Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Environment spokesperson
Minister Rockcliff refused to answer a question today about why critical sections of a departmental discussion paper on Macquarie Harbour water quality were censored before being publicly released.
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment paper was released last week through a Right to Information request. Sections on fish stocking density and causes of disease were deleted.
The only logical conclusion that can be made from the censored report is that fish numbers in Macquarie Harbour are somehow to blame for rising disease incidence. If that is true, then the government needs to halt the expansion in the fish farm industry straight away.
The government needs to make clear what is happening in Macquarie Harbour and release the discussion paper in full.
We want a long-term future for the aquaculture industry in Tasmania. This can only happen if we maintain a healthy ecosystem.