“It doesn’t matter what we say, they’ve made their decision already.”
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The tale of a Lake Illawarra fisherman has been told inside the walls of NSW Parliament, as the fight against state government changes to the commercial fishing industry continues.
Paul Heron, from Dapto, will tell his story to anyone who’ll listen – his job means that much to him.
The 38-year-old, who has fished Lake Illawarra for 20 years, shared his fears for the future in the Mercury earlier this week. On Wednesday, Mr Heron was one of eight commercial fishing representatives who met with MPs at Parliament House.
Members of the Labor Party, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Christian Democrats and the Greens were on hand to hear the stories of heartbreak emerging from within the industry.
No Liberal or Nationals MPs attended.
“That’s pathetic to me. They’ve pretty much lost every single fisherman’s vote I think,” Mr Heron said.
“You’d think one of them could have made the time of day to walk in and at least listen to a couple of the stories.
“It was piss weak.”
Reform of the commercial fishing industry means Mr Heron will need to buy more shares to keep his business afloat – or get a one-off $20,000 payment to sell it.
The Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program will see the introduction of minimum shareholding, meaning fishers must hold a certain number of shares to be endorsed to fish.
At the moment, Mr Heron has 125 shares – across multiple fishing categories – that allow him to work all year.
Without taking out a loan to buy more shares, he would only be able to work during 92 24-hour periods from July 2017. It would cost him about $200,000 to operate as he currently does.
Mr Heron addressed the MPs at Macquarie Street, telling them he supported his family by fishing on the lake.
During Upper House question time on Wednesday, Labor’s primary industries spokesman Mick Veitch asked why the government couldn’t “enter into constructive dialogue with the commercial fishers”.
In response, Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water Niall Blair said the government was “working through the issues” raised by the industry. Mr Heron will meet with Shellharbour MP Anna Watson on Monday.