RECENTLY I read with interest the approval of an abalone disallowance motion by the Legislative Council and as a result the reinstatement of the 10 fish (abalone) per person bag limit for those who purchase a recreational licence.
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This decision was strongly debated by the Legislative Council and was treated as a big win for "the little guys". How did things get to this point?
Recreational fishers, as a growing movement, have had enough of being the sacrificial lamb when it comes to the sustainability blame game and many of us are now more politically engaged than ever.
The super-trawler debate was perhaps the first time fishers proved that, if necessary, we would vote against our own political teams en masse if we had to in order to highlight poor political decisions.
A decision was made that favoured foreign-owned industrialised fishing over our Tasmanian way of life that would have contributed very little to our state financially at the potential expense of our tuna fishery and bait stocks.
At the time and following the federal election our ongoing displays of mass unity even forced Senator Abetz to acknowledge recreational fishers largely contributed to the loss of Tasmanian-based federal seats at the ballot box.
With Minister Guy Barnett soon to make decisions on proposed recreational bag limit cuts for species such as calamari, I encourage our politicians to educate themselves on all aspects of our state and Commonwealth fisheries and understand they are a shared resource that belong to the people of Tasmania, first and foremost.
Fishing is a large part of the Tasmanian way of life and should not be managed as a cash cow for a select few to exploit and diminish at our expense.
Recreational fishers harvest abalone in kilos, the commercial sector harvest in tonnes, it is that simple.
Both sectors can co-exist, in fact both are very much needed within our society, but that said it is clear recreational fishers have simply had enough of being a scapegoat for the past mismanagement of our fisheries.
With an estimated 93,000 recreational fishers in Tasmania contributing 93 million dollars a year to our economy on items such as boats, fuel, bait accommodation etc, (2018 figures), Tasmanian fishers deserve more respect and acknowledgment of our collective worth from our elected leaders.
All we ask is they work harder to ensure both sectors are managed sustainably and most importantly, fairly.
Todd Lambert, Devon Hills.
'MEDISCARE ALL OVER AGAIN'
AGAIN, I need to state the facts to address Member for Lyons Brian Mitchell's claims (The Examiner, November 16).
The bill introduced last year was to formalise the four locations where trials of the cashless debit card had been running, as well as allowing social security recipients who were already income management participants to transfer from the basics card to the cashless debit card where it was in use in the Northern Territory and Cape York.
There was no consideration of forcing all age pensioners to use the cashless debit card under in this bill.
As advised in my earlier letter, and confirmed by Department of Social Services officials at Estimates, the government has never received or requested advice on forcing aged pensioners to the cashless debit card.
I will not apologise to Tasmanians for pointing out the truth to rebut Mr Mitchell's fake news campaign, or for reminding your readers that the Morrison government will never force aged pensioners onto the cashless debit card.
As Liberals, we know senior Australians have worked hard their whole lives to build the country we all enjoy today.
This is Mediscare all over again, and Tasmanians deserve the facts, not fear mongering.
Senator Wendy Askew, Liberal Senator for Tasmania.
TAFE VITAL FOR CRAFTING SKILLS
I HAVE studied craft and design education in Canada, the United States, Britain, Germany, and Sweden.
These countries' advanced systems of vocational training all depend on the availability of high-quality, public, educational institutions.
Secure public education is vital for craft and production industries, and for most other areas of technical and vocational education.
No other option is credible.
Virginia Wright, Launceston.
READ MORE: Man escapes hotel quarantine in Launceston
DECOR DOES US PROUD
LAUNCESTON'S restaurants must feel proud to have been recognised as a City of Gastronomy.
Equally proud must be the food producers, the farmers producing meat and vegetables as well as our seafood industries.
To the above I would like to add a third group, those responsible for furnishing our restaurants.
Have you noticed the replacement of plastic and chrome furniture with furniture featuring our native timbers?
Particularly Tasmanian oak, now being recognised for the durable and attractive timber that it is.
Take time on the next occasion you dine out to note and admire the restaurant's decor and let the owner know if you are impressed.
Dick James, Launceston.
REDACTED NEIGHBOURLY LOVE
WHILE Mr Morrison and Mr Joyce nonchalantly gaze upon our neighbours drowning and sense the silence of death they can proudly hold their hands upon their hearts and claim they acted in "Australia's best interests" and this was the "Australian way".
Although being a Christian country, the bit about "love thy neighbour" seems to have been conveniently redacted.