Today MP Tara Moriarty shared this cartoon on her Instagram, which was originally published by the Daily Telegraph. 

Presumably, she would find it amusing if you died, purely because you have taken the time and effort to educate yourself on shark nets, and have come to the only logical conclusion there is: they are ineffective and have no place in modern society. 

If you think this is distasteful and inappropriate behaviour from a politician as we do, please POLITELY email her at tara.moriarty@parliament.nsw.gov.au, or come to our New South Wales protests this weekend, held jointly with AJP, at Terrigal or Cronulla.

Here's what Federal Senator Peter Whish Wilson, who chaired a 2017 Senate Inquiry into shark bite mitigation and is an expert on this topic, had to say:

"In posting this vulgar graphic, Tara Mortiarty demonstrates not only a complete disregard for the people and communities calling for this barbaric practice to be modernised and replaced, but a total lack of empathy for the very real and traumatic experience that is a shark bite - not only for victims, but for their communities. It also shows a complete disregard for the survivors of shark bites who are today loud advocates for the campaign to remove them - and a lack of respect for people who were stout advocates for the replacement of shark nets and have lost their lives to a shark bite. I am genuinely appalled and furious that this Minister thought this was appropriate and even funny and disgusted by her actions."

And here is what Envoy Foundation founder Andre Borell had to say:

"We condemn Tara Moriarty’s actions in the strongest possible terms. 135,000 people have signed our petition against shark nets. Posting this cartoon is telling every single one of those people that she would find it amusing if they became a shark bite victim. Those people have done their research, educated themselves, and come to the obvious conclusion that shark nets are ineffective and outdated. Tara should take a leaf from their book and educate herself on shark nets, rather than mock them."