Media Release
15 February 2018
Greens Member for Ballina Tamara Smith says she supports legislation which would make country of origin information on seafood products compulsory.
"This legislation is in line with the foodie ethos in the Northern Rivers area where we have a strong interest in buying local food," said Tamara Smith.
"A labelling scheme would help consumers do that, it would also support locally owned businesses and boost employment.
"I don't know why the NSW Government is against this legislation, as it will help consumers and producers alike particularly in the fishing industry which has been hit with many changes from the government recently.
"As the State representative of a coastal regional community I know how important the future of the local fishing industry is to my community. I want young people in the Ballina area to be able to look at fishing as a career option and to contribute to the production of high quality seafood that Ballina is so famous for.
"There is much more still to be done to achieve this, but supporting compulsory country of origin labelling is a great start," said Ms Smith.
For more information on the Food Amendment (Seafood Country of Origin Labelling) Bill 2017 see
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3431