The Fight for Moreton Bay has begun

[BAIT_MAN]

The Fishing Party (Qld)

The Fight for Moreton Bay has begun

The Fishing Party Queensland has taken up the challenge of keeping Moreton Bay open for the fishing and boating public. With each new challenge we become stronger and affect the outcomes of the challenges placed before us. Imagine what could have happened if no one got up and argued for the Great Barrier Reef or Harvey Bay – the outcomes could have been a lot more severe.

With careful reflection after 2 years in existence it is hard to believe TFPQ have achieved so much and yet the pace of restrictions, closures and cutbacks to recreational fishing and boating continues to actually gain momentum. The perpetrators of these restrictions need to be kept in check and made to realise that they do not necessarily represent the views of the constituents or the majority.

Driven by the GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) closures TFPQ (The Fishing Party Queensland) was formed and did what many believed impossible. It managed to organise itself sufficiently to stand at the last federal election and achieve a result which changed the political landscape of the country.

If not for the TFPQ vote in the senate elections Senator Bob Brown and the Greens would have the balance of power in the senate for the next 2 years and with increasingly anti-fishing agendas within the green movement, the future of recreational fishing may have been even bleaker. One needs only view the Animal Welfare Bill 2005 to understand just how “anti-fishing” the green lobby actually is.

No doubt TFPQ has ruffled the feathers of other groups who represent recreational fishers and boaties, but at the same time works to build an understanding that groups taking an “apolitical” stance are nowhere near as effective as the green lobby, through the influence of the green party. TFPQ’s aim is to provide a political arm to enhance the efforts of the apolitical groups and take their common message to government and challenge the power currently held by the green party at a political level. No amount of lobbying, no amount of “peak body representation” and no industry council, can hope to achieve the leverage of a group who can actually deliver votes. Not just recommend members vote a particular way, but actually collect the votes, and trade them off in preference deals for a better outcome for their members. It needs to be made very clear. The greens have political power because they collect and then distribute votes (preference arrangements) and until we can do the same we will continue to get a raw deal.


We are witnessing first hand the effectiveness, organisational skills and planning of green lobby groups such as the Australian Marine Conservation Society and its push for 50% “no take” areas in Moreton Bay. Closures of this magnitude, coupled with bag limits & Grey Nurse Shark sanctuaries all conspire to make recreational fishing a less attractive pastime and with this comes the effect on the industries which live off recreational fishing as well as the lifestyle choices made by so many Queenslanders.

The Governments line that recreational fishing and tourism will benefit by these aggressive closures are most certainly not supported by the experiences of the people in the far North who have experienced falls in the participation rate in recreational fishing of more than 40%. How many businesses could afford a 40% drop in sales?

It has been pleasing to see industry starting to recognise the threats that a well-funded and well-organised green lobby is having on the potential of recreational fishing and boating. TFPQ has had productive meetings with AFTA (Australian Fishing Tackle Association) and BIAQ (Boating Industry Association of Queensland). Earlier this year the Brisbane South branch was formed and is very active and driven by both recreational fishers and industry representatives and this is a very positive step for our fledgling party. The Brisbane South Branch has already made itself felt on the political front as they fight to save Moreton Bay from unnecessary closures that will affect those who love it the most, the people who use it!

One of the great challenges we face, as we move forward, is attracting both membership and corporate support. To date this exercise has been done with a shoestring budget and the hard work of a few individuals yet we have had some significant results, which will benefit all fishers and fishing and boating industries into the future. The Brisbane South Branch have secured a site at the Tinnie and Tackle Show from the 7th to 9th April 2006 where they will be available to discuss TFPQ issues including information currently available regarding the Moreton Bay rezoning, possible outcomes and how you can get involved by having your say.

Moreton Bay and its planned rezoning (by the greens) will clearly become to the South East Corner what the Great Barrier Reef closures were to North Queenslanders (a detrimental effect on all involved in fishing and boating) . With the rezoning of Harvey Bay is due to be gazetted as Marine Park in August and with the fate of fishing and boating still hanging in the balance, the signals coming from Government far from encouraging. The Moreton Bay fight will have the advantage of the lessons learnt in Harvey Bay, The Great Barrier Reef and similar fights on the NSW eastern seaboard.

Surely the lessons learnt in FNQ (Far North Queensland) after the GBR (Great Barrier Reef) closures should sound a warning bell to everyone involved in the recreational fishing, boating and associated industries.

The year has not been without its positives.
We have seen the review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority undertaken (an Federal election commitment) with results still to be made public. TFPQ lodged a major submission and participated in face-to-face interviews with the review panel.

We lodged a submission in regards the Animal Welfare Bill 2005, later recognised by Federal Fisheries Minister, Senator Ian Campbell as a serious if not fatal threat to recreational fishing, boating and associated industries.

We continue to work, through Government, to get the structural assistance packages promised to businesses affected by the GBR rezoning approved and this process is at last bearing fruit.

We will continue to inject some sense into the debate with environmental zealots who continue an ideological position, which has similarly seen horse riding and 4WD’ing, banned in national park areas. It begs the question what is the purpose of a national PARK? For the sensible and controlled enjoyment of the nations citizens or the exclusive regime of the ultra-greens and tourism operators? Surely controlled recreational fishing and boating is part of a use regime fundamental to our way of life.

For those who think this view extreme, investigate the GBRMPA, “Reefs Guardians Program”, currently taught in many of our North Queensland schools. Recreational fishing is clearly on the hit list. Look at the increasingly high press profile of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the recent calls by the National Parks Association of Qld Executive Officer, for fishing to be banned in all world heritage areas.

Beyond just fishing we witness horse riding, bee keeping and 4WD banned in parks. We see every year devastating bushfires triggered by a bureaucracy unwilling to maintain control burning as a hazard reduction strategy. The snowy mountain cattlemen under threat of expulsion and so many things that have fundamentally shaped our national identity being sacrificed on the alter of ultra-green politics.

What has been missed in the whole charade is that by and large, most rec fishos would consider themselves as “green”. We care about the environment and spend more time in it than most of the educated elite who make the rules ever will, it is just that they have managed to make the word “green” a derogatory description and we need to use other words to indicate our environmental tendencies.

By any measure, despite all the work of our various peak bodies, we continue to get a very raw deal.

The Fishing Party Queensland has a lot of ground to make up in terms of political influence.
We need to demonstrate to Governments at all levels that the recreational fishing and boating vote is actually more powerful than the green vote in terms of preference arrangements. Winning 4% or 5% of the vote in any area can dramatically affect the outcome of elections and ultimately Government and this is a responsibility we need to take very seriously.

Governments at all levels have paid a high price for the ongoing preference deals with the greens. As recreational fishers we also pay a high price and now, more than ever, it is time to demonstrate to Governments that some sense needs to be brought back into the marine parks debate and no longer can one side hold all the cards.

The recreational fishing vote either organises itself in an effective voice, or it is swallowed up by those who would see recreational fishing banished to the realms of a socially unacceptable pastime practiced by an eccentric few.



Shane Boese
Chairman
TFPQ Brisbane South
0409343515 <<<< New Number
07 33487288

[Burley_Boy]

Thanks for your work Shane

[MulletMan]

I feel guilty I am not in a position to help more!
Guess I can make a small donation somewhere?