The Silent Partner
- Joshua Van Der Neut
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Every organisation has visible players.
Members.
Directors.
Office bearers.
Regulators.
But sometimes there is another participant at the table.
It does not vote.
It does not speak.
It does not stand for election.
Yet it shapes every incentive in the room.
The silent partner.
Recently, the Wild Caught Fishers Coalition was representing one of our members in relation to a regulatory issue. The specifics of that issue are not named here because doing so would risk identifying the fisher involved.
The details are not the point.
What happened next is.
During the course of that representation, the member received a call from two DPI managers. He was instructed to cease corresponding with the Minister and to seek representation exclusively through the newly established, government funded peak body, NSW Wild Harvest Fishers.
Pause.
When did representation require approval?
In any functioning industry, participants are free to write to Ministers, form associations, join associations and seek representation from whoever they choose.
If a department begins directing that choice, something fundamental has shifted.
That shift is rarely loud.
It is structural.
True representation rests on three pillars.
Financial independence.
Downward transparency.
Electoral accountability.
Remove one and representation weakens.
Remove two and it drifts.
Introduce a silent partner and incentives begin to change.
Wild Caught Fishers Coalition operates on volunteer effort. We run lean. We are funded by members, not by government. Our strategic plan includes a core pillar of radical transparency.
We do not receive government grants.
That distinction matters.
Because funding is not neutral.
When the overwhelming majority of an organisation’s revenue comes from government, government becomes more than an external stakeholder. It becomes structurally embedded.
Consider Western Australia.
The recreational fishing peak body, RecFish West, publicly supported the demersal fishing ban. The organisation states it represents approximately 750,000 recreational fishers.
Its 2025 financials tell another story.
Approximately 1,700 financial members hold voting rights.
Membership fees account for roughly 0.57 percent of total income.
More than 96 percent of revenue comes from government grants and related sources.
This is not an allegation.
It is arithmetic.
When less than one percent of revenue comes from members, and more than ninety percent comes from government, who is the primary stakeholder?
That is the silent partner.
The same structural question now arises in New South Wales.
NSW Wild Harvest Fishers waived membership fees this financial year. The organisation is operating entirely on government funding.
If members do not financially sustain the organisation, their leverage narrows.
When the regulator and the funder are the same entity, the silent partner is not theoretical.
It is embedded.
Governance matters more, not less, in that environment.
At the recent NSW Wild Harvest Fishers AGM, significant constitutional changes were put to vote.
Members were told tracked changes were shown against the existing constitution. A member later identified that the baseline used for comparison was not the registered constitution lodged with NSW Fair Trading. A certified copy of the registered constitution was provided at personal expense.
Tracked changes were not clearly redlined against that registered version. Some clauses appeared in black text rather than marked insertions.
The resolution passed by a single vote. Proxy votes held by board members were included in the count. Those board members had previously been provided with correspondence outlining the constitutional discrepancies prior to the meeting.
At the same AGM, the Treasurer did not present the financial report. The Chair stated that it had been prepared and independently assessed and would be circulated later. As at the time of writing, the financial report referred to at the AGM had not yet been circulated to members.
Two separate provisions now sit within the constitution regarding board tenure. One requires directors to vacate office at the conclusion of the AGM. Another provides that terms run from Ballot Date to Ballot Date. No fresh election was conducted to commence a new Ballot Date based term following adoption.
These are not personal criticisms.
They are governance facts.
Transparency is often demanded of fishers.
But transparency must run downward as well as upward.
If information flows up to the board, but is restricted flowing back to members, representation narrows.
If funding is concentrated and accountability is blurred, the silent partner grows stronger.
It is important to state clearly that I was one of the founding members involved in establishing NSW Wild Harvest Fishers. I spent two years working within the industry working group to form a unified peak body for New South Wales. When the organisation was established, I was voted into the role of Treasurer.
I believed then, and still believe, that industry benefits from coordinated representation.
However, early in its formation I identified governance concerns relating to financial transparency, budget processes, reporting integrity and oversight responsibilities. I raised those concerns internally.
When they were not resolved to a standard, I was prepared to attach my name to, I resigned.
That decision was not political.
As an office bearer, accountability is personal. Governance standards are not abstract when your signature sits on financial oversight.
Peak bodies have a legitimate role.
The issue is not their existence.
The issue is structural dependency.
When representation relies overwhelmingly on government funding, government becomes the silent partner.
When departments begin directing industry participants toward approved channels of representation, independence narrows.
These shifts do not occur dramatically.
They occur gradually.
The silent partner does not speak at meetings.
It does not stand for election.
It does not argue on the floor.
It shapes incentives quietly.
True representation answers downward.
It is funded by members.
It is disciplined by transparency.
It is vulnerable to election.
The moment representation depends more on the regulator than the represented, the silent partner is no longer silent.
It is shaping the outcome.
And industries influenced by silent partners do not lose their voice overnight.
They lose it slowly.
Often without realising it.
Until the only voice left is the one that was funding it all along.
Our fisheries are vanishing — not from overfishing, but from overregulation. WCFC is fighting to restore fair access, transparency, and a future for working fishers.
You can now become a member or renew your membership entirely online – no paperwork, no postage, just a few simple clicks.
Save 50% on your 2025/26 membership if you register online.
WHO CAN JOIN
If you earn a living from wild-caught seafood and believe in protecting our industry’s future, you’re welcome to become an Ordinary Member of our Association. Join a community that stands for real fishers and real change.
WHY JOIN
Grassroots by Design
WCFC is an independent, member-driven organisation. No corporate capture. No government strings. Just fishers helping fishers.
Local Knowledge, National Impact
WCFC champions the on-water knowledge of fishers — not top-down decision-making detached from reality.
Protecting Access to Australian Seafood
WCFC defend your right to fish and ensure Australians can keep eating real, local seafood — not imported substitutes.
Advocacy That Stands Up
WCFC speak out where others stay silent — pushing back against unfair closures, flawed science, and one-sided policies.
Growing a Sustainable Future
WCFC support long-term, science-based fisheries management that works with fishers — not against them.
We Believe in Radical Transparency
WCFC operate openly and honestly. Every decision, every dollar, every direction — members see it all.
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