Marine Park Lament by Geoff Wilson
Verse 1
The undersea environment
Is threatened, so they say
We’ll introduce marine parks
To keep those threats at bay
Of course there’ll be a limit
On how far they are extended
The rights of foreign fishing fleets
Must always be defended.
Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine
Verse 2
Why should we have to worry?
About pollution and the rest
We’ll just kick out the fishermen
And say it’s for the best
Well someone has to take the blame
When all is said and done
Who cares about the fishermen?
And if we spoil their fun
Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine
Verse 3
In the guise of consultation
Our intentions will be masked
We already have the answers
To the questions we’ll be asked
Why? Problems insurmountable
Like exotics and pollution
Are far too tough to tackle
There is no other solution
Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine
Verse 4
No, marine parks are the answer
And someone must be blamed
We’ll just kick out the fishermen
From those places we have named
We’ve contrived some dodgy estimates
Inflating what they’ve caught
There will be a public outcry
They will say, “This can’t be sport!”
Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine
Verse 5
We’ll sell them to the public
In glowing terms of praise
For kelp forests and sponge gardens
Whose awareness we will raise
We’ll claim the discipline of science
Is central to our mission
If men of science challenge that
We’ll send them to perdition
Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are divine
An illusion of our time
And all that dare oppose them
Will be drinking bitter wine
Verse 6
There’s no end to the deception
We can go to on this farce
Pity that the fishos
Get it up the Khyber Pass
In time the dust will settle
Over our inventions
When finally the truth is out
We’ll be on our nice fat pensions
Final Chorus:
Oh, marine parks are sublime
So I’ve penned this little rhyme
The Government has shafted us
They do it every time