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Labor Passes The Buck On Yabby Industry CollapseBy Philip Davis - 15th December 2004 - Back to News The Bracks Government has destroyed Victoria’s aquaculture industry and is now trying to fudge the figures to cover-up the evidence, Shadow Minister for Agriculture Philip Davis said today.
Fisheries Victoria levies have skyrocketed to between $250 and $2000 and, as a result, the number of licences issued this year plummeted from 300 to 100.
Mr Davis said just 2.9 per cent of the national aquaculture production comes from Victoria.
He said Labor’s Agriculture Minister Bob Cameron was responsible for many aquaculture businesses closing and the industry collapsing.
Mr Davis said Bob Cameron last week allowed a Fisheries Victoria media release to deliberately mislead Victorians on the damage Labor’s fees had caused and blamed the Victorian Aquaculture Council (VAC) for the flawed licensing arrangements.
"Fisheries Victoria claims that licences covering about 95 per cent of the production value of the inland aquaculture industry had been renewed were deliberately misleading because that 95 per cent could easily be made up of just the trout and abalone sectors alone," Mr Davis said.
"Other emerging aquaculture sectors like freshwater crayfish (yabbies) make up only a small proportion of total value but a large number of farms.
"What the Fisheries Victoria media release didn’t reveal is that 57 of Victoria’s 60 yabby producing businesses have been forced to downsize or completely close since this new policy was introduced."
Mr Davis said other Fisheries Victoria claims that the VAC stood in the way of negotiating alternative licensing arrangements were ridiculous.
"Bob Cameron has attempted to use the Fisheries Victoria media release to put some positive spin on the industry after being criticised for his lack of vision, consultation and inadequate implementation."
Mr Davis said that after continually refusing to meet with the yabby association, Bob Cameron recently met with some yabby farmers, where he agreed to reconsider cost recovery and licensing issues next year.
"Bob Cameron should hang his head in shame - while he is fiddling and promising to undertake reviews in the future, the Victorian aquaculture industry is collapsing," he said.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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