An open letter to Prime Minister Albanese
"We write to express our deep concern about your recent intervention to bypass Australia's environmental laws and introduce special legislation exempting the salmon farming industry in Tasmania's West Coast region."
Dear Prime Minister Albanese,
We, the undersigned, write to express our deep concern about your recent intervention to bypass Australia's environmental laws and introduce special legislation exempting the salmon farming industry in Tasmania's West Coast region.
This past week we have seen footage of thousands of salmon dying from disease and environmental stressors in the salmon farms in Tasmania's south eastern waterways. We have also witnessed biological pollution in the form of flesh-derived salmon fat balls washing up on beaches and in Ninepin Marine Reserve. The very same companies you wish to exempt from our federal environmental laws are also responsible for the fish deaths and pollution Tasmanians are now seeing.
This industry is not sustainable.
The decision to change legislation undermines the integrity of our environmental protection framework and disregards the scientific evidence meant to guide responsible governance, at a time when the salmon industry is likely breaching their environmental license conditions in the south east.
By allowing salmon, dead or alive, to be found outside the lease boundaries, and allowing blood (in this case biological matter) back into the marine environment during a clean up of dead fish, it is highly likely that the salmon producers are in breach of their environmental licenses. For too long this industry has been self-reporting to state regulators, with profits driving decision-makers at the expense of our natural marine environment. Environmental laws to regulate this industry should be tightened, not compromised.
Your intention to introduce legislation exemptions for the salmon farming industry in Macquarie Harbour from Australia's environmental laws began with the awareness of the plight of the endangered Maugean skate—a species with direct lineage to the Gondwana era. Scientists advising the Australian Government have made it clear: continued salmon farming is "almost certain" to be "catastrophic" for the skate. The Threatened Species Scientific Committee has unequivocally recommended the elimination or significant reduction of farmed fish as the most urgent action to prevent the skate's extinction. Yet, the proposed special legislation contradicts this advice, endangering not just the skate but the integrity of our environmental protections.
Prime Minister, we urge you not to bypass our country's environmental laws to favour an industry that has repeatedly breached environmental regulations, allowed thousands of tonnes of its stock to die, and polluted our beaches and marine reserves.
This is not the leadership Australians expect when it comes to protecting our natural heritage and wildlife.
More than 13,000 Australians have already signed the petition calling on your government to uphold the law, respect scientific evidence, and halt salmon farming practices that harm our environment. Three in five Australians (58%) support stopping fish farming in areas where it puts the endangered Maugean skate at risk. 72% of Tasmanians support the fin fish inquiry report recommendation that fin fish aquaculture should be transitioned out of inshore, sensitive and biodiverse areas.
We the undersigned call on you not to prioritise the interests of profit-driven foreign owned companies who have not paid corporate tax in the last 4 years while every day Australians struggle with the cost of living. We urge you to uphold the national environmental laws that stand to protect the environment and the survival of our unique species and ecosystems. We implore you to reverse this decision, respect environmental due process, and ensure the protection of Australia's precious marine environment for future generations.
Yours sincerely,
- Jessica Coughlan, Neighbours of Fish Farming
- Rebecca Howarth Environment Tasmania
- Cass Wright, NW Tas for Clean Oceans
- Deb Hutton, Keep Our Coasts Clean
- Sheenagh Neill, Marine Protection Tasmania
- Alistair Allan, Bob Brown Foundation
- Drew McPherson, Surfrider Foundation
- Trish Bailey, Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection
- Terry Brumby, Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection
- Steve Sanders, Friends of the Bays
- Gerard Castles, Killora Community Association
- James Bunker, Bruny Island Environment Network
3 March 2025