Opinion: Shark court decision will put lives at risk

Sharks caught in the Great Barrier Reef marine park will now be tagged and released. It’s akin to catching Ivan Milat and then letting him out to continue his killing spree, writes Peter Gleeson.

EVEN the courts have lost the plot on protecting swimmers from shark attack in Queensland waters.

Today the Queensland Government lost its appeal for the right to use nets and drum lines to catch and kill sharks and protect swimmers on the Great Barrier Reef.

It followed a spate of shark attacks around the Whitsundays — one fatal — which has affected tourism numbers and shaken the confidence of swimmers.

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In April, the Humane Society successfully challenged the government’s shark management plan in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, putting a halt to drum lines and nets to protect swimmers.

The Federal Court has dismissed the government’s appeal. It effectively means it’s now open season for sharks in the Whitsundays.

A total of 173 drum lines are used in the Whitsundays.

Tiger, bull and white sharks now caught will be tagged and released. That’s akin to catching Ivan Milat and then letting him go to continue his killing spree. It’s madness.

What sort of society, armed with the tools to protect humans from death by shark attack, ignores the technology that gives swimmers a better chance at survival? How can we be taken seriously as a world class tourism destination when we invite sharks to ruin the lives of people and their families?

The Whitsundays boasts some of the best resorts in the world but would I let my kids loose in those waters right now? Not on your nelly.

Let’s cut to the chase. The Greens and conservationists are so ideologically blinded by their zealotry that they are putting shark safety ahead of their fellow humans. It’s a strange old world.

Meanwhile, on the Gold Coast, where shark nets and drumlines have been operational since the 1960s, there has not been a fatal shark attack.

An hour’s drive south, near Byron Bay, with its Green council, surfers and swimmers die every year, attacked by sharks, because there is no protection.

This is another blow for common sense. The conservation movement in this country is out of

control. Unfortunately, more people will now be attacked, and some will die, because of this cavalier and brazen stance.