Tony Abbott out of touch with WA voters on Marine Protection

Media release
The Wilderness Society WA Inc
6 August 2010

Today’s announcement that a Coalition Government would suspend planning for marine sanctuaries
around Australia shows that Tony Abbott is out of touch with coastal loving Western Australians, the
Conservation Council of WA and Wilderness Society said today.

Conservation Council of WA and Wilderness Society as part of the Save Our Marine Life alliance have
been campaigning in the Southwest for almost two years and have found high levels of support in the
community for increased marine protection.

“Tony Abbot is out of touch with Western Australians on this issue. We are being sold short by policy
developed on the East Coast not respecting our unique situation in Western Australia. We need action, not more delays on protecting our unique marine life,” said Conservation Council Marine Coordinator Tim Nicol.

“Polling last week in WA showed that 8-in-ten WA voters support increasing protection levels from less
than 1% to high levels of marine protection,”

“A recent independent Economic Report from the Allen Consulting Group¹ showed that marine
sanctuaries provide big economic opportunities for regional WA, for example helping to make the
southwest a tourism icon and underpinning growth in the southwest tourism industry to $55m million per
year.”

Currently less than 1% of WA’s waters are protected. Declining fish stocks have resulted in two month
seasonal fishing closures for the ‘vulnerable five’ reef fish. Overfishing is implicated in the recent
upheavals in the rock lobster industry.

“There is science consensus that marine sanctuaries protect marine life and can help to restore damaged fisheries,” said Dr Jill StJohn from The Wilderness Society WA.

Western Australians concerns about oil spills are also high since the Margaret River Oil Lease (just 80km from Margaret River) was announced during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and before the Montara oil spill enquiry has been released. The expansion of oil drilling also threatens the unique coral reefs, humpback whale sanctuary and marine ‘superhighway’ off the Kimberley coast.

“Further delays in improving protection of Australia’s waters would only increase the risk of permanent
damage to at risk fish stocks and expose coastal communities to the very real possibility of oil drilling,
such as offshore from Margaret River and in the Kimberley,” concluded Dr StJohn.

1. The Economics of Marine Protected Area: Application of Principles to the South West Marine Area, Allen Consulting Group, March 2010