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The New South Wales government has made another step back, abandoning a proposed ban on fishing at 25 new marine park sites between Newcastle and Wollongong.
Just weeks after the announcement by the government of the plan to create water parks, the Minister of Primary Industries, Niall Blair, back on Monday on the most controversial aspect of the plan.
Despite the proposed public consultation, Blair said the government would abandon the plan to ban fishing in new marine parks.
"The fishermen's proposed lockout on the 25 sites is absolutely unacceptable," the minister told reporters in Sydney.
The plan to ban fishing in new marine parks has been the subject of criticism and a targeted campaign by the Fighters, Fishermen and Farmers Party.
The minor party threatened to run to all coastal seats in the March elections and campaign on fishing bans if the government did not yield to the plan.
But Mr Blair denied that it was a backflip because the plan was still waiting for public comment.
"This is not a backflip, the final decision has not yet been made," Blair said.
But NSW Council for Nature Conservation spokeswoman Daisy Barham said the government had taken a step back by abandoning the plan before the consultation process ended.
"The consultation process is still ongoing and they have already announced a backflip before giving the residents of Sydney and NSW the chance to express themselves," Barham told reporters.
"It's like having a national park that allows hunting."
Green MP Justin Field said the backflip was proof that the government was ready to focus on special interests rather than listening to the community, the majority of which supported fishing lockouts.
"A majority of community supports protecting our marine environment and our shoreline and this proposed protected area network, including marine sanctuaries, would help provide healthy oceans and fish for the future," he said. Mr. Field in a statement.
Field said the government has bent on political, industrial and media interests that have led a concerted campaign that undermines democracy.
"Moving away from the maritime network plan even before the consultation process is successful is a massive violation of the community's trust," he said.
The government's decision to reconsider the fishing lockouts came a few months after reversing its controversial stadium policy and in the same direction as the reversal of the Greyhound banning policy, the consolidation of councils and emergency samples.
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