Wednesday, 25 May 2022

Port Phillip Bay fishing infrastructure

Dr RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (17:41): (1937) My adjournment matter this evening is to the Minister for Planning. The action I seek from the minister is to acquire an environment effects statement (EES) for the Labor government’s plan to build an enormous artificial structure in the ocean near the entrance of Port Phillip Bay. My Greens colleagues and I have recently been approached by local Mornington Peninsula residents who are deeply concerned about this proposed development. The development would install 16 large concrete structures and is aimed at attracting yellowtail kingfish for recreational fishers. This proposal is just another in an unbelievably long list of ways this Labor government continues to provide gold-plated treatment to the recreational fishing lobby in Victoria.

This proposal has the potential to cause long-term environmental damage in many ways. First, there is the direct impact of building such huge pieces of infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive and important marine area. Just one of the many issues is its proximity to a dolphin sanctuary. There are also the impacts of large numbers of fishing boats visiting sensitive areas and the potential for fishing rubbish to pollute the marine environment, something that is already a big issue. On top of all of this, it is unclear what the impact would be of attracting big fish to an area they normally would not be in. This could change the ecology of the whole area.

I understand that the local council have written to the government to express their concerns about the proposed project’s proximity to the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park, the lack of community consultation and an inadequate environmental assessment. Given all of this, I ask the minister to ensure this project is properly assessed under the EES before making a decision about whether or not it is appropriate to proceed.