If Thomson votes with the coalition will we see Pyne and Abbott run for the exits????

It was wrong to allow the director of a super trawler operator to participate in fishing quota deliberations despite a declared conflict of interest, the Commonwealth ombudsman says.
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has admitted its advisory committee allowed Seafish Tasmania director Gerry Geen to participate in discussions.Seafish Tasmania is the operator of the controversial super-trawler Abel Tasman.
Laws that would see the trawler slapped with a two-year ban passed the lower house of federal parliament on Thursday, after Environment Minister Tony Burke told parliament "serious" questions had been raised about processes at AFMA.

In a letter addressed to Independent MP Andrew Wilkie yesterday, senior assistant Ombudsman Rodney Lee Walsh said Mr Geen had declared a conflict of interest in the matters to be deliberated by the South East Management Advisory Committee at a February meeting.
Although the committee did not seek a final position from Mr Geen about the total allowable catch for jack mackerel, he "was allowed to remain in the meeting and to participate in deliberations".
"By allowing Mr Geen to remain in the meeting while the total allowable catch matter was deliberated, after noting his conflict of interest as the holder of statutory fishing rights for the fishery, the committee chairperson failed to follow the process set out [in the act]."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/fish-authority-admits-it-broke-the-rules-20120915-25ym2.html#ixzz26VYpuj7n

Supertrawlers will be permanently banned from Australian waters, the federal government announced on Wednesday.

The move follows the temporary bans on supertrawlers imposed by the Labor government two years ago and re-endorsed by Tony Abbott in March. The first ban expired in November and the second was up for review in April.

The parliamentary secretary for agriculture, Richard Colbeck, said the government would stop vessels longer than 130m from fishing in Australian waters.

This definition of supertrawler does not take into account the processing capacity of a vessel, which proponents of the ban say is just as critical as the size of the vessel.

“This government will introduce regulations under the Fisheries Management Act to give effect to this decision,” Colbeck said in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon. “This decision will have policy effect immediately.”

Colbeck said the government “has consulted widely and accepts the legitimate concerns of many in the community, including those involved in recreational and commercial fishing”.

“The government is determined that Australian fisheries management remain among the best in the world,” the statement said.

Labor banned supertrawlers, or large freezer-factory vessels, after outcry from the public. The Stop the Supertrawler petition has nearly 63,000 signatures.

“Supertrawlers are large freezer-factory fishing trawlers that threaten our unique marine life and fisheries, and the recreational fishing, commercial fishing and tourism industries that rely on these,” the petition said.

“Supertrawlers are part of a global problem that has led to the devastation of the world’s fisheries, marine life and local livelihoods, and we don’t want that kind of fishing in Australia.”

Abbott addressed the House of Representatives in March, saying: “The supertrawler was banned from Australian waters … it was banned with the support of members on this side of the house. It was banned. It will stay banned.”

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/24/supertrawlers-to-be-banned-permanently-from-australian-waters

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Errr.... I remember when... well I don't... But I have a line of articles here and can prove that looking at the "historical" record of the CONservatives led by his majesty Turdy the First (see info at top), the CONservatives opposed the ban on this big ship and should one study the new legislation by the CONservatives, it does not hold any credibility... 130 metres is 30 metres longer than a soccer field (or about two and a half Olympic swimming pool in length — to use the official Olympic swimming pool length — against weight measurements which are done in double-decker buses or elephants) and even under that length one can pack a huge amount of fish catching, processing and factory facilities MUCH MUCH larger than inside the banned supertrawler... It is a legislation with a big hole in its fish net...

See toon at top... At the time of the ban, Abbott argued that the ban on super-trawlers would have an effect on amateur fishermen...

The federal government’s ban on supertrawlers is inadequate because it defines ships only by size and not by industrial fishing capacity, environmental and recreational fishing groups have said.

The parliamentary secretary for agriculture, Richard Colbeck, released a statement on Christmas Eve saying supertrawlers would be permanently banned from Australian waters. The ban defined a supertrawler as a vessel longer than 130 metres.

Environmental and fishing groups making up the Stop the Trawler Alliance have criticised the decision because it allows smaller vessels with large industrial fishing capacity to fish in restricted areas.

The co-ordinator of the alliance, Rebecca Hubbard, said: “There is a fleet of supertrawlers sitting on Australia’s doorstep that are shorter than 130m that could have an equally devastating impact on our marine life, our fisheries and our local fishing. What is Senator Colbeck going to do to stop these industrial freezer trawlers destroying our marine environment and recreational fisheries?”

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/26/supertrawler-ban-is-flawed-say-environmental-and-fishing-groups