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Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has vented his frustration over Labor’s salmon farming legislation directly to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an impromptu protest.
Whish-Wilson said he was on the way back from the parliamentary gym when he saw Albanese being interviewed by SBS World News in the courtyard outside the Senate chamber, as part of a series of breakfast interviews on the federal budget.
“Not good enough, pushing a species to the brink of extinction under the cover of a budget,” he called out from the Senate doors.
“You’re a pack of mongrels.”
Labor has passed legislation with the support of the Opposition in the House of Representatives to guarantee salmon farming can continue in Tasmania, amid concern over the industry’s environmental and ecological impacts.
The changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act were endorsed by the Labor caucus on Monday, despite private reservations from some MPs.
The bill is expected to go to the Senate today and is likely to pass before the election is called.
The Greens oppose the legislation, along with key environmental advocates, and have been raising the plight of the endangered Maugean skate fish species, linked to the dinosaur age, which is only found in Macquarie Harbour where salmon farming is taking place.
Whish-Wilson later said his reaction was impromptu after he saw Albanese doing interviews.
“The last thing the Prime Minister does at the end of this parliament is to sign the death warrant for a species,” he said.
“This is the lowest point for me in my 14 years in the place.”
He said the salmon farming industry is stripping oxygen from Macquarie Harbour, which is killing the Maugean skate.
Labor has provided $28 million towards improving water quality and environmental conditions in the harbour.
