NSW Greens MLC Justin Field has slammed the Shooters and Fishers Party as all angry rhetoric and no action for failing to stand candidates in at least half of the electorates covering the state’s six existing marine parks.
Following close of nominations and ballot draws for the NSW State Election, the Shooters and Fishers have failed to stand candidates in the electorates covering the Cape Byron Marine Park, Lord Howe Island Marine Park and Jervis Bay Marine Park. They also are not standing candidates in 12 of the 15 electorates covering the proposed Sydney Marine Park region.
NSW Greens MLC and Healthy Oceans Spokesperson Justin Field said, “the Shooters and Fishers are just wreckers when it comes to the marine environment.
“They yell abuse, threaten and try to undermine scientific and community processes to protect the marine environment but don’t have enough support in many coastal electorates to even stand candidates.
“It makes a mockery of their claims to have majority support on these issues. They’ve never had that and this shows their rhetoric is hollow. Despite claims of having the support of 900,000 licenced fishers in NSW, the Shooters and Fishers received only 164,000 votes in the Legislative Council in 2015.
“The reality is that people who fish have more of an interest than most in improving the health of the marine environment and understand the value of marine protected areas. The majority of fishers have never supported the Shooters and Fishers campaign to undermine these protections.
“This confirms the Shooters and Fishers are no more than an angry mob without principle. They claim to represent a significant cohort in the community but are really just a single issue party that promote deregulation with the aim of removing gun controls.
“It’s an indictment on the Liberal National coalition to have caved to the Shooters and Fishers angry noise and wound back marine park protections over the last two terms of their Government.
“The Shooters and Fishers are all bluff and bluster and aren’t even prepared to put candidates forward in electorates where they claim they have a mandate.
List of Electorates
Cape Byron Marine Park
Ballina - No candidate
Solitary Islands Marine Park
Clarence - candidate
Coffs Harbour - candidate
Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park
Myall Lakes - Candidate
Port Stephens - No candidate
Lord Howe Island Marine Park
Port Stephens - No candidate
Jervis Bay Marine Park
South Coast - No candidate
Batemans Marine Park
South Coast - No candidate
Bega - Candidate
Proposed Sydney Marine Park area
The Entrance - No candidate
Terrigal - No candidate
Gosford - candidate
Pittwater - No candidate
Wakehurst - No candidate
Manly - No candidate
North Shore - No candidate
Vaucluse - No Candidate
Coogee - Candidate
Maroubra - No candidate
Rockdale - No candidate
Cronulla - No candidate
Heathcote - Candidate
Keira - No candidate
Wollongong - No candidate
