The Hodgman Liberal Government’s strong new laws on salmon farming have been given the tick of approval by the Legislative Council this week.
The Bill passed the Legislative Council unopposed with only two minor amendments.
We’ve listened to the community and industry, and this Bill installs the toughest environmental regulation for finfish farming Tasmania has ever had.
This will ensure that the state’s salmon industry remains world class, sustainable and will continue to support more than 5200 jobs, many in rural and regional Tasmania well into the future.
The Bill includes:
* The permanent and formal transfer of powers over day-to-day environmental regulation of the finfish farming industry from the Secretary of Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) to the independent Environment Protection Authority;
* A requirement that finfish leases that have not been actively used for 10 years, undergo a comprehensive environmental assessment before they are farmed again;
* Bringing together the environmental regulation of inland and marine finfish farming, including hatcheries, into a consolidated system under the Environment Protection Authority;
* The introduction of a new Environmental Licence to farm finfish under Tasmania’s Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA); and
* Powers for the declaration of finfish marine farming exclusion zones, or ``No Grow Zones’’ - the first of which will be in the greater Mercury Passage.
Tasmanians can be assured that the Hodgman Government has always supported the salmon industry and will continue to do so and this Bill ensures that.
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
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