Ballina Information Blog

Ballina MP Don Page has called on the NSW Government to provide support to assist the Ballina community cope with the impact of the massive fish kill and the imminent closure of the lower Richmond River to any fishing activities over the next six months or more.

Mr Page said the fish kill is disastrous environmentally and the river closure will have significant flow-on affects for professional fishers, recreational fishers, bait shops, tourism operators and the general business community.

“Unfortunately the professional fishers will not be able to access low-interest loans under the Natural Disaster Relief Scheme because they are harvesters and not primary producers. This is an unfair distribution to draw given fishers provide food for human consumption just like primary producers,” he said.

“I believe the eligibility criteria should be amended to enable professional fishers, who will lose their income when the river is closed, to access low-interest loans in the same way primary producers can under the Natural Disaster Relief Scheme.

“In any event, it seems the criteria established to access low-interest loans is so difficult to meet, few people will even apply.

“I call on the State Government to have a fresh look at the criteria they have established and the type of assistance they provide to people who need short-term support following a major flood, like this one.

“Fishers should be treated similarly to other primary producers. Those involved in food production and harvesting should be able to access financial support to enable them to remain viable and to continue their operations as soon as possible after a natural disaster like this latest flood event.”

Mr Page said now that the professional fishers are in a ‘share management’ arrangement with the State Government, if the State Government closes the river, the fishers will likely seek compensation in any event.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Ballina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.