420 companies turn back on Gillard, Greens and Canberra bureaucrats

by Dean Logan AMA on 26 Jul 2012 The Australian Marine Alliance (AMA) has announced that 420 individual companies and businesses in the light marine, boating, manufacturing, recreational fishing and allied sectors have pulled all remaining support for the Gillard/Green alliance given the handling of the marine bio-regional planning process and associated draft marine reserve network.

Chief Executive of the AMA Dean Logan commented, 'Minister Burke can’t choose to listen to USA based NGO’s and 460,000 computer generated submissions from overseas and then expect business support.

'As a result industry have taken the stance not to provide a single additional submission or attend another meeting regarding the Federal Labor and Green led marine bio-regional planning process. The 60 day consultation period will therefore not be respected and the final decision not supported.'

The genesis of today’s decision is the process and handling of the marine bio-regional planning process and the lack of trust given to Australian industry and coastal communities - who rely on the marine environment - by the Gillard Government, Canberra public servants and Greens, to work co-operatively to manage and preserve Australia’s marine bio-diversity.

Mr Logan continued, 'In 2010 we pleaded with Federal Labor to develop a process whereby industry and the community entered a co-management arrangement to deliver environmentally sustainable marine outcomes.

'Labor said the solution wouldn’t work and proceeded down an insidious road with the Greens whereby the environment would be traded off for political currency. To make matters worse instead of genuinely listening to businesses and the Australian community, the Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke, his Department and the Australian Greens, listened to USA based environmental NGO’s and 460,000 computer generated submissions from overseas.

'The outcome will result in the decimation of the commercial fishing industry as we know it, with large scale
lock outs pushing many to the brink of collapse. The policy delivers marginal environmental benefits and will relegate Australian consumers to eating Basa from the Mekong Delta and Indonesian prawns with not one solution provided to combat the real threat to the marine environment, oil and gas exploration and land based externalities.

'You can drive a truck through the entire process including the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS), the ABARES socio-economic assessment and the Ministers claytons consultation process. Marine oriented businesses have had enough and today say NO. At least 220 more will follow next week with a growing number of industry associations also taking the same stance,' ended Mr Logan.

More at www.australianmarinealliance.com.au