Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Seafood Council's Catherine Winchester is urging the government to properly consult the industry on proposed changes to the Fisheries Act

Transcript

NT Seafood Council's Catherine Winchester is urging the government to properly consult the industry on proposed changes to the Fisheries Act · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know the Northern Territory Seafood Council is calling for
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the withdrawal of the Fisheries Legislation Amendment Bill of twenty
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: twenty two and seeking genuine consultation on proposed changes to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: the Fisheries Act so that current and future investments are
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: not jeopardized. So the Northern Territory Seafood Council Chief Executive
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Officer Katherine Winchester has said that seafood businesses in both
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: wild harvest and aquaculture are looking to put their investments
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: on hold as they're unclear of the Northern Territory government's
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: vision for the seafood industry. And joining me on the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: line right now is the Northern Territory Seafood Council's Chief
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Executive Officer, Katherine Winchester. Good morning to you.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Katherine, Good morning Katie.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Catherine. Tell me why are you calling on the government
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: to withdraw this legislation.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, simply, we're calling on the government to withdraw the
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: legislation to instead commit to make sure that they we
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: have a process to review the Fisheries Act which genuinely
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: consults key stakeholders like the Seafood Council. The seafood businesses,
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: fishing tour operators and the land councils to make sure
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: that we get it right, because if we don't get
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: it right, as you said in your intro, we've already
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: got businesses that are putting their investments on hold simply
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: because the consultation and engagement hasn't been done and they're
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: really unsure as to what the future holds for the
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: seafood industry here in the territory.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: What are some of those businesses saying to you right now.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: I've worked with the Seafood Council for seventeen years now
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: and I've never heard more distressing stories come from businesses.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: We held a business roundtable with Minister Kirby so he
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: could hear directly from these businesses as well. Businesses who
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: have spent millions and millions of dollars in recent years
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: and got millions more to spend in infrastructure, training and capacity.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: They're looking at collaborations with communities as well, and because
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: they're not or will we have access to our fishing grounds,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: will we have access to resources? Where does the Blue
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Mud Bay High Court decision was about the intertitle zone,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: but these changes affect all waters and resources in all
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: of our oceans and rivers. So they're really unsure as
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: to what the rules are going to be and whether
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: or not the certainties there for them to invest. So
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: some of these businesses are literally saying, can you give
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: me an update because my board is asking what's happening
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: in the territory and we're considering our current and future
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: investment commitments. They've got money to spend and they want
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: to spend it. But you can understand a business isn't
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: going to spend money if the confidence isn't there to
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: actually get the returns, or if they can't get what
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: they're investing in.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so Catherine, this is broader than the Blue Mud
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Bay negotiations, isn't it.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what our concern is. It's you know, the
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Blue Mud Baying negotiations have been in place for fourteen
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: years and we've been patiently sitting at the table and
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: you know, we're ready to implement change we want. We've
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: heard from the Land Council that it's permits for our sector.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: We're working really well with the Land Council to transition
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: through to that process. It's early days, there's lots of unknowns,
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: but that part's the simple part. The Fisheries Act changes, though,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: really concern us because it's introducing introducing a new sort
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: of object into the Act, and the objects are like
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: the guiding principles for a piece of legislation, and we're
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: really concerned that by adding a new object that is
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: acknowledging Aboriginal people's interests cultural, cultural, and spiritual and their
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: relationship not the relationship, but aquatic resources. What we're really
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: concerned about is if we don't get the wording of
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: that right, are we setting a situation up where the
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: government is actually positively discriminating one that the stakeholder's needs
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: against everyone else's. And we do believe that there's tension
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: being caused by the way that they're approaching it. So
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: we're saying, please withdraw it, let's get it right. We
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: fully support having the Fisheries at Amendment done, but we
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: want it done in a way that's going to build confidence.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: It's going to build the you know, the confidences for
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: everyone's businesses, communities going forward. We just don't have a
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: clear vision on what the future looks like, and our
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: concern is that these changes are going to put one
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: stakeholder's needs above everyone else's and it expands it everywhere.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Now, Catherine, I know that the Northern Territory government talks
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: a lot, obviously about the reaching a forty billion dollar
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: economy by twenty thirty. How does something like this sort
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: of you know, demonstrate that maybe they're orders open to
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: industry as what they think they are.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the thing. We've got this goal. There's never
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: been a more exciting time to tap into infrastructure dollars
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: in particular. But if the confidence isn't there for the
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: businesses that they can have certainty in their future, then
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: they're not going to invest. So on one part of
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: the conversation, we hear these really positive, encouraging messages, but
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: then the other part is, by the way, we're just
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: going to rush these changes through even though you've raised
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: some very serious concerns to us, and we know that
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: it's impacting on business decisions. Now, you know, we've got
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: to get that right. It's the territory could have an
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: amazing future if we actually had We want people to
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: sit around the table. We want that code design what
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: does the future look like for our industry. But if
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: we don't do that step and we make these changes
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: and we make them hastily, we could be eroding the
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: very thing that underpins success, which is collaboration between businesses
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: and communities new ventures. We know we've got businesses looking
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: at really exciting economic opportunities that are one hundred percent
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: to pay on partnerships with communities, but they won't go
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: ahead if they're not certain that they'll actually have access
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: to either the fishing grounds or if there's question marks
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: over the access to the resources. So it's really scary
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: times for us.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: So, Catherine, the message really for the Northern Territory government
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: is please get back to the table and have some
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: genuine negotiation.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, that's all we're asking for. We're not saying no,
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: don't change it. Let's change it so that everyone's confident
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: going forward. We really do have a tremendous opportunity to
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: get it right. But rushing something through at the eleventh hour.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: It's not that we spent the last fourteen years talking
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: about how the fishery fact needs to change. These changes
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: come in literally in the last few months and trying
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: to be put through government. Possibly today, we'll see it
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: get passed and then we'll have to deal with the
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: fallout from there.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: Well, Catherine Winchester, please keep in please keep in contact
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: with us and let us know whether that does pass.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: We'll keep an eye on it as well, but we
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: really appreciate you having a chat with us this morning.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: No, thank you very much, Katie.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Thank you