Fishing Party Base In Hunter
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday July 25, 2000
A NEW political party representing the interests of millions of recreational anglers will be based in the Hunter Valley.
The Fishing Party will aim to provide a political outlet for frustrated anglers who are facing restrictions on their hobby.
The proliferation of protected marine areas and limits to access to some national parks have raised the ire of fishermen.
Moves to introduce fishing licences and increase bag limit restrictions have also got some noses out of joint, along with the negotiating style of Fisheries Minister Eddie Obeid.
Singleton-based president of the NSW Fishing Clubs Association Robert Smith will chair the new political party.
He will seek to recruit 750 members before registering it as an official party with the NSW Electoral Commission.
Mr Smith, also the president of the Newcastle and District Anglers Association, plans to stand on behalf of the party for the NSW Upper House in 2003.
Candidates for the party, which was officially launched on Sunday, would eventually stand in both State and Federal elections.
`The fishing community has decided we need a representative in the Senate and Upper House to argue our case and to make sure we get the treatment we deserve,' Mr Smith said.
`Fishermen are concerned about a number of issues.'
The move is not the first time a political party representing anglers has operated in NSW.
A former party of the same name was deregistered in August 1997 amid claims that several people's names appeared on its foundation membership list without their knowledge.
Similar allegations were raised about the foundation membership list of the Four Wheel Drive Party.
An inquiry found the fishing party discovered that the signatures of 27 people on its list of foundation members were `remarkably similar' to that of the Four Wheel Drive Party.
The old fishing party was required under NSW law to issue a list of 200 members and their signatures when it applied for registration.
The new The Fishing Party is unconnected to the last incarnation.
It aims to use its grassroots networks to create a genuine political movement.
It follows the emergence of other similar parties such as the Shooters Party and Outdoor Recreation Party, aimed at representing people with recreational interests.
Newcastle's West End Sports and Tackle shop manager Barry Clarke fully supports The Fishing Party.
`The biggest problem is anglers have really been neglected so much by not only the fisheries ministers themselves but also they are not really taken into consideration in the overall scheme of things,' Mr Clarke said.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
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