REPORT ON PROCEEDINGS BEFORE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ACCESS RESTRICTIONS TO
PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERWAYS
UNCORRECTED TRANSCRIPT
Macquarie Room, Parliament House, Sydney
Friday 3 July 2026
The Committee met at 9:15.
| Role | Name(s) |
| Present | The Hon. Mark Banasiak (Chair) The Hon. Mark Buttigieg Ms Sue Higginson The Hon. Rachel Merton |
| Present via videoconference | The Hon. Scott Barrett |
The CHAIR: Welcome to this hearing of the Committee’s inquiry into access restrictions to public lands and waterways. I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the lands on which we are meeting today. I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of New South Wales. I also acknowledge and pay my respects to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today. My name is Mark Banasiak. I am the Chair of the Committee.
I ask everyone in the room to please turn their mobile phones to silent. Parliamentary privilege applies to witnesses in relation to the evidence they give today. However, it does not apply to what witnesses say outside of the hearing. I urge witnesses to be careful about making comments to the media or to others after completing their evidence. In addition, the Legislative Council has adopted rules to provide procedural fairness for inquiry participants. I encourage Committee members and witnesses to be mindful of those procedures.
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ACCESS RESTRICTIONS TO PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERWAYS
Friday 3 July 2026 Legislative Council Page 14
The Hon. BOB BALDWIN, Independent Chair, Australian Fishing Trade Association, sworn and examined
Mr GREG SEETO, President, Australian Fishing Trade Association, sworn and examined
The CHAIR: I welcome our next set of witnesses. Does anyone want to make a short opening statement before we go to questions?
BOB BALDWIN: Chair and honourable members of the Committee, we thank you for the opportunity to appear today. I appear as the independent chair of the Australian Fishing Trade Association. Alongside me is our president, Greg Seeto from Daiwa. AFTA is the national peak body that represents the national recreational fishing industry, from manufacturers and wholesalers through to retailers and charter operators. Through that network we are connected to the millions of Australians who participate in recreational fishing. Recreational fishing is not a niche activity; it’s a mainstream Australian pastime. In New South Wales alone around one million people fish each year. They generate 10 million fishing days annually, and they contribute over $4 billion to the economy in New South Wales and nearly 34,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Importantly, almost half of that economic activity occurs in regional New South Wales, where small businesses and communities are directly dependent on participation in fishing.
The central issue we want to raise today is how access is actually being defined. From AFTA’s perspective, this position is very clear. Access must mean the ability to fish, not simply the ability to be present near water. If the waterways are open only to non-extractive activities, then for the recreational fishing community that is not access; it’s a restriction. We are also seeing increasing pressure on practical access, not just regulatory access. The cumulative impact of loss of shore access, vehicle restrictions, reduced boat launching infrastructure, limited safe entry points and inadequate disability access is steadily reducing participation, particularly in regional areas. That is rarely caused by a single decision; it is caused by a series of small restrictions that collectively have a large impact.
There is also an important human dimension that must not be overlooked. Recreational fishing delivers significant mental health and wellbeing benefits. Research supported by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has shown that fishing contributes to reduced stress, improved mental health, and stronger family and social connection. As identified in Australian research:
Participants indicated there were several social, physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits … with a particular emphasis on relaxation and stress relief.
In a modern policy context, that positions recreational fishing as a practical, low-cost, preventative health activity particularly valuable in regional communities. In closing, this inquiry presents an important opportunity to reinforce that access must be meaningful, participation must be maintained, and decisions must recognise both economic and social impacts. When access is reduced, the consequences are not theoretical; they are felt directly by small businesses, regional towns and everyday Australians who simply want to go fishing. AFTA looks forward to working constructively with the Committee. I thank the Committee members for your consideration.
The Hon. RACHEL MERTON: Thank you all for being here. It means a lot to us. If I could touch on some of the comments in the opening remarks, the Hon. Bob Baldwin, you spoke about the economic activity and return of fishing. Could you outline that a little bit more for us?
BOB BALDWIN: The economic numbers that we quote are from a study published as the National Recreational Fishing Survey. It was funded by the Australian Government, conducted and delivered by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, ABARES and the University of Canberra. It is the most authoritative dataset in Australia to rely upon when making decisions. However, I must point out that data was collected in 2015-16 and published in 2019, so that data is a decade old. We have seen phenomenal growth. I’ll ask my president to reflect on that as a person who directly trades in fishing equipment, with COVID et cetera.
The reality is participation drives economic activity. When access fails, participation falls and the economic impact flows on immediately—not down the track but immediately. Mr Seeto, do you want to comment on the effects of COVID?
GREG SEETO: The data being six years old at least—as an industry we saw what we would have called a greater than or equal to 20 per cent increase in participation as a direct result of COVID. Fishing was one of the activities that was still accessible during the COVID period. As a result of that, in the last period of time, particularly amongst youth, we’ve seen a real spike in participation.
BOB BALDWIN: I just want to add one thing on youth participation. A lot of that has been driven by the State Government of New South Wales—various governments, but the State Government. We are now in phase six of our school-based Let’s Go Fishing program, which is funded by grants from the licence fees of recreational fishers and driven by AFTA in conjunction with the Marine Teachers Association as an elective subject for senior schools. There are professionally produced, educationally focused videos available for young people. In addition to that, this current State Government has introduced the Young Fishers Program, which is putting resources into schools to encourage participation and to educate young people. That is a value plus for our industry.
The Hon. RACHEL MERTON: That’s important to note. The Hon. Bob Baldwin, in terms of access arrangements, we heard earlier about Crown land access. I wonder what your experience might be in that space.
BOB BALDWIN: I will defer to my president, Greg Seeto.
GREG SEETO: I can give you one current example. I think a lot of the discussion has been around access in regional areas. For recreational fishing, this also applies to coastal as well. There’s a current situation in Mona Vale, in the Bongin Bongin Bay area. There’s a local swim group who have put forward a submission to maintain access for swimmers, paddle boarders, surfers and for diving. They cite community physical and mental wellbeing as part of their submission. But they specifically call out the prevention of fishing and spear fishing. I refer back to Mr Baldwin’s previous comments that for recreational fishing, access is only access if we have the ability to fish in those areas.
The Hon. RACHEL MERTON: I think both of you have drawn on the mental health benefits, and we’ve heard more about that. Was there anything more specific or any research or findings in that space that you might want to share with us?
BOB BALDWIN: If I may contribute to that, the National Recreational Fishing Survey, which was funded by the Australian Government and delivered by FRDC, ABARES and the University of Canberra, confirmed that recreational fishing contributes to personal wellbeing, social connection and physical activity, all critically Important things in our society. In addition—and this is critical—it reports McManus et al in 2011 found that :
“participants indicated that there were several social, physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits”,
particularly emphasising relaxation and stress release.
While there’s always work to do in these things, it’s good when you’ve got published researchers stating the mental health benefits and hearing others today in other allied industries all quote the same thing: Getting out in the bush and doing something provides a stress relief and a mental health benefit. One might say, “Isn’t it good enough just being outdoors, and not fishing specifically?” That’s a fair question. But I would put to you, Chair, and to members of the Committee, fishing benefits from general outdoor and nature-based wellbeing effects, but also adds the unique elements of time spent in blue space—water environments—mindfulness and focus, social interaction and family participation. Research shows that people fish not just to catch fish, but to relax, connect with others and get away from it all. Fishing has a great multiplier effect. My colleague and I are in different opinion here. He prefers to fish on alone for his breakout; I prefer to fish with people as my breakout. To every individual it has a different aspect and a different result, but fundamentally it is the same: Breaking away from what you’re doing and participating in something you’re passionate about delivers real mental health benefits. That benefits not just the individual, but the family, the community and the government, because it saves money for the government.
GREG SEETO: If I could just add to that, I think in some of the other submissions, there was a discussion around the impact on family, and family values as well. As a direct result of the boom in recreational fishing post-COVID, we’ve seen participation really spike with both the youth and with family. I think that this reflects upon the social values that we are drawing out of the community. So that’s something that needs to be taken into account.
The Hon. RACHEL MERTON: Yes, absolutely. The social connection and the family connection.
BOB BALDWIN: If I might add, we have a great cohesion and interaction with all of the other people that have given evidence, whether it’s four-wheel drivers, whether it’s people who are paddling on canoes or kayaks, boaters or bushwalkers. A lot of those go fishing as well. We may be the end, but they are the means to the end to achieve what we want to achieve, so we have a symbiotic relationship. They’re part of our multiplier effect.
The Hon. SCOTT BARRETT: Mr Baldwin, it’s great to hear you say that fishing is not just about catching fish. That justifies a lot of my fishing trips and weekends—
BOB BALDWIN: I know that well.
The Hon. SCOTT BARRETT: —if that’s not the sole objective. I think both groups here have touched on a model that we’ve spoken about a couple of times in this hearing, and that is the willingness of organisations and community groups to do the work to manage the infrastructure—to do the upgrades and maintain them— knowing that would then be shared by others as well. I wonder if someone could touch more on that model, maybe with an example of where that has worked well.
BOB BALDWIN: If I could elaborate on that, AFTA, through its membership and its networks, has members who make outstanding contributions to the environment in which we use. One such is OzFish. OzFish do habitat restoration. Yes, they get money from the Government, but they also get money from our industry members to be able to do the work they do. Not only do they go in and maintain habitat, they repair and restore habitat, particularly in our freshwater areas. This is something that governments don’t do or couldn’t even afford to do, but it’s conducted by the volunteers and people in our industry. Many of our members support and fund activities that create beneficial aspects to infrastructure and to community safety when they’re fishing. That’s critically important. So for us, it’s not all about just selling fishing tackle. It’s the whole environment of recreational fishing from the very time the bit of equipment is sold till the time the fish is on the table and all the steps on the way through.
The Hon. SCOTT BARRETT: What are the hurdles to this model here in New South Wales?
BOB BALDWIN: One of the major impacts on recreational fishing in New South Wales—and, indeed, across Australia—has been the rapid expanse of marine parks. They are an exclusion zone—a waterway exclusion zone—for recreational fishers. The impact of that is phenomenal. I’ll give you an example. In Port Stephens, which is where I live, we’re waiting for the Great Lakes-Hunter Marine Park Review to be conducted, but the impact in not being able to fish in some of the good areas, and particularly for pelagic fish that travel through them, is phenomenal. We would encourage the Government to get on with the review, which is overdue, and deliver real and meaningful reforms that, one, protect the environment—we absolutely support sustainability—but also provide access for all.
GREG SEETO: You talk about the challenges and potential hurdles here. As an industry, particularly the trade industry, whilst they may exist, our focus is on what we can do outside of that anyway. To provide a commercial example of the commitment to that custodian viewpoint, two commercial competitors—I represent Daiwa Australia, and Shimano Fishing is arguably the number one fishing brand in the country—actually work together and have community days where our two businesses come together and do clean-ups in the local Sydney area, not because we see any great commercial gain from it but because we take very seriously that notion of being custodians of the environment that we’re using.
The CHAIR: The Hon. Bob Baldwin, do you have any comments around that sensitive—
BOB BALDWIN: Please understand recreational fishing is a destination-based activity. People travel to go to a particular destination to fish in regional and coastal areas. If that access is reduced, trips are cancelled or shortened, overnight stays are reduced and local spending drops. That spending does not transfer elsewhere. That’s important, particularly for small and regional communities. The economic impact is localised, it’s immediate, and it’s not easily replaced. The impact is spread across the broad, interconnected supply chains. It includes the tackle retailers and manufacturers, the charter operators and the guides, the accommodation providers, and the fuel, the transport and the hospitality business. In New South Wales, that includes hundreds of independent tackle stores, major retail chains, wholesalers and distributors. But this is not just about fishing; it’s about a wide ecosystem of small and regional businesses that are dependent on each other. Access is critical, and access doesn’t mean the ability to visit the site. Access for us means the ability to fish the site.
The CHAIR: Mr Seeto, you mentioned the Mona Vale basin issue, which is obviously an issue I’ve been pretty passionate about as well. Out of all the user groups in that area, is it true to say that recreational fishermen and spear fishermen are the only ones that are, essentially, paying to play in that space?
GREG SEETO: Correct.
The CHAIR: Are they asking for exclusive access to the Mona Vale basin?
GREG SEETO: Recreational fishers?
The CHAIR: Yes.
GREG SEETO: No, we’re not asking for exclusive access whatsoever. If I could add to Mr Baldwin’s comments. Being a destination activity, I can provide a really relevant example from recently this year. It’s probably relevant with the 4×4 and caravanning industry as well. The impact of the fuel crisis in March this year had an immediate impact on retail in the recreational fishing space. We had retailers with their revenue reduced by over 40 per cent, particularly in regional and tourist locations in New South Wales. When you’re considering that the industry is contributing over $4 billion to the economy, that’s very significant.
The CHAIR: The Hon. Bob Baldwin, in your opening statement you talked about access in the context of elderly and disabled fishermen—something, obviously, I’ve been very passionate about advocating for. Are there any other States that do it better than us in terms of providing that proper access for the elderly and disabled around boat ramps, around wharves, around fishing pontoons? Is there a better model that this State can look towards?
BOB BALDWIN: I wouldn’t say a better model because each State is different in what it has. Victoria is a smaller State with concentrated fishing. New South Wales is reasonably diverse. Western Australia is just massive. But what is critical when you look at infrastructure—and it’s not just about providing disabled parking or disabled ramps up onto the wharf. It’s about having disabled toilets. It’s about having fish cleaning stations that are a suitable height for those that are wheelchair-bound. It’s about having safety measures along the bottom rails of any wharf or jetty that stop kids going over. Safety, reliability and functionality are all critical to producing a good time—and a good time is what people go fishing for. But what is important, and it’s been long forgotten, is encouraging the ability for the disabled in our community to participate, whether it’s four-wheel driving, whether it’s camping, whether it’s fishing—doesn’t matter. We need to have them as part of an inclusive program to achieve the same mental health benefits that everybody else does.
The CHAIR: Given that fishing and boating combined, just in terms of fees alone, contributes probably upwards of $100 million to State government coffers, is enough going back into providing functionality and disabled and elderly access on our fishing platforms, our boat ramps and our wharves? Do you think enough is going back?
BOB BALDWIN: The one thing that was commendable is the new Minister had an investigation and an audit into the way funds were raised and spent.
The CHAIR: I know. I asked her to do that.
BOB BALDWIN: Yes, and that’s commendable. AFTA’s position—and we’ve put this to the Government. AFTA does not agree with any money coming from fishing licence fees being spent in the normal process of what a government should do. So compliance officers that are funded by our fees—we don’t believe that is how our fees should be spent. In Victoria, all of their fees are spent on recreational fisher benefits, whether it’s restocking programs, additional contributions to additional hatcheries to increase the stocking programs, ramps, whether it’s access on ramps—not what is the core business of government. The core business of government is to provide the policing protection. We don’t believe that recreational fishing licence money in New South Wales should be spent that way. But, by and large, in other areas, we think it’s well spent.
BOB BALDWIN: On behalf of AFTA, I’d like to express an apology for not making a formal submission ahead of the hearings to the Committee. I seek leave to table a formal submission for inclusion in your report, a copy of which has now been emailed to the secretariat.
The CHAIR: We have received that, and thank you for doing that. Thank you all for that evidence. It’s been really excellent and very impressive. That concludes our time with you. I don’t believe you took any questions on notice but the secretariat will be in touch if you did and for any supplementary or follow-up questions. Thank you very much for your time and for your work in the industry.