Australian Greens Party Push to Phase Out Shark Nets

Surfers, swimmers, divers, shark lovers and concerned community members gather on Bondi Beach in Sydney on September 17, 2017 to pressure governments to back down on shark nets. PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images

The Australian Greens Party have a plan to phase out the use of shark nets and drum lines at Australia’s beaches and invest $50 million (US$36.7 million) over ten years towards the research and development of non-lethal shark control measures.

In a policy launch at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Thursday, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson called shark nets “weapons of mass destruction”, adding that “they don’t make the ocean safe for swimmers, surfers, divers, and other ocean goers.”