Tassie fishers call for farm-style aid

AUSTRALIA’S peak seafood bodies are ramping up calls for drought assistance payments for farmers to be extended to fishers in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

As the abalone and rock lobster industries reel from the lucrative Chinese market effectively shutting down, seafood industry representatives have been in talks with the Federal Government to extend the Farm Household Allowance payment to wild catch fishers. About 6650 farmers across Australia, including 80 in Tasmania, currently claim the disaster or drought assistance payment, which is equivalent to Newstart or up to $600 a fortnight.

The seafood industry has been calling for about a year for the payment to be extended to wild catch fishers as they also suffer the impacts of drought and bushfires.

But talks have ramped up since January 24 when the coronavirus outbreak effectively shut down the Chinese market overnight.

“We have a bunch of wild catch fishers plus their deckhands with no cash flow,” Tasmanian Seafood Industry Council chief executive Julian Harrington said.

“They can’t pay their bills, they can’t pay school feels.

“When farmers have drought, they get the payment, but fishers needing assistance don’t.

“Some [fishers] are at breaking point now, some will be at breaking point in the next few weeks,” he said.

Seafood Industry Australia chief executive Jane Lovell said every other primary producer but wild catch fishers was eligible for the payment.

“We don’t want favouritism, we just want equity,” Ms Lovell said.

“If they can’t give us that [the Farm Household Allowance], give us something like that.”

She said there had also been impacts on Australia’s prawn, crab and eel fishers, as well as coral trout, abalone and rock lobster, as they compete with other international fisheries impacted by the Chinese market closing down.

Seafood Industry Australia has been contacted by businesses that have lost $1 million already, while others have had job losses of 20 to 35 people.

The Mercury understands Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office is aware of the calls for farmers’ allowance to be extended to wild catch fishers.

Assistant Minister for Fisheries Jonathon Duniam said: “We are working closely with industry on a number of ways we can support them, and we will continue to do so as we deal with these challenges.”

Senator Duniam and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham are also working to provide industry with advice on access opportunities and diversification, which includes giving industry a direct point of contact within Austrade to help them access other markets.

“These important actions will complement the actions taken by state governments such as rock lobster quotas being rolled over into next year,” he said.

WE HAVE A BUNCH OF WILD CATCH FISHERS PLUS THEIR DECKHANDS WITH NO CASH FLOW JULIAN HARRINGTON