Federal Labor moves to protect Macquarie Harbour salmon farming, sideline Plibersek decision

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Federal Labor will push through legislation next week which could derail a legal battle over salmon farming's impact on an endangered ray and safeguard the industry's future in Tasmania.

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00:00It's the issue the federal government is desperate to neutralise.

00:07But while its latest move might win over those on the west coast, in the state's capital,

00:14opposition to salmon farming only seems to be growing.

00:17The Greens are going to stand with local communities and we're going to fight this on the beaches

00:22and we're going to go to Canberra next week and we will fight this every step of the way

00:26in the parliament.

00:29As pieces of salmon and fish oil washed up on beaches in the state's south east over

00:34the past few weeks, the Albanese government was nowhere to be found.

00:39Now it's jumped into action, much to the displeasure of environmentalists.

00:44Next week in Canberra the Prime Minister is going to rush through legislation to protect

00:49this industry and to protect his corporate mates in the salmon industry.

00:52Those changes were flagged last month.

00:55It's still unclear exactly what they'll involve, but there will be amendments to what the government

01:00calls the Flawed Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

01:06Green groups fear that could impact a potential review under the act into whether salmon farming

01:11can continue in the harbour at current levels.

01:14It's extremely concerning that for once, when the national nature law appears to be doing

01:20what it's supposed to do, that they are going to rip it up.

01:23The salmon workers in Tasmania deserve certainty and it's absolutely critical that the federal

01:29parliament deliver that.

01:30They've been waiting too long.

01:32But it will need bipartisan support to get it through the Senate.

01:37Of course we want to support it, but the Prime Minister's making it very hard given he's

01:40not letting us see the bill, he hasn't returned our calls, his ministers aren't engaging with

01:45us, so we don't know what it is we're being asked to support.

01:48We'll see the legislation next week, as we committed to introduce, we'll be introducing

01:54it and we expect it to be carried.

01:56Salmon Tasmania declined to comment.

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