There’s an old saying that the best things in life are free.
But with Christmas just behind us, the Cook Labor Government appears determined to prove the opposite — and it’s doing so by taking away one of the simplest pleasures we have: fishing.
The Government’s eleventh-hour announcement banning commercial and recreational demersal fishing — covering a 900-kilometre stretch from Kalbarri to Augusta, including metropolitan waters — is nothing short of extraordinary.
With barely a whisper of consultation, Labor has declared that we have suddenly “run out of fish,” and that the only solution is a near-total shutdown of an activity enjoyed by more than 750,000 recreational fishers and relied upon by over 5000 people employed directly in commercial fisheries across WA.
Under this sweeping ban, West Coast boat-based recreational demersal fishing will be closed for 21 months, and commercial operators will be wiped out, including the closure of trawling in the Pilbara.
Popular species — dhufish, pink snapper, red emperor, cods, groupers, seabream and scores of others — are drawn into a blanket prohibition with little transparency around how these decisions were reached.
Work done by Nationals shadow minister for fisheries Kirrilee Warr has showed that the Government’s own principal adviser, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, indicated that fish stocks would recover under a temporary commercial closure. In fact, DPIRD modelling showed recovery by 2040 without the need for an enduring ban.
So why did the Minister for Fisheries leap straight to permanent restrictions?
Why were industry, recreational fishers, coastal communities, and regional business owners kept in the dark?
And why does the Government refuse to publicly release exactly what DPIRD recommended?
West Australians deserve to know what advice the minister received — the timing, the duration, the options and the science behind them. Right now, all they have is a Government that defaults to extremes and blindsides people with rushed, heavy-handed decisions.
We saw this pattern with Labor’s deeply flawed firearms reform — an attempt to criminalise law-abiding regional people who rely on firearms for work, sport and community safety.
We saw it again with the surprise shutdown of the native forestry industry, and with the mishandling of live sheep exports.
Now it has spread its tentacles to the fishing sector.
This Government’s “father knows best” approach shows no appreciation for the commercial fishing families who have invested generations of capital in vessels, equipment, quotas and compliance — where a single licence can cost upwards of $250,000.
It shows no understanding of the social, cultural and economic value recreational fishing provides to families and communities up and down the coast.
It also fails to acknowledge the safety risks of forcing recreational fishers into more perilous waters outside the closure zone — including the Great Southern Ocean — simply to continue a long-held pastime.
Nor has the Government meaningfully considered the consequences of increasing WA’s reliance on imported fish, with the associated costs, quality concerns and biosecurity risks.
And what of the so-called compensation package?
It is as woolly as a sheep’s dag — vague, inadequate, and wholly disconnected from the real economic harm that will soon wash through regional towns: charter operators, tourism businesses, accommodation providers, hospitality venues, tackle shops, bait suppliers and every business that relies on local, seasonal visitation.
We believe West Australians deserve to know exactly what the DPIRD recommended (exactly), including the timing, duration and conditions of any closure.
This is yet another affront in the Government’s quiet war on the weekend — a war on ordinary people enjoying ordinary pleasures, whether recreational, cultural or economic.
