Environment Minister Murray Watt says Tasmania’s salmon industry needs to ‘lift its game’

Australia’s new Environment Minister has pledged to visit Tasmania as an “early priority”, saying we are the “environmental jewel for the whole country” — but had a stern message for the salmon industry.

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Australia’s new Environment Minister Murray Watt says the salmon industry needs to “lift its game” on sustainability and has pledged to visit Tasmania as an “early priority”.

Mr Watt, who was appointed to the portfolio by Anthony Albanese this week, described Tasmania as an “environmental jewel for the whole country” and confirmed he was intending to make a trip to the state “soon”.

In an exclusive interview Mr Watt said ensuring widespread community consultation on projects undergoing environmental assessments would be the hallmark of his tenure in the portfolio.

“I think the more transparent we can be, the more open to ideas and suggestions we can be, it maximises the chances of building the community’s confidence in the decisions that you make,” he said.

Having only had initial briefings in his first few days in the role, Mr Watt would not weigh in on salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, but he did pledge any decisions he made would be “in accordance with the law”.

This picture taken on March 25, 2025 shows an aerial view of a salmon pen belonging to the Tassal company located off Charlotte Cove, in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel in Tasmania. (Photo by Gregory PLESSE / AFP)

Mr Watt also had a stern message for the state’s $1.36 billion industry, which employs about 5000 Tasmanians.

“I think the salmon industry does need to lift its game on its sustainability,” he said.

“I’m not talking specifically about the Macquarie Harbour decision, but more recently, the fish kills that we saw, I think alarmed a lot of Australians.

“Industries will always do better in Australia when they maintain their social license and they have community support behind them.”

Mr Watt said as environment minister his role was a combination of “being a guardian of Australia’s natural environment”, while also “facilitating sustainable development”.

“We as a Labor Government want to both protect the environment and protect jobs and economic development,” he said.

Mr Watt said he was “not naive” about the reality he would end up making “very controversial decisions one way or another”.

“Not everyone is going to be happy with those decisions, but I think if people feel heard, then that improves your chances of people accepting that a decision has been made properly,” he said.

Mr Watt said he had already had dealings on the salmon issue going back to his previous role as fisheries minister when he met with a range of groups to discuss their concerns.

The senior Queensland Senator was picked to replace Tanya Plibersek, who had been reconsidering the approval for salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour until the Prime Minister intervened to support the sector.

The future of salmon farming in the harbour on Tasmania’s remote west coast, had been uncertain since 2023 when environment groups challenged Commonwealth approval for the industry, due to its impacts on the critically endangered Maugean skate.

Ms Plibersek had been reconsidering the approval.

But changes rushed through the federal parliament in March shortly before the election reduced the rights of the public and environmental groups to review prior Commonwealth environmental decisions in certain circumstances.

This included where decisions had been ongoing for at least five years and were approved with conditions that involved state-based regulation, which applied in the case of the Macquarie Harbour project.

Originally published as Environment Minister Murray Watt says Tasmania’s salmon industry needs to ‘lift its game’