Federal Labor will push through legislation next week which could derail a legal battle over salmon farming's impact on an endangered ray and safeguard the industry's future in Tasmania.
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00:00It's the issue the federal government is desperate to neutralise.
00:07But while its latest move might win over those on the west coast, in the state's capital,
00:14opposition to salmon farming only seems to be growing.
00:17The Greens are going to stand with local communities and we're going to fight this on the beaches
00:22and we're going to go to Canberra next week and we will fight this every step of the way
00:26in the parliament.
00:29As pieces of salmon and fish oil washed up on beaches in the state's south east over
00:34the past few weeks, the Albanese government was nowhere to be found.
00:39Now it's jumped into action, much to the displeasure of environmentalists.
00:44Next week in Canberra the Prime Minister is going to rush through legislation to protect
00:49this industry and to protect his corporate mates in the salmon industry.
00:52Those changes were flagged last month.
00:55It's still unclear exactly what they'll involve, but there will be amendments to what the government
01:00calls the Flawed Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
01:06Green groups fear that could impact a potential review under the act into whether salmon farming
01:11can continue in the harbour at current levels.
01:14It's extremely concerning that for once, when the national nature law appears to be doing
01:20what it's supposed to do, that they are going to rip it up.
01:23The salmon workers in Tasmania deserve certainty and it's absolutely critical that the federal
01:29parliament deliver that.
01:30They've been waiting too long.
01:32But it will need bipartisan support to get it through the Senate.
01:37Of course we want to support it, but the Prime Minister's making it very hard given he's
01:40not letting us see the bill, he hasn't returned our calls, his ministers aren't engaging with
01:45us, so we don't know what it is we're being asked to support.
01:48We'll see the legislation next week, as we committed to introduce, we'll be introducing
01:54it and we expect it to be carried.
01:56Salmon Tasmania declined to comment.