Queensland’s east coast inshore finfishery has been released and is available on the website of the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The independent review, which Minister Garrett commissioned in September, will help to inform the minister’s assessment of the fishery against sustainability guidelines under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The primary objectives of the review were to assess the fishery’s level of interaction with protected species such as dugongs, whales and swordfish, and the management of shark and commercial fishing efforts. While the review looked at the entire fishery, its focus was on the operation of the fishery in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

The review found that the proposed changes to the fishery represent a significant step forward but also identified further improvements that should be made in the future to ensure best practice management. The Queensland government is conducting the Moreton Bay structural adjustment package to address the displacing of fishing efforts as a result of the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan review. Whilst the area of the inshore fishery includes Moreton Bay, the structural adjustment package is a separate process from the proposed management changes to the fishery and the timing of the structural adjustment package is a matter for the Queensland government. On that basis, we will not be supporting the motion.