Federal Labor moves to protect Macquarie Harbour salmon farming, sideline Plibersek decision
By Bec Pridham
Topic:Fishing and Aquaculture Industry
16m ago16 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 12:01am
An older man with glasses leans on a post while wearing a life jacket. He speaks to another man in a blue shirt.
Anthony Albanese seen here during a visit to Macquarie Harbour. (ABC News: Glenn Dickson)
In short:
Salmon farming in a west coast Tasmanian waterway is under scrutiny due to a pending decision by the federal environment minister on whether to review the industry's license, citing concerns over its impact on water quality.
But the prime minister has flagged his support for the industry after visits to the companies operating there, with laws set to go through to guarantee their future.
What's next?
Opponents to salmon farming have blasted the move, with one group calling it a "threat to democracy".
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.
The fate of the aquaculture business in Macquarie Harbour, on Tasmania's west coast, has been in doubt since November 2023 after three conservation groups requested federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek review whether the industry had the necessary approvals under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).
Juvenile Maugean skate wild
The Maugean skate, a species of ray, dates back to the Cretaceous period, which was between 145 to 66 million years ago. (Supplied: Jane Ruckert)
Last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to the salmon industry confirming his government would introduce legislation ensuring "appropriate environmental laws" to "continue sustainable salmon farming" in the harbour.
It looked to be a promise for the next parliamentary term, but with Mr Albanese delaying his preferred April 12 election date, will now be introduced next week.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said the government would amend the "flawed" EPBC Act in the coming sitting week to "secure jobs and local industries".
"We call on the Coalition to give this legislation bipartisan support to give communities certainty,"
they said.
Labor has the numbers in the lower house, but will need support from the Coalition in the Senate, with the Greens starkly opposed.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has previously said he would "not be stopping salmon farming" and that he wanted to see the industry grow.
PM Anthony Albanese speaks to Tassal employees at fish farm enclosure.
Anthony Albanese speaks to Tassal employees during a visit to Tasmania in December 2024. (Tassal)
'Outrageous haste,' says Greens' McKim
Ms Plibersek is still considering the environmental groups' request and has not provided a timeframe for her decision.
The groups remain concerned about the endangered Maugean skate, which is only found in the harbour.
An Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) report in 2023 said its population had declined by 47 per cent between 2014 and 2021, warning one significant weather event would be enough to push the species to the brink of extinction.
Scientists have put the waning numbers down to dissolved oxygen levels, with industrial salmon farming considered to be a major contributor.
Tasmanian Greens senator Nick McKim said Mr Albanese was "out of touch" and was rushing the legislation through with "outrageous haste".
"We don't know what's in this legislation, but it will have more general application than just Macquarie Harbour and the salmon farm corporations in Tasmania," he said.
"That's a terrible result for our national environmental laws which are already weak and ineffective and need to be strengthened further.
"This is the prime minister placing foreign corporate profits ahead of the survival of an ancient fish species in Macquarie Harbour, placing foreign corporate profits over and above Tasmania's marine environment, and over and above local communities who can't even swim at their local beaches without bumping into stinking, rotten carcasses."
One of the groups to submit a request to Ms Plibersek is left-leaning think tank The Australia Institute.
Director Eloise Carr called the development "appalling" and a "threat to democracy".
"It's an abuse of process," she said.
"What is being proposed next week would override existing environmental laws, would override normal parliamentary process and it would torpedo the current review of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.
"It is looking at derailing the ability for community members to challenge decisions made by the environment minister."
The industry has faced increasing scrutiny in recent weeks after fatty fish balls washed up on beaches in the lower D'Entrecastreaux Channel area, following an unprecedented mass salmon-die off in which Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority estimates more than 5,500 tonnes of fish died.
Earlier this month, Huon Aquaculture lost its RSPCA certification, after video footage showing live salmon being dumped in tubs with dead fish emerged.
In December 2023, the federal government and salmon industry invested in a trial, aiming to re-oxygenate the harbour by drawing up low-oxygen water, filling it with highly concentrated bubbles of oxygen, and pumping it back 30 to 40 metres deep in the harbour.
Last month, IMAS published new research, which found the skate's catch rates had returned to 2014 levels, but had not yet returned to the pre-2009 rate of juveniles contributing to the population.
Salmon Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin declined to comment.
Posted16m ago16 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 12:01am, updated5m ago5 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 12:12am
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