AFTER a year of questionable decision-making by the McGowan Labor government, last week we saw another added to their laundry list of failures.
The recent ban on fishing of demersal species such as snapper and dhufish, which was revised down to six months following pressure from the public, industry, and the State opposition, served as another example of this government's failure to properly consult with those who are most affected.
This, and a lack of genuine engagement in good-faith negotiations with stakeholders, has become a hallmark of the McGowan Labor government.
The final decision the Fisheries Minister Don Punch put forward missed the mark and has received criticism from all sectors of the fishing community, albeit for different reasons.
However, the common disappointment both the recreational and commercial industries have with this industry-wide decision on demersal fishing is the government's failure to properly resource the Department in charge of WA's fisheries.
Coincidentally, last week the Auditor General handed down a damning report around the regulation of fishing in our State, in particular the deficiencies within the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
This is not the first time a report has been released raising concerns about DPIRD, its resourcing and its management.
In fact, it's the third since the McGowan government was elected in 2017.
The opposition has been putting a spotlight on the dysfunction of DPIRD for the past six years, but all attempts to highlight the problems have been ignored by the government.
The alarm bells started ringing soon after the 2017 State election with a mass exodus of experienced officers from the department, critically low levels of morale among all personnel and reports from the agricultural and fishing sectors of a department in crisis.
The department has also been the subject of ongoing qualified financial audits, highlighting failures in financial management and integrity of DPIRD systems.
All of these audits point to a lack of resourcing and skilled staff.
This government has had six years to change, improve and reform how DPIRD operates, but they've done nothing.
This is not the first time the capacity of DPIRD has been put under the microscope.
When the threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) arriving on WA's shores made headlines earlier this year, so too did the inadequacies of veterinary staff on the ground in regional areas, who have expertise in animal disease.
Instead, DPIRD relied on private veterinarians to fill the gaps.
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There are deeply entrenched, systemic issues in the structure and culture of this department, which oversees two of our biggest sectors, yet we have seen no action from the government to fix it.
We have Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan who has left the building and a Fisheries Minister who is too focused on banning fishing to fix the problems facing DPIRD.
Both ministers have been the architects of an agency which is incapable of doing its job.
The real losers in this department debacle are Western Australian industries, the communities they maintain, and the livelihoods they support.
It should come as no surprise to hear small businesses, particularly in the fishing sector, are evaluating their futures.
Imagine being a small family-owned and operated organisation that has invested life savings into a viable and sustainable fishing industry, only for its future to be imperiled by a minister and government with its own agenda.
After six years in power, Western Australians are losing trust in this government which has a pattern of making decisions which impact the future of our primary industries.
The promises of decent consultation, good-faith negotiation and proper consultation with industry have been broken, all the while DPIRD's disarray continues.
It'll take a Christmas miracle to fix this damaged department.
