Inquiry into fishing industry welcomed

Broken Bay and Brisbane Water commercial fisherman and other members of the public have until December 9 to make submissions to a new inquiry into the NSW Government's proposed fishing industry restructure.

NSW Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Mr Mick Veitch, said he welcomed the announcement of the inquiry.

Two public hearings will be held on December 12 and 14.

The committee will table an interim or final report by February 28.

The inquiry's terms of reference include the social and economic impacts of the restructure, the scientific underpinnings of the changes, as well as the economic modelling used by the Government.

The inquiry announcement came in the same week that Labor MPs received a petition of more than 10,000 signatures calling on the NSW Government to rethink its restructure of the State's commercial fishing sector.

The petition will be debated in Parliament early next year.

"I have been calling for an inquiry for months now and I welcome the opportunity for the community to make submissions and have their say on the future of this important industry," Mr Veitch said.

"This is a good chance for fishers and other concerned stakeholders to highlight what they see as the problems of the restructure," he said.

"The committee will investigate the rollout of the restructure, the assumptions and modelling used, as well as the social and economic impacts of the restructure."

The NSW Opposition is also calling on the Government to respect parliamentary processes and extend the December 3 deadline by which fishers are required to hand over unused shares as part of the proposed restructure.

Media release,Nov 18, 2016

Mick Veitch, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries