Nationals Member for Clarence, Richie Williamson, has blasted the Minns Labor Government for abandoning the Clarence prawn industry as the current biosecurity control order expires and a new, expanded order immediately takes effect.
Mr Williamson said the existing control order expired yesterday – Tuesday, December 9 – with a new control order replacing it without pause and extending the requirement to cook prawns across a new merged control zone area, further crippling the local industry.
“This is a lazy, heartless and completely incompetent response from a government that has now had more than two and a half years to develop a plan to get the Clarence prawn fleet back to work and has failed at every opportunity,” Mr Williamson said.
Mr Williamson said it is now abundantly clear that the Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty – who is also the Minister for Regional NSW – is either unable or unwilling to develop a pathway forward for the industry.
“This situation is outrageous. After two and a half years of inaction, the Minns Government advised the industry late on Friday that it is only now preparing a paper to advise the national Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases on a future management approach to white spot,” he said.
“That work should have started more than two years ago. Preparing a paper at this late stage offers no comfort whatsoever to the families and businesses who have been financially and emotionally devastated by this ongoing disaster.”
Adding insult to injury, Mr Williamson said the Minns Government is now cutting off the NSW Government compensation scheme just before Christmas, showing zero compassion for fishing families who depend on the prawn industry for their livelihoods.
It has also been revealed that it took six months for the Minister to even write to the Commonwealth seeking further assistance measures for affected business owners.
“That delay alone tells you everything you need to know about the Minns Government’s priorities and regional NSW is clearly not one of them,” Mr Williamson said.
Mr Williamson said the industry had been treated with contempt throughout the entire process.
“This government has never been genuine when it comes to finding a workable solution for the Clarence green prawn industry,” he said.
“I have seen zero evidence that this government has the industry’s back or is willing to get these fishermen back to work.
Mr Williamson is calling on the Minns Labor Government to immediately implement a voluntary buyout scheme and to come to the table with genuine, good faith offers to support affected small businesses.
He also called for direct support to help the Clarence Rivers Fishermen’s Co-operative transition into new markets, ensuring long-term certainty for workers and the wider community.
