Australia: Shine Lawyers Takes on Government in Gladstone Dredging Fight

Shine Lawyers will this morning lodge legal proceedings against the State Government arguing the Gladstone Ports Corporation has failed to comply with conditions set by the State Government, and must now provide financial compensation to the Gladstone fishing industry.

In a first for Queensland the proceedings will seek declarations the Queensland Government and Gladstone Ports Corporation failed to follow the directions of its own Co-ordinator General by not compensating businesses affected by the $70 billion port development.

Shine Lawyers Partner Rebecca Jancauskas said the time for decisions by the committee was over, the Gladstone fishing industry needed action to safeguard their livelihood.

“The Government’s own environmental impact study flagged the fishing industry would be adversely affected,” said Ms Jancauskas.

“This Government’s Co-ordinator General directed the fishermen should be compensated. So then why has this not happened?”

“We’ve seen posturing, hand-wringing, an inconclusive scientific report and no action from the State Government – the only action being taken is our proceedings to protect the fishermen.”

State food protection legislation prescribes criminal punishment if they harvest fish that might be diseased. Despite this, Gladstone Port Corporation insists they should continue to trawl the harbour.

“It is like playing Russian roulette with our lives and the lives of consumers that eat our catch. It is madness,” said Trevor Falzon the lead applicant in the proceedings.

“It’s now at the point where scores of businesses have closed, and those who remain cannot sell the fish caught because of the unhealthy state of their catch.”

Shine Lawyers met with the Gladstone fishing industry in December 2011 to discuss the potential for compensation and consult with local clients on the best way to take the action forward.

Communications were issued to Premier Anna Bligh, her Ministers and the Gladstone Port Corporation asking for them to honour the Co-ordinators directive. These have been ignored. Now the Fishermen have been forced to litigate.

At a time when the election has been called and job creation is high on the agenda of all Queensland voters the voices of workers in Queensland’s seafood industry about to lose their livelihoods are being drowned in silence from the Labour Government.

Ms Jancauskas said the development has had a clear impact not only on the local industry but on the region as a whole.

“Not only are local fishermen suffering, but so are hundreds of other businesses relying on healthy marine life for sustainable business,” she said.

“The people of Gladstone expect this Government to act on concerns of the fishing industry for the greater economic development of the region.

“There’s the marine industry unable to sell boats, seafood suppliers without any seafood and food retailers who can’t employ locals because of lack of business.

“The Coordinator General’s Report on the Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project set mandatory obligations for compensation where the fishing industry suffered commercial losses due to dredging operations in the harbour.

“It is simply unconscionable for businesses to be left high and dry like this.”

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Dredging Today Staff, January 30, 2012; Image: westernbasinportdevelopment