Labor 's Artificial Reefs are Just That

The Bligh Government is running silent over its failure to deliver three artificial reefs promised for Moreton Bay, Member for Cleveland, Mark Robinson said today. 

The artificial reef program was  announced in December 2008  by the then Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara, as an offset to compensate recreational fishers for being locked out of the bay by the  government's controversial green zones.

The program promised $1 million to create three artificial reefs north of Moreton Island and east of Bribie Island, but to date, no work has been carried out.  

Dr Robinson said it was just another broken promise from a government that no longer cared about keeping its word.

"Bligh and Labor are all green-talk and no action", said the member for Cleveland.

"After locking up huge tracts of the bay from mum and dad fishers, the least the government could do was to provide some sort of offset to the people who use Moreton Bay.

"In typical Labor fashion, the minister was there for the ribbon cutting and the photo, and then cut and ran.

"The recreational fishing community took a big hit when the Moreton Bay Marine Park Plan was instituted, and they were told by the government that they would be duly compensated.

"The 'green-preference zones' as local anglers call them, locked away 70-80% of the best fishing areas .  

"It's deceitful to promise artificial reefs as compensation and not deliver them," he said.