‘Manipulative': Expert slams states on sluggish shark net stance
Shark nets across NSW beaches are taken in annually from mid-autumn to mid-spring, however the NSW government is conducting a review to determine shark mitigation measures for the 2025-26 summer, including support from local councils on the continued use of shark nets.
Speaking to NewsWire, The University of Sydney associate professor and shark behaviour expert Christopher Pepin-Neff said he believed two simple premises lay at the heart of the issue; firstly, that shark nets catch fish (Sutherland Shire council reported a 13 times differential between non-target animals caught in nets compared with the targeted eight species of sharks), and secondly, that in getting caught, those fish struggle and die and attract sharks.
'Shark nets attract sharks,' he said. 'There is no way that science exists everywhere in the ocean except on netted beaches in NSW or Queensland.
'That the vibrations that struggling fish make attract sharks everywhere in the ocean except when they get caught in a net at a netted beach in Australia.
'If science still applies, then we have to conclude that shark nets attract sharks to local beaches.'
The decision to use shark nets is left to the state government, and during the 2024-25 season, 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong used shark nets.
Professor Pepin-Neff said his principal objection to shark nets was that 'they are used by politicians when it is convenient for them to protect themselves by providing a false sense of security to the public'.
'Politicians know that the public has an idea that shark nets work and they are manipulating that public perception for their own benefit,' he said.
'It's a disgrace that in 2025, politicians have not come clean about the fact that shark nets and a lot of beach safety measures are mythical.
'For me, this is not an environmental issue; it is an issue of integrity in the policy process and respect for local constituents across Australia.'
The office of NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty declined to respond to NewsWire's request for comment; however Professor Pepin-Neff, received a letter from the Department of Primary Industries (DPIE) saying 'in 2024/25 the DPIE consulted the 25 coastal councils about their preferences for shark mitigation at beaches within their local government area'.
'The NSW government is currently considering the feedback from the councils as well as the evidence from the technologies used over the 2024/25 summer period to help inform the upcoming season,' the DPIE continued.
The Sutherland Shire in Sydney was one of the last councils in NSW to oppose the use of shark nets on its beaches. When the state government surveyed local councils in late 2024, councillors were presented with options and evidence for the various shark mitigation technologies.
Sutherland Shire councillor Kal Glaznig voted against the use of shark nets and speaking to NewsWire said 'just based on the evidence that was presented it was pretty clear that they're not the most effective tools to keep people safe'.
'I feel like it's a big education piece for beachgoers. The thing around shark nets and why there's a bit of hesitancy to take them out is this perceived safety, which from what I saw scientifically, there's no argument for,' he said.
'People in our community aren't getting in the ocean or not getting in the ocean because they feel like they're being saved with nets.'
Mr Glaznig said he couldn't speak for everyone, but during the council deliberation he didn't have a single constituent reaching out to say 'keep the nets in' but was instead inundated with community members who spent large amounts of time in the ocean saying they didn't believe the nets should be in.
'A lot of the evidence for me is around the fact that these nets have been here since 1937,' Mr Glaznig said. 'And I feel like if we just relied on existing measures for everything in life from nearly 100 years ago, we would be so backwards and behind.
'The ocean is such an unknown and you're never going to be able to control the elements, but you can definitely use better technologies and fuller solutions.' 

'My take for the state government is for them to hopefully listen to what the councils who are on the ground with the community are saying because ultimately we are more accessible than state ministers in getting the response and the feel from the community.
'And our community in the Sutherland shire is telling us that they don't want shark nets and the experts that presented made it super clear that shark nets were not the most effective way to keep people safe.'
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SBS Australia
2 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Australia and UK to sign new 50-year treaty amid US uncertainty
The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK defence secretary Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Marles and Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is — but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Dr Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Marles and Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Bristow said.


The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
UK to back 50-year AUKUS treaty as US shadow looms
The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA


West Australian
5 hours ago
- West Australian
UK, Australia to ink new AUKUS deal amid US uncertainty, Penny Wong and Richard Marles host talks in Sydney
The UK will sign a new 50-year bilateral AUKUS treaty with Australia during ministerial talks in Sydney, as question marks continue over US involvement in the submarine project. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey will meet their Australian counterparts Penny Wong and Richard Marles at the annual Australia-UK ministerial meeting, or Aukmin, in Sydney. They will then travel on to Melbourne to meet businesses involved in the AUKUS submarine program. They will also visit Darwin as the UK Carrier Strike Group docks in the Northern Territory. The AUKUS partnership between the UK, US and Australia involves building nuclear-powered attack submarines - including Australia acquiring its first such fleet - and co-operating in other areas of defence. It was agreed by the three countries in 2021, but the Trump administration has put it under review, raising fears it could pull out. The deal now being signed by the UK and Australia sets out the bilateral aspects of the partnership and how the two countries will work together to deliver the AUKUS submarine program over the next half-century. 'AUKUS is one of Britain's most important defence partnerships, strengthening global security while driving growth at home,' Mr Healey said. 'This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century.' He said people 'not yet born' will benefit from jobs secured through the deal. More than 21,000 people in the UK are expected to be working on the program at its peak. Mr Lammy said the UK-Australia relationship is 'like no other'. 'In our increasingly volatile and dangerous world, our anchoring friendship has real impact in the protection of global peace and prosperity,' he said. 'Our new bilateral AUKUS treaty is an embodiment of that - safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific whilst catalysing growth for both our countries.'