Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens' Environment spokesperson
Tassal joining Huon Aquaculture in court around the government's industry regulator raises even more issues about the government's regulation of the salmon industry.
Salmon farming in Tasmania is in chaos. The government has to stop the Okehampton Bay development, and clean up their environmental and regulatory mess.
It's plainly not world's best practice to create dead zones in a pristine environment, and to have major companies locked in legal fights with the EPA. It only reinforces the need for entirely open and independent assessments of new leases and expansions.
The decision to farm salmon at Okehampton Bay was not independent, nor did it take into account community and environmental concerns. Expansions and new leases must be removed from the Minister and his Marine Farming Planning Review Panel.
The State needs a healthy marine environment and the long-term, sustainable jobs it creates.
It is undisputed that the sea floor under Tassal's lease in Macquarie Harbour is dead. If this is Minister Rockliff's idea of world's best practice, the world is in serious trouble.