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The Minns Labor Government is taking decisive action to secure the long-term future of the state’s abalone industry, with the release of the independent Total Allowable Fishing Committee’s (TAFC) determination for the 2026–27 fishing season.

The determination has been made by the independent expert Committee, informed by the latest scientific stock assessments, and confirms abalone stocks across NSW are under increasing pressure and require immediate action to stabilise and rebuild.

The NSW Government is currently progressing broader, coordinated reform of the abalone fishery to reset the fishery and ensure it remains sustainable in the long-term.

The challenges facing the abalone fishery are complex and driven by multiple factors, including environmental pressures, decreasing international demand, illegal fishing and past fishing activity.

The Government’s actions to protect abalone includes:

• Acting on independent scientific advice to reduce catch limits and support stock recovery
• Strengthening compliance and enforcement to crack down on illegal harvesting and black-market trade
• Undertaking a review of the abalone fishery management framework, with input from the abalone industry and key stakeholders
• Considering a voluntary share buyout program aimed at reducing commercial fishing pressure on the resource.

The NSW Government has been consulting with industry and Aboriginal stakeholders since 2025 on a new abalone management framework, focused on sustainability, economic viability and fair resource sharing.

A draft management framework for the abalone industry is currently out for targeted consultation until 17 July.

The Government will continue to engage with stakeholders as consultation on the draft management framework progresses, with feedback helping to inform the final settings for the fishery.

Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:

“This is about securing the future of an important resource that supports regional jobs and has deep cultural significance.

“There are no simple answers, which is why we are taking a comprehensive approach that tackles the issue from all angles.

“Illegal harvesting undermines sustainability and the livelihoods of lawful fishers, which is why we are strengthening enforcement and targeting illegal supply chains.

“At the same time, we recognise environmental conditions and concentrated fishing effort are also contributing to stock decline, and our response reflects that broader reality.

“We are working closely with key stakeholders to design a system that is fair, sustainable and capable of withstanding future pressures.”

Despite Labor’s glossy talk of an ecosystem approach to protecting nature, the 2026‑27 Budget reveals a government that is quietly gutting the very projects it claims to champion.  
 
These cuts will now leave koalas without a dedicated, funded strategy, the critical Beachwatch program without a budget line item and over $90 million in last year’s conservation funding sitting unspent.
 
Shadow Minister for the Environment Jacqui Munro MLC said the Budget papers tell a very different story to Labor’s press release.
 
“Labor want families to believe they’ve found new money for nature. They haven’t,” Ms Munro said.
 
“Strip away the spin and you find that none of the headline announcements in this portfolio have an identifiable line item that we can scrutinise. It’s old funding, repackaged with new slogans.”
 
“While Labor is busy re-announcing yesterday’s money, they are cutting the projects that were actually committed to last year. The environment infrastructure budget has been cut by $18.7 million. That’s if you can trust the numbers given last year’s significant spending shortfall.”
 
“Not even accounting for inflation, nature is getting less than two-thirds of the support it received under a Coalition government before the pandemic,” Ms Munro said.
 
The Budget also confirms at least nine conservation projects have been delayed,  and almost 40 per cent, $91.3 million, of funding allocated to environment projects in 2025‑26 left unspent.
 
“After two years of Labor talking up koala protection, there is now no funded Koala Strategy,” Ms Munro said.
 
“Funding for protecting koalas in southern Sydney is reduced in this year’s budget. Even Beachwatch, a program families rely on to know if it’s safe to swim, is no longer listed.”
 
People can also expect reduced funding for a range of other projects:
 

• Great Walks – Gardens of Stone and Great Southern Walk: funding more than halved, slashed from $40.5 million to $19.5 million – a reduction of $21 million
• NPWS Infrastructure Betterment Fund: down from $27.6 million to just $9.8 million – a reduction of $17.8 million (64%)
• National Parks Radio Network: the very system used to keep park rangers safe in the field, reduced from $10.3 million to $4.3 million (58%)
• Infrastructure Investment in National Parks (Tourism): an almost 50% ($3.1 million) reduction, from $6.7 million to $3.6 million.
• Frontline Conservation Program cut by $3 million, from $10 million to $7 million. 
• Improving Access to National Parks, a 68% reduction, from $3.1 million to $1 million, a difference of $2.1 million
• Reserve Establishment and Activation reduced by $1 million, $4 million to $3 million
• Commemorating the Meeting of Two Cultures… project reduced by 32% ($0.8 million), from $2.5 million to $1.7 million.
• Protect Koalas of Southern Sydney: 22% reduced from $2.3 million to $1.8 million, representing $500,000.

“Labor loves to talk about accessibility and ecosystems. But you can’t protect biodiversity with a press release, and you can’t build a Great Walk with a slogan,” Ms Munro said.
 
“This is a Budget that dresses up cuts as conservation and hopes nobody checks the fine print.”
 
“The NSW Liberals and Nationals will keep holding this government to account on every dollar promised, and every dollar that mysteriously goes missing.”

The NSW Liberals and Nationals are demanding the Minns Labor Government immediately abandon its three strikes drug driving policy after revelations of a damning report into medicinal cannabis use.
 
Reports today say the Transport for NSW’s Centre for Road Safety surveyed 5000 drivers in 2025 and found 54 per cent misused their medication, including by taking more than prescribed.
 
The study reportedly found 45 per cent of surveyed users who had been advised not to drive after using cannabis, had got behind the wheel within six hours.
 
Leader of the Opposition Kellie Sloane said it was irresponsible to pursue the policy while in possession of the concerning research.
 
“The Minns Labor Government is doggedly pursuing its three strikes drug driving policy in the face of evidence which it has sat on, that it will jeopardise the safety of everyone using our roads,” Ms Sloane said.
 
“Labor has ignored the experts who say there is no agreed level of THC which identifies that a driver is impaired, and they’ve ignored their own study which says medicinal cannabis is being misused.”
 
Shadow Minister for Roads Mark Coure said it was shocking that the Government would pursue a road safety policy that not only allowed drug use before driving but also allowed for multiple chances before penalties applied.
 
“If these reports are accurate, they completely undermine the Government’s argument that this legislation can be introduced safely,” Mr Coure said.
 
“Road trauma already claims hundreds of lives every year in New South Wales. We should be strengthening road safety laws, not weakening them.”
 
“Road safety isn’t the place for political experiments.”
 
The Liberals and Nationals are calling on the Government to immediately release the full unpublished Transport for NSW report before Parliament votes on the legislation.

Authorised by Mark Neeham, Liberal Party of Australia, NSW Division, Level 2, 131 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

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