• WA Liberal commitment has forced WA Labor to give fishing families the certainty they need to invest and grow.
• The cray fishing industry is a $400m export industry employing thousands.
• WA Labor had abandoned regional fishing families, until the WA Liberals forced them to capitulate.
The WA Liberals’ commitment to backing the West Australian cray fishing industry has forced WA Labor to capitulate and back down on their abandonment of fishing families.
“Labor never does what is right the first time around,” said Ms Mettam.
“It always takes the community kicking up a stink and fighting for their basic rights before Labor listen.
“We saw it with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, we saw it when they first tried to nationalise the cray fishing industry, and it is exactly what is happening with the Keep the Sheep campaign.
“Roger Cook admitted it himself – Labor always puts Labor’s interests first, not WA’s.”
Ms Mettam said the cray fishing industry was a critical industry which should never have been forced to mount a campaign against the Government.
“The WA cray fishing industry supports thousands of jobs and families up and down WA’s coast, said Ms Mettam.
“Generations of families have turned it into a $400m export industry but last year WA Labor walked away from a commitment to give certainty to those families.
“Unlike Labor, the WA Liberals will always back small business and remove red tape so businesses can grow and prosper.
“WA Labor had eight years to fix this – they’re clearly more interested in votes than in fishing families.
Unlike Labor, a Mettam Liberal Government had already proudly committed to:
1. Fixing the number of units in Individual Transferable Quota fisheries, so these units cannot be created or destroyed once a number is fixed;
2. Extending the minimum term for fishing licenses to be 5+5 years in line with normal commercial arrangements, enabling commercial fishers to get on with their job unencumbered by red tape; and
3. Establishing an electronic register of unit entitlements that financial institutions can rely on, to assist with sovereign risk issues.
Tim Milnes, WA Liberal Candidate for Geraldton, welcomed the commitment and certainty.
“Cray fishing is such an important industry in Geraldton, and I frequently hear from locals concerned about Labor’s changes.
“The industry employs hundreds of locals, and we are home to WA’s biggest regional cray fleet – it’s a big deal here and evidence we have been left behind by Labor.
“It is great news for Geraldton and our local cray fishing industry that the WA Liberals have committed to this commonsense solution, giving them the certainty to plan and invest.
“Unlike Labor, the WA Liberals will always back small business, back the regions, and back local families from the get go.”
