Greens Healthy Oceans spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has urged the Federal Government not to intervene in Queensland’s Shark Control Program after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ordered an end to lethal shark culling in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “I urge the Federal Environment Minister to put our oceans first and listen to the scientific evidence that killing sharks does not make oceangoers safe.
“Lethal methods of killing sharks only provide a false sense of security.”
Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner has written to Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price saying urgent action from the Commonwealth Government was required to provide for swimmer safety within the Marine Park. The Federal Government can intervene under section 158 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to allow Queensland to continue their lethal shark control program if it is deemed to be in the ‘national interest’.
“I reminded Senator Birmingham at Senate Estimates this week that the AAT heard overwhelming scientific evidence that killing sharks does not reduce the risk of unprovoked shark interactions.
“What part of ‘overwhelming scientific evidence’ does the Queensland Government not understand?
“With no scientific evidence that killing sharks makes oceangoers safe, it would be very interesting to hear the basis for any Federal Government decision that lethal shark culling is in the national interest.”
The Greens’ plan to invest in non-lethal shark mitigation measures can be found here.
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