Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced plans to introduce legislation safeguarding Tasmanian salmon farming jobs as soon as possible.
During a visit to Devonport on Saturday, the Prime Minister confirmed the legislation would be introduced in federal parliament’s next sitting.
The move, welcomed by industry leaders, will give confidence to workers who have faced uncertainty for nearly three years.
Salmon Tasmania CEO Luke Martin expressed hope for swift implementation within “the next few weeks or the next couple of months”.
“We’ve got a town in Strahan that’s got 60 kids going to local school, over half of them come from salmon families,” he said.
“Do the math and you know, there’s no salmon industries, there’s no school in that community. So we want certainty. We want an outcome.”
While in Tasmania, Albanese announced $2.9 million in additional funding for the Maugean skate captive breeding program at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).
He also reaffirmed his support for the state’s salmon industry and the jobs it provides.
“This is the best salmon in the world and we want Australians to have access to it and we want the world to have access to it as well,” Albanese said.
