Shark Nets
Ms Cate Faehrmann: My question is directed to the Minister for Agriculture. On Tuesday last week an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin became entangled in a shark net off Thirroul Beach and drowned. Over the weekend a giant leatherback turtle—a threatened species—was rescued in shark nets off Manly, while another turtle was reportedly found in nets off Dee Why. How can the Minister continue to justify the ongoing slaughter of threatened marine life when alternatives exist, like the 305 SMART drumlines in 19 coastal local government areas stretching from Tweed to Bega, the 37 tagged shark listening stations and the surveillance drone patrols at 50 beaches across the State?
The Hon. TARA MORIARTY (Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales): I thank Ms Cate Faehrmann for the question. I am aware of the incidents that occurred over the course of the last week and nobody wants those things to happen. We absolutely want to make sure that we are protecting marine life as much as possible, but it is also the responsibility of the Government to factor in human safety at our beaches. I have outlined a number of times in this House that we are trialling a range of technologies, some of which have been outlined in the question. We are trialling a number of those technologies over the course of this summer and autumn period. I will look at the results and at how each piece of technology worked over the course of the summer and make some assessments about what is working and what is not working.
Where there is technology that potentially could replace shark nets in the future, that is certainly where we would like to head. But it is very expensive technology and, if we invest in those things, we need to make sure that they provide the safety for swimmers that they are supposed to provide. In the meantime, the shark nets are in place at our beaches. I am looking forward to seeing the results of the technology that has been trialled over the summer and will make some assessments off the back of those results.
Ms CATE FAEHRMANN: I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate her answer? The Minister said that she is factoring in human safety. What is the evidence that she is relying upon when factoring in that human safety? What is the evidence behind it in terms of shark nets keeping humans safe?
The Hon. TARA MORIARTY (Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Western New South Wales): I thank the member for the supplementary question. The shark management program that is in place in New South Wales has been effective for decades. That is what I am relying upon. Again, I look forward to seeing the results of the technology that has been trialled. I hope that it is as effective. I will assess the results in a careful, considered way, just as the community would expect, and will see if there are other means of protecting people on our beaches that can be used based on the trials that we have been conducting over the summer.
Ms CATE FAEHRMANN: I take note of the answer given by the Hon. Tara Moriarty in relation to the dolphin that was trapped and died in shark nets off Thirroul Beach last week, as well as the discovery by the community of several endangered turtles that were trapped in shark nets off Manly and Dee Why beaches. It is extraordinary that this Government, despite extensive community support and consultation—including with the councils that have been impacted directly by, and have responsibility for, shark nets off their beaches—installed these killing machines, which are completely useless at keeping people safe when they are in the water. In the past decade the vast majority—around 90 per cent—of the animals that were caught in these nets are non‑target species. In fact, last summer the shark nets between Palm Beach and Cronulla did not catch a single target shark. There is a mounting toll of entangled wildlife that are drowning because of these shark nets, including threatened marine wildlife, and every death matters to the ongoing survival of their species.
Since 2013, 59 critically endangered grey nurse sharks have been caught in shark nets. Again, every death of an endangered species matters. I do not think we can get a more endangered species in the waters of New South Wales than grey nurse sharks. It is an absolute disgrace that shark nets are in place very close to where grey nurse sharks congregate, feed and breed—for example, Magic Point at Maroubra and Bondi—and the Government has not taken action. Many other working alternatives are in place—for example, SMART drumlines, drones and pingers, which ping to get rid of sharks when they come. These are all making a difference. What is not working are these outrageous death traps. Thousands of threatened species are being caught and killed for nothing under the guise that shark nets make people safe.