I am writing to you as a proud Territorian to respectfully urge you to honour the important 2024 election commitments you made to protect our Territory coasts.
Our coasts are the heart of our Top End lifestyle. They contribute $2billion to the NT economy each year, supporting more than 6,000 jobs. But their health is under threat. Our fishing in places like Darwin Harbour is not as good as it used to be. Industrial development is expanding along the coast and marine heatwaves are taking a toll on our reefs.
The health of our coasts is important to me. Therefore, I urge you to act swiftly and put your election promises into action. These include:
🔹 Phase out destructive gillnet fishing: Every day that gillnets are in our waters, they pose a serious risk to marine wildlife, including dugongs, turtles, dolphins, and sawfish. Marine life needs urgent action, especially for the two areas identified to be of critical importance to threatened species; Van Diemen Gulf and the Southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria. Stopping gillnets is also a significant step towards protecting our recreational and tourism fishing future. Â
🔹 Keep Rivers Flowing: Ensuring no dams are built on our flowing rivers. The continued protection of freshwater ecosystems is essential for the health of marine habitats like seagrass meadows and the species that live there, many important to recreational, tourism and commercial fishing.
🔹 Parks and Rangers: Investing in rangers to maintain our parks, control pests, and promote native flora and fauna, ensuring these natural areas continue to thrive and be a powerful drawcard for tourists from around Australia and the world.
🔹 Extend Limmen Bight Marine Park: Expanding the NT Limmen Bight Marine Park to align with the Commonwealth Marine Park, offering greater protection to the cultural, conservation and fishing lifestyle values of this unique region, which is home to extensive seagrass meadows and many dugong.
🔹 Science-based Marine Parks: the commitment to develop marine parks based on science, and done in consultation with stakeholders and Traditional Owners, will not only be great for conservation, but will provide benefit to local communities and support sustainable tourism and fishing.
Healthy coasts and rivers are central to our Top End way of life, our economic success and our shared futures. Delivering on your promises will demonstrate strong leadership and a dedication to safeguard the health of our coasts, ensuring our enviable outdoor lifestyle can continue into the future.
I ask that you ensure these commitments to our Top End coasts are fully delivered.Â