Mrs HICKEY - 2000-05-16
My question relates to something that also might be a bit smelly. The construction of a jellyfish processing plant is now underway at King Ash Bay near Borroloola. The plant is being constructed on land under a special purpose lease to the local fishing club. No environmental impact studies or planning approvals have been undertaken; no development application notices have been posted.
Why haven’t the normal government approvals and environmental safe guards been a part of this development?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am not directly responsible for development on land with special purpose leases etc However, let me say that this is a marked turn around from the member for Barkly who some months ago in the media was openly and overtly supporting this so-called jellyfish processing plant. In fact, the so-called jellyfish processing plant extends to a shade cloth covered structure where jellyfish will be stored until such times as they are transported to Darwin. The only processing that will take place, so to speak, at or near Borroloola is the salting of those jellyfish to reduce their volume by something like 90%.
In relation to the improvements that I had anything to do with, last year or the year before I established a committee comprised of experts from my department, with myself chairing it, the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory, and the Northern Territory Fishing Industry Council to look at the issue of developmental licences. One of the industries, or one of the potential link fishing industries in the Northern Territory that had not been utilised or had not been exploited in the past, was the tens of thousands of tonnes of jellyfish that are available.
My department issued to the David Glory Group from Melbourne a development licence. It is a licence you either use or lose, unlike some other licences that have been issued in the past where the licensees attached a value to them and then proceeded not to fish. This is a licence that requires the licensee to fish.
The particular principal of that company, Benjamin Ding, has spent a substantial amount of money in Darwin having 2 vessels purposely constructed for it. Not only that, Parks and Wildlife Australia and the environment minister, Robert Hill, is required to issue an export licence for the said jellyfish. He has issued that licence under fairly stringent conditions, not the least of which is the fishing methods involved. The fishing methods are limited to scoop net only. This is unlike other parts of the world, and it was referred to on ABC Radio the other day, where, for example, off the Miami coast they have used sea nets to round up the jellyfish and then take them. In the case of the Northern Territory the use of sea nets for such purpose will not be permitted.
I have staff who will be constantly monitoring the operations. But in relation to any environmental effects from the processing, it is merely salt water running out of the jellyfish back into the salt water. It is very difficult. We, in fact, sent the proponents to the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment in relation to a water discharge licence, and they informed the proponents that the water discharge licence is not required. There is no chemical use of water. I mean, they are not doing any processing there. It is merely the salting down of the jelly fish, and the subsequent ...
Mrs Hickey: What about the effects on the river water?
Mr PALMER: Beg pardon?
Mrs Hickey: What about turtles?
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PALMER: I hear the former Opposition Leader ask: ‘What about turtles?’. Well, what about turtles? There is absolutely no indication that the taking of a few jellyfish will impact upon the turtle stocks.
Mr Toyne: A few jellyfish? How many tonnes are they taking?
Mr PALMER: Well, when I say a ‘few’ jellyfish, you have to know the total stock. How many millions of tonnes of jellyfish do we have out there? Jack does a fair impersonation of a jellyfish, perhaps we could go and get him to survey the said jellyfish, the said medusoids.
Mr Ah Kit: You don’t have black jellyfish.
A member interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PALMER: As a matter of fact, look at him, he has probably had a few feeds of jellyfish in his time.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please get on with the answer.
Mr PALMER: There is no indication that the taking of a few jellyfish in terms of the total stock will impact upon turtle numbers. We believe turtle numbers around the Northern Territory coast are particularly healthy. Dr Grahame Webb has indeed done an enormous amount of work privately in relation to turtles, and his work with the hawksbill turtle is something to be seen. It is a really excellent program.
As I said, I will have Fisheries officers on board the boats down at Borroloola monitoring the program, and if we see emaciated turtles as a result of taking these jellyfish, we will indeed do something about it. The licence entitles the licensee to take jellyfish from the entire Northern Territory coast, and one would think that the impact of taking a few jellyfish out of the confines of the McArthur River on turtles would be almost negligible.
Why haven’t the normal government approvals and environmental safe guards been a part of this development?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am not directly responsible for development on land with special purpose leases etc However, let me say that this is a marked turn around from the member for Barkly who some months ago in the media was openly and overtly supporting this so-called jellyfish processing plant. In fact, the so-called jellyfish processing plant extends to a shade cloth covered structure where jellyfish will be stored until such times as they are transported to Darwin. The only processing that will take place, so to speak, at or near Borroloola is the salting of those jellyfish to reduce their volume by something like 90%.
In relation to the improvements that I had anything to do with, last year or the year before I established a committee comprised of experts from my department, with myself chairing it, the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory, and the Northern Territory Fishing Industry Council to look at the issue of developmental licences. One of the industries, or one of the potential link fishing industries in the Northern Territory that had not been utilised or had not been exploited in the past, was the tens of thousands of tonnes of jellyfish that are available.
My department issued to the David Glory Group from Melbourne a development licence. It is a licence you either use or lose, unlike some other licences that have been issued in the past where the licensees attached a value to them and then proceeded not to fish. This is a licence that requires the licensee to fish.
The particular principal of that company, Benjamin Ding, has spent a substantial amount of money in Darwin having 2 vessels purposely constructed for it. Not only that, Parks and Wildlife Australia and the environment minister, Robert Hill, is required to issue an export licence for the said jellyfish. He has issued that licence under fairly stringent conditions, not the least of which is the fishing methods involved. The fishing methods are limited to scoop net only. This is unlike other parts of the world, and it was referred to on ABC Radio the other day, where, for example, off the Miami coast they have used sea nets to round up the jellyfish and then take them. In the case of the Northern Territory the use of sea nets for such purpose will not be permitted.
I have staff who will be constantly monitoring the operations. But in relation to any environmental effects from the processing, it is merely salt water running out of the jellyfish back into the salt water. It is very difficult. We, in fact, sent the proponents to the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment in relation to a water discharge licence, and they informed the proponents that the water discharge licence is not required. There is no chemical use of water. I mean, they are not doing any processing there. It is merely the salting down of the jelly fish, and the subsequent ...
Mrs Hickey: What about the effects on the river water?
Mr PALMER: Beg pardon?
Mrs Hickey: What about turtles?
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PALMER: I hear the former Opposition Leader ask: ‘What about turtles?’. Well, what about turtles? There is absolutely no indication that the taking of a few jellyfish will impact upon the turtle stocks.
Mr Toyne: A few jellyfish? How many tonnes are they taking?
Mr PALMER: Well, when I say a ‘few’ jellyfish, you have to know the total stock. How many millions of tonnes of jellyfish do we have out there? Jack does a fair impersonation of a jellyfish, perhaps we could go and get him to survey the said jellyfish, the said medusoids.
Mr Ah Kit: You don’t have black jellyfish.
A member interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr PALMER: As a matter of fact, look at him, he has probably had a few feeds of jellyfish in his time.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please get on with the answer.
Mr PALMER: There is no indication that the taking of a few jellyfish in terms of the total stock will impact upon turtle numbers. We believe turtle numbers around the Northern Territory coast are particularly healthy. Dr Grahame Webb has indeed done an enormous amount of work privately in relation to turtles, and his work with the hawksbill turtle is something to be seen. It is a really excellent program.
As I said, I will have Fisheries officers on board the boats down at Borroloola monitoring the program, and if we see emaciated turtles as a result of taking these jellyfish, we will indeed do something about it. The licence entitles the licensee to take jellyfish from the entire Northern Territory coast, and one would think that the impact of taking a few jellyfish out of the confines of the McArthur River on turtles would be almost negligible.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016