Third petition launched in the fight to keep Fisheries officers

A THIRD petition has been launched as groups and organisations fight the proposed cuts to Victorian Fisheries Authority’s frontline workers.

The latest petition was started late last month by the Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) and has already garnered more than 9,775 signatures.

CAA executive chair Kelvin Glare said as part of the CAA’s advocacy work, the alliance was asked to start a petition in relation to the Fisheries officers.

“The idea of cutting the number of Fisheries offices in half, it’s just absolutely ludicrous,” he said.

“Although most anglers do the right thing, there are too many people out there who are poaching abalone, taking undersized fish, using gillnets and other illegal apparatuses.”

The petition is asking the Legislative Council to conduct an inquiry review into what the impact would be, looking into all the circumstances.

The Alan Labor Government partially backed down on its original plans for the cuts, and will cut 15 frontline Fisheries officers instead of the original 33 and close three offices across the metropolitan zone rather than the initial five.

This decision followed the previous petition, which included more than 21,000 signatures and was tabled in Parliament by Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Sam Groth.

Victorians will have until July 31 to sign the petition, available from parliament.vic.gov.au, with organisers hoping to reach about 15,000 signatures.