Anna Caldwell: Marine park saga is fodder for Shooters, Fishers, Farmers
THE attack line used repeatedly against the Berejiklian government is that no one knows what it stands for and its potential ban on recreational line fishing will only muddy those waters, writes Anna Caldwell.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Berejiklian government could be on the verge of swallowing its next backdown hook, line and sinker. Recreational fishing should be the most niche of issues but right now, it is anything but.
It has been almost a month since the government put up a green-tinged proposal for a string of 25 marine parks dotted along the coast from Newcastle to Wollongong.
Part of this plan bans recreational line fishing in key zones, including Sydney’s Camp Cove, Chowder Bay, North Harbour and a stretch off the south end of Bondi Beach and the north end of Coogee Beach.
That means families who have pulled up on the shore to drop a line in every Saturday for decades have been told they’ll have to reel it in under this proposal to protect marine life.
Plastic bag bans. Greyhound bans. And now, fishing bans. Voters are telling politicians that they are tired of being bossed around when they’re just going about their lives.
They don’t expect a Liberal government to get in the way of legal pastimes.
One senior government source this week told me the proposal was “plain un-Australian” and put the marine parks proposal in the same category as the Baird government’s disastrous greyhound ban.
Indeed, senior government operators are spooked they’ve gone too far, even with the plan only under a six-week consultation phase.
Multiple senior sources say Premier Gladys Berejiklian will see out the consultation period then will likely wind back the parts that “go too far”.
Fisheries Minister Niall Blair last night said the government was committed to the consultation period.
“But I also understand the issues that have been raised with me directly via the recreational and commercial fishing and boating industry, and I’m continuing to meet with them”, he said. But the damage may have already been done.
Those most furious about the marine park plan are Nationals who have watched the issue breathe fresh life into the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party. The SFF has threatened to run candidates in every seat affected by the plan.
“We have stupidly handed (the SFF) a scare campaign to run with their core constituency,” one senior government source said.
“This is all they need to rile people up and hive off the conservative vote,” another government source said.
“Even if we shelve the plan, they’ve been given CPR and they can run this line as something the government secretly wants to do and they’ll do just that all the way to the election. We’ve handed them a pet issue.”
Let’s not forget this is the party that won the Orange by-election partly on the back of the greyhound ban. They believe this issue has the same resonance.
In fact the recreational fishing ban is great fodder for the SFF, which has learnt the hard way that the issue of guns isn’t a vote winner.
Backing down or winding back the plan will turn down the heat. But it’s not cost-free, and doing so will wind up angering other Liberals who support the marine parks. Affected Sydney basin seats, such as Coogee and North Shore, have reported more support from their voters.
A ReachTEL poll of almost 2600 people in coastal electorates conducted for the NSW Nature Conservation Council found 89 per cent support in Manly and 87 per cent in Coogee for the proposal.
These are seats where blue does indeed go with green and the government’s proposal could save some votes being lost to the left.
The same poll also found high support in Terrigal, although local MP Adam Crouch says his constituents believe the plan is “too extreme”.
The attack line used repeatedly against the Berejiklian government is that no one knows what it stands for.
The marine parks saga has and will only muddy those waters.
If the government loses the Wagga Wagga by-election this weekend — a strong possibility — recriminations will fly from the Nationals. Already, behind closed doors, fingers are being pointed at Liberal HQ over a limp campaign that splashed cash but failed to connect and became too distracted by issues in Wentworth and Canberra. Some say the Nationals are quietly helping favoured independent Joe McGirr on the ground in Wagga Wagga, such is the bitterness over the Liberals insisting on running their own candidate in the seat.
Overall, it speaks to a narrative about a government that has failed to connect with real people and real lives and critics will use this against the government. And that’s dangerous.
The Premier herself doesn’t believe in unnecessary bans and she should remind voters of this if and when she does wind back the marine parks proposal.
“People don’t want heavy handed government that gets in the way of allowing individuals to make choices and get ahead,” she told this paper in remarks last month. “Governments should be the protectors of our freedoms and provide the community with the services and infrastructure for a good quality of life.” These are the kind of remarks regular families who just want to make a go of fishing on the weekend will respond to.
Meanwhile, in an attack on Labor in state estimates hearings this week, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet tipped his hat to the Greens.
“At least the Greens ask questions about climate change, at least the Greens believe in something. In 20 years time if we need to form coalition, I’d much prefer to form coalition with the Greens,” he said.
But any casual observer would note that the thing is, it may not be that long before they need to think about a coalition.
If the government loses the Wagga Wagga by-election, its majority will be eroded to just six seats.
Even suggesting an alliance with the Greens on any issue is dangerous territory for a Liberal government.
Particularly when there’s a party like the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers waiting in the wings to be revived like Frankenstein.
Anna Caldwell is the State Political Editor of The Daily Telegraph.