By Mike Foley
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has trodden on the turf of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, his long-term factional rival, for the second time in three weeks while weighing in on her crucial decision on the future of salmon farming.
Albanese visited Strahan, on Tasmania’s west coast, to declare his support for salmon farming jobs in Macquarie Harbour even as Plibersek is deciding on the future of the industry in that location.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour, on Tasmania’s west coast. Credit:
Plibersek was conspicuously absent from Albanese’s entourage as he addressed local media on Saturday, flanked by senator Anne Urquhart, Labor’s candidate for the seat of Braddon at the coming federal election, and local mayor Shane Pitt.
“As long as I’m prime minister, there will be support for jobs here in Tasmania because I understand how important it is for the Tasmanian economy,” Albanese declared.
Plibersek, meanwhile, has on her desk a request from environment groups to revoke licences for farming in Macquarie Harbour because protection of endangered species is the minister’s responsibility under national environmental laws.
Albanese’s support for salmon farming appears, at first glance, to clash with Plibersek’s job. It follows his shock recent intervention in Plibersek’s negotiations with the Greens to deliver a major environmental reform.
Three weeks ago, Albanese contacted the Greens – without informing Plibersek – to scupper a deal Plibersek was on the brink of securing with the minor party for its crucial votes to create a national environmental protection agency, a key promise of the 2022 election campaign.
In his second intervention on environmental matters, Albanese stressed on Saturday he would not pre-empt the outcome of Plibersek’s review, while declaring unwavering support for the industry to continue.
“Legal processes, of course, need to take their course,” Albanese said. “Those processes are under way. But we will do whatever we can to ensure that this industry continues.”
Albanese did not say why Plibersek had not accompanied him on his visit, but it was important for him as prime minister to meet his constituents, he said.
“I’m here at the invitation of the mayor, and it’s appropriate that I come to show my support for this local community,” he said.
“It’s really important that public representatives actually have a look first-hand at what is happening in our regions.”
Salmon farming is a big issue in the seat of Braddon, which the Liberal Party won from Labor at the 2019 election.
Opposition environment spokesman Jonathan Duniam has accused Plibersek of “looking for any reason to shut down this industry to appease Greens voters in her inner-Sydney electorate” and pledged to preserve farming in Macquarie Harbour.
Urquhart, who wore a high-vis vest with “Salmon champion” emblazoned on the back, hopes to win the seat back for Labor at the next election, which is due by May next year.
“I think we can get a good outcome, a good sustainable outcome for both the harbour but also for the workers here in and right across Tasmania within the salmon industry,” she said yesterday.
Plibersek has been contacted for comment.
There are between 40 and 120 adult Maugean skate left on the planet, and the federal government’s threatened species committee said in August the best way to save the endangered fish was to eliminate or at least dramatically cut back on salmon farming in its habitat.
The committee said there was a “significant correlation” between low oxygen levels and an increase in salmon farming. Farmed fish suck up a lot of the oxygen in the water, while fish food and faeces that enter the water via the salmon pens feed oxygen-consuming bacteria.
The Greens’ Tasmanian senator Nick McKim said on Saturday that salmon farming must be outlawed.
“The very small number of impacted workers need to be supported through a transition, but at the end of the day, we are in a situation where industrial salmon farming continues to operate in Macquarie Harbour and the Maugean skate will slide into extinction,” McKim said.
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