Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said local fisheries finally have the support and security they desperately need while out at sea, with the sharing of Vessel Monitoring Systems data.
Mr Bennett said the sharing of the data was long overdue with the State Labor Government swallowing their pride for safety.
“It’s devastating that it took tragedies like the capsizing of FV Cassandra and FV Dianne for the data sharing to be implemented,” he said.
“However I’m hopeful that lives will be saved with the VMS data now being made available to all appropriate authorities.”
In September 2019, Mr Bennett called on Fisheries Minister Mark Furner to apologise after the department defended their policy not to share vessel monitoring system data with police.
Mr Bennett said while he welcomed the policy backflip, an apology had still not been given.
“As a result of me calling for an overall of the VMS policy and for data to be shared, Minister Furner said I should have been sacked.
“Clearly the Minister was more concerned about covering up his government’s deceit and failings than saving lives at the time.
“However today, four years on, the Palaszczuk Government has taken a slice of humble pie and we’re now seeing the correct policy in action.
“It’s a huge win for the community, the industry and all the friends and families of our commercial fisheries.
“I thank everyone who never gave up on this fight to see the safety of our fisheries put first.”
01/07/21