Lobster fishers have panned the plan, equating it to partial nationalisation of the industry. WAtoday spoke to each party in the upper house and found all but the Greens and One Nation had made up their mind. For a disallowance motion to be voted down Labor needs the Greens and one other member to vote with it. Unsurprisingly the Nationals and the Liberals do not support the plan and both Rick Mazza from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and Liberal Democrat Aaron Stonehouse are also on record saying they would not support the plan. On Friday One Nation WA leader Colin Tincknell said his party would not support the plan in its current format.

"It's going to be a no, 100 per cent no and they are the reasons, the industry wasn't consulted well and that consultation needs to continue. The industry is very open to change and to improving," he said. Nationals Agriculture spokesman Colin de Grussa said the issue hadn’t gone before the party room but the party would not support what has been proposed. The proposal hasn’t been formally considered by the Liberals either but Shadow Fisheries Minister Ian Blayney said he could not see his party supporting it or any of the crossbenchers either. “I think it goes against everyone else’s philosophy to have the government go in there and be a major force within the lobster industry,” he said. “None of them are people who would want to see more government involvement in the economy.”

"I will oppose the Government's lobster bill, and if need be, I will support a disallowance motion in the upper house, to get rid of it," Mr Stonehouse said. "You can't say that Western Australia is 'open for business', and push through cabinet a bill where you practically nationalise a part of the fisheries industry.” The Greens attended a briefing on the plan on Wednesday fisheries spokeswoman Diane Evers said they were seeking more information about the plans and its implications on western Rock Lobster populations, the government’s involvement in the industry, the export and domestic markets and alternative proposals. Acting Fisheries Minister Roger Cook said the plan had been out for industry consultation since mid-December and ended on 18 January and the government would not pre-empt the result of that consultation.

"We’ll consider all the feedback before we proceed further," he said. “The industry themselves have said as part of this consultation they’re preparing an alternative proposal, which they say will deliver similar benefits to the original agreed proposal. Mr Cook said there has been no decision to implement the plan via exemption, a power under the act that allows the fisheries minister to exempt the industry from provisions in the act. This can include exempting businesses from their catch limits. Industry devalued

Loading Mr Kelly’s plan has been warmly welcomed by the state’s tourism sector, including industry bodies like the Tourism Council of WA and the Australian Hotels Association WA, who see plenty of tourism dollars if more WA lobsters hit restaurants. About 98 per cent of WA rock lobsters are exported to China and the plan is aimed at keeping some of the ‘community owned resource’ in WA. The state signed an agreement with the Western Rock Lobster council but it has since come out strongly against a government quota and businesses within the industry have followed. Oceaneer Marine Brokers managing director Brad Arnup deals in lobster pots and said since the announcement in December the industry has taken a huge hit in value and banks were being more cautious lending to the sector.

“If you’re going to throw the pots in the market it will slide the value of the pot back and most banks until Christmas were lending $60,000 per pot against the asset,” he said. “Since the minister’s proposal it’s absolutely stopped everything in its tracks. There have been no sales activities because everyone is concerned.” Mr Arnup criticised the state government for its lack of financial modelling of what the increased quota and government intervention would do to the market. A spokeswoman for Acting Fisheries Minister Roger Cook said the agreement signed with the lobster council specified the plan was subject to continuing market and scientific sustainability assessments. She said the industry had also commissioned a report, Economic Contribution of the Western Rock Lobster Industry, that supported the gradual release of additional lobster to grow the industry.