Doorstop in Hobart, Tas

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP
HOBART
SATURDAY, 21 DECEMBER 2024
Subjects: Live rock lobster exports to China set to restart; Cradle Mountain cableway; Nationals dysfunction; Tasmanian salmon.

JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: Okay, I'm Julie Collins. I'm the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. It was great news late yesterday when we had advice from China that we are able to resume our live rock lobster industry and trade with China. This is a significant win for our rock lobster fishers here in Tasmania and indeed right across the country. What we know, of course, is we inherited $20 billion worth of trade impediments with China. We've now worked slowly, carefully, and we now have removed those trade impediments. This is great news though for local fishers and their families and jobs here in my home state of Tassie, but importantly right around the country.

This is industry is very significant. It's worth over $700 million to Australia, and that means local jobs for Australians. Here in my home state of Tassie, over $30 million, and I'm told here by Roger King who's from the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishers, that this is actually more significant for Tasmania than that number would indicate.

This is a great win for rock lobster fishers, but importantly for our nation. Just a few weeks ago we had the last of the red meat abattoirs with trade impediments to China that were undone, so we have done great work in terms of being slow, careful and deliberate, working with the Chinese officials, and I want to thank the Chinese officials for the notification yesterday. What has occurred overnight is my department has been working with the rock lobster fishers and exporters, and they are now putting in their permits to get our live rock lobster into China, and this is great news for them. But importantly, it means that we're going to get a premium price for a premium product, which will mean more money in the Australian economy and more jobs for Australians.

I'm happy to hand over to Roger to say a little bit about what this means.

ROGER KING, TASMANIAN ROCK LOBSTER FISHERS ASSOICATION: Thanks very much, Julie. This is a very significant moment for Tasmanian rock lobster fishing families, and most of the businesses, whether it's the processing, the harvesting, or the supply services are family businesses.

So, it's been four years, it's been very tough. Fishermen are resilient and they're patient, and they've needed all that patience and resilience to get to this point. So, we're delighted that a few days before Christmas we're facing the removal of this restriction, and we're looking forward to dealing with our friends and business partners in China to restore this trade.

JOURNALIST: How long will it take for fishers to get their permits approved and to be able to start exporting?

KING: So that's a matter for the processing sector, but I believe they've already submitted those applications and they're being processed now.

So, on the other side, in China, they'll also apply for import permits and import quotas, and I believe that they'll be rapidly dealt with now that the approval has been given in the highest levels in China.

JOURNALIST: So, we know that Chinese New Year is coming up, which is a lucrative time for the industry. How significant is it that bans will be lifted in time for that?

KING: Well, it's actually well, the first big event is the Australian Christmas, and I would like to thank all the Australians that have supported our industries through this tough time, and we're hoping that they go and get their share of lobster for Christmas first.

So, the Chinese New Year will be in early February, and we'll be ramping up for that no doubt once these final procedural matters are dealt with.

JOURNALIST: If lobster exports pick up to China, how will you ensure that local Tasmanians will get their hands on lobsters?

KING: I don't think anyone in Tasmania's going to forget the support they've received from the local community, so I think that will continue, whether it's from the back of boat sales and the wharfs around Tasmania, through the family-owned fish businesses, such as Hursey's and Hammonds, Mures, you know, or the Fish Shack at Bicheno. I think lobster will stay on the menu now, and I think it's become a family favourite.

JOURNALIST: Have you already started taking orders from China? 

KING: It's a little bit early. We only got the news last night that the China market has confirmed is re-opening, got a press release from Julie's office and the Prime Minister's office. So, it's very early days. We've only been 24 hours down the road. So, all I can say is how happy we are and how I'd like to thank the Federal Government, the State Government as well of Tasmania, who also supported the industry through those tough times.

JOURNALIST: Back in October when we found out that the ban was going to lift, there was a bit of cautious optimism, I'd say, there were people who were nervous. Do you think some of that angst has been lifted now?

KING: I spoke to someone in West Australia just a few minutes ago, and they said they've had the best night's sleep they've had in years. So, I think this is the real deal, and I think the fact that the Prime Minister and Julie have come out and said so positively that the impediment's gone now, I think we can say it's over.

JOURNALIST: How soon do you anticipate getting orders?

KING: I think the orders will start coming in within days. Once those import and export permits are approved.

JOURNALIST: And the tariffs themselves, they've certainly had a hit to the industry. How long do you think it will take for the industry here to recover?

KING: I think like the other industries, wine and red meat, and some of the other sectors, it's going to be a gradual rebuilding, I don't think they're going to go through straight to where we were, but I think that's something we can start looking at, is start conservatively, and then ramp the industry back up to the full level that it was before, and look to the future at value adding and cementing that relationship again like we had before.

JOURNALIST: So Julie, just how important is this for the industry. Are you able to take us through perhaps the challenges that the industry's faced and how much relief this will bring?

COLLINS: Yeah, we know that the rock lobster fishers have had a difficult few years. We've been working, as I said, carefully and deliberately with the Chinese Government to restore our trade impediment.

When we came to office we had $20 billion worth of trade impediments. This is the last one now, this is done. We have worked incredibly hard and worked through this process carefully, and we've made sure that we haven't had to concede, and what I would like to do is to thank the Chinese officials for their patience, and our rock lobster fishers for their patience in getting through this process.

But this is terrific news for rock lobster fishers, here in Tassie and right across the country, and I'm sure that they'll be celebrating in the lead up to Christmas, and as we've heard, the Lunar and the Chinese New Year, as we get our great produce overseas and we get a great price for it.

JOURNALIST: And as we heard, it's only been a matter of hours since the announcement was officially made. But do you have any gauge of when the first shipments will start?

COLLINS: Yeah, well, my department met with all the rock lobster fishers overnight, and they have been working, and some of our Australian exporters have put in their export permits with the Chinese Government. We now need the importers to do theirs, and there's a bit of processing to go through, but we certainly anticipate that this will happen quite quickly now.

We of course had, just a few weeks ago, our Prime Minister meet with Premier Li, and they said that we would be able to have this trade removed before the end of the Chinese before Chinese New Year in time for that. And that is exactly what's happened, so we've got there, and I really want to thank the rock lobster fishers right across the country for their patience as we've worked through this.

JOURNALIST: On Cradle Mountain, will the Federal Government restore the promised $30 million for the Cradle Mountain Cableway? 

COLLINS: Well, obviously the original commitment was under the former government and was in 2018, six years ago, and what we did in the last few weeks is actually provide some funding for proper planning and to get a proper business case for this project.

We want to see the outcome of that planning and the business case from that project before we go any further. What we know, of course, is with our Tasmanian State Government infrastructure projects, is they're often very late and they're often over budget. So we need to see that careful planning and a proper business case for this project to be done.

JOURNALIST: The Liberal Government have already submitted a business case, you say this is running through new updated one?

COLLINS: This is for the proper planning so that we can get the detailed planning to make sure it's right.

JOURNALIST: Is this project dead in the water? It's been so long now since we first heard about it.

COLLINS: Well, as I've said, the commitment was first in 2018, and it's now six years on, and we have funded the planning money to get the proper planning done for this project. So, let's see what the result of that funding is, and then we can go forward.

JOURNALIST: Is there any kind of timeline?

COLLINS: I guess that will be up to the Tasmanian State Government.

JOURNALIST: Otherwise, Minister, the Nationals have submitted another list to register as a political party here in Tasmania. What do you make of their potential prospects at the State level and potentially the Federal level after the 2025 election?

COLLINS: Well, of course we've seen this happen before, we've seen them register or try to register before. But let's be very honest, it doesn't matter whether they're the Nationals or the Liberals. Federally, of course, they'll support Peter Dutton's nuclear plan. That's not something that Tasmanians support or something that Tasmanians want.

We also know, of course, that the Liberal and National Party are having a bit of difficulty in the last few days. We've seen Matt Canavan, we've seen Keith Pitt, they can't get clear what their actual position on energy policy is other than to admit that the nuclear plan was really just a political fix. 

You know, they're in complete disarray when it comes to the Liberals and the Nationals, and I don't think it will have a very big impact here in Tasmania.

JOURNALIST: But a lot of those issues are on the mainland, so I guess with that in mind, do you think that the Nationals   that there might still be an appetite for a national vote here in the state of Tasmania, be it at the State level or the Federal level?

COLLINS: Well, we know the Tasmanian State Government and the minority government is in all sorts of trouble, you know, they've had a deal with some Jacqui Lambie members, they've had Independents, and they've had a few issues in their State Parliament.

So, I guess it's really up to the Tasmanian people in the future about what that looks like. I'm more focused on running the country and supporting Tasmanians and investing here in Tasmania and doing my job as a Federal Minister and a Federal Member.

JOURNALIST: On salmon, is the Government considering special legislation to ensure salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour won't be shut down?

COLLINS: Look, the Prime Minister and I have been very clear that we support the Tasmanian salmon industry, and particularly the regional jobs that it supports, but we also support having a strong environment and that we can have both, and we've been very clear about that.

The decisions in relation to the Environment Minister need to be made under the Howard Government's EPBC Act and the Minister has said that they will get all of the data and the information and the evidence and the up-to-date science from their department to make that decision in due course.

JOURNALIST: Based on that decision though, salmon farming could be paused while a review is undertaken. Is the Government looking at avenues to [indistinct] go ahead?

COLLINS: I think we've been pretty clear that we support the industry and the jobs that come with that. You know, these are important jobs right across Tasmania, and particularly on the West Coast, and we've been pretty clear that these jobs are important, and that we can have a strong environment and an industry, a salmon industry, here in Tasmania. 

JOURNALIST: When is the decision expected to be made?

COLLINS: That is a decision that is made by the Minister, it's not a decision for the Government.