THE Australian Greens plan to phase out shark nets and drum lines at Australia’s beaches and invest $50m towards the research of non-lethal shark control measures.
In a policy launch at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Thursday, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson called shark nets “weapons of mass destruction”, adding that “they don’t make the ocean safe for swimmers, surfers, divers, and other ocean goers.”
- Greens say nets are outdated and should be removed.
- Pledge to spend $50m of taxpayer funds developing new technology.
- Only one fatally recorded at a netted beach since WWII.
Mr Whish-Wilson, himself a surfer, said he’s been working on this issue in the federal parliament for almost a decade.
“I want to make it really clear that every shark bite in this country, every death, is a tragedy … and this is a very controversial and often divisive issue in Australia, but it shouldn’t be,” he said.
PROTECTING
“We can do so much better to balance the risks for protecting marine life and protecting ocean goers, and today the Greens are launching a national policy to do exactly that.”
Since 1937, shark nets have been deployed between Newcastle and Wollongong in NSW, with nets currently in use at 51 of the State’s most popular beaches between September and April each year. Shark nets are also used in Queensland.
The nets are 150m long, six metres deep, have a mesh size of 60cm, and are placed about 500m from the shore, four metres below the surface.
They don’t provide an enclosed area or barrier between ocean goers and sharks but are designed to reduce the likelihood of shark encounters by catching large, potentially dangerous sharks.
Smart drum lines also function to catch sharks rather than deter them, through a baited hook attached to two buoys, an anchor, and a GPS communications unit.
When a shark takes the bait, the pressure on the line activates a signal, which alerts a boat crew and scientists that an animal is on the line.
The team responds within 30 minutes to tag and release the shark or other marine animal. This method leads to fewer deaths of non-target species.
According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, shark nets are now fitted with whale alarms and dolphin pingers to deter marine animals from the area and are checked regularly to minimise the impact on non-target species.
ENTANGLED
Department of Primary Industries data, however, shows that between September 2020 and April 2021, 375 animals were reported entangled in nets in NSW, 335 of which were non-target animals and many of which died.
Mr Whish-Wilson said we wouldn’t use substandard 50-year-old technology in our workplaces, homes, hospitals, or schools to keep us safe, so it’s not appropriate for our beaches either.
As well as phasing out the nets and drumlines and investing $50m into the implementation of non-lethal methods, the Greens also intend to establish a National Sharks Working Group, along with a publicly accessible national database of interactions with shark control measures.
Mr Whish-Wilson said the Morrison Government had been “missing in action” on this issue.
In 2017, Mr Whish-Wilson initiated a parliamentary inquiry into the “efficacy and regulation of shark mitigation and deterrent measures”, with submissions posted from numerous organisations including Surf Life Saving Australia, Sydney Coastal Councils Group and Australian Aerial Patrol.
NOTHING
He said he had heard nothing from the federal government.
“It’s time for this government to step up, and while they are at it to reply to the ground-breaking 2017 Senate enquiry into this matter,” he said.
Mr Whish-Wilson didn’t provide any alternate technologies that could replace shark nets and drum lines.
The Greens policy launch comes just weeks after a swimmer was fatally attacked at Buchan Point, near Little Bay Beach in Sydney, the first shark fatality in Sydney in almost 60 years, and at a location where no nets or drum lines were in place.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries video from 2016 states that “there has been just one shark-related fatality at a netted beach in almost 80 years”.PC
So Zali Steggall MP, who campaigns as being from “the sensible right”, has voted for Labor-Greens legislation to increase the carbon dioxide emissions target apparently ignoring the UN Paris Agreement that was signed in April 2016 and ratified in November 2016 by the Turnbull Government.
And along with the other Teal Independent Party MPs (that pretends not to be a political party despite sticking together and having Climate200 behind them, and GetUp) she wants Australia to stop coal mining and to close power stations. And when asked about the loss of around $70 billion resulting she replied that a super profit tax could be imposed on businesses instead.
I wonder what their constituents in previously Coalition electorates are thinking now?
D o N o t V o t e for the LNP ALP or Greens.
Remember this when you vote – See Information Paper >
https://fluorideinformationaustralia.wordpress.com/election-2022/
Also see in this Information Paper what Climate Scientists have to say.
Don’t forget Carbon Tax 10% and renewable energy surcharge 10%, both plus 10% GST, added to our electricity bills after the Gillard Labor Government that promised there would be no Carbon Tax imposed it.
That was after Gillard Labor effectively lost the 2010 Federal Election to the Abbott led Coalition and formed an alliance minority government including the Greens who forced Gillard Labor to impose the above new taxes.
At the 2019 Federal Election Shorten Labor won 15 seats on Greens preferences and it is being discussed now that Albanese Labor might need to rely on preferences if they are able to form government after the next Federal Election.
Don’t risk playing the preference trickle down lottery, too often candidates with the most primary votes have lost based on preferences allocation, so best to follow expert advice and when required follow the Liberal or National recommendations or how to vote leaflet.
Unless you would be comfortable with Who Is Albo leading the former Rudd, Gillard & Rudd MPs in a Union controlled Labor Federal Government, with so many State Labor Governments at the same time.