Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Fisheries Legislation Amendment (Cooperative Fisheries Arrangements and Other Matters) Bill 2005 will help to ensure that the Commonwealth’s fisheries resources and marine environment are managed in an ecologically sustainable and efficient manner.

The amendments to the Fisheries Management Act 1991 and the Fisheries Administration Act 1991 will clarify the meaning of two important fisheries management objectives. The bill will also ensure that the cooperative fisheries management arrangements between Australian jurisdictions are improved.

Firstly, the bill inserts into the fisheries acts principles of ecologically sustainable development consistent with those in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The need for consistency between the fisheries acts and the EPBC Act was a key outcome of the 2003 Commonwealth fisheries policy review. The review recognised that, while the fisheries acts require the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to ensure that the management of the Commonwealth fisheries resources is conducted in a manner that is consistent with the principles of ESD, the legislation currently provides no guidance on how this objective should be interpreted. The bill will rectify this situation.

The amendments provide a more solid basis for economic, environmental and social factors affecting the fisheries to be considered in Commonwealth fisheries management decisions. Having the principles consistent with those in the EPBC Act also creates a uniform framework for decisions across the government that affect the marine environment.

In addition to inserting the principles of ESD consistent with those in the EPBC Act in the fisheries acts, the wording of the current economic efficiency objective in the acts will be restated in terms that are easier for people to understand. The existing objective will be changed from ‘maximising economic efficiency in the exploitation of fisheries resources’ to ‘maximising the net economic returns to the Australian community from the management of Australian fisheries’. This change will provide certainty to stakeholders about what this objective means.

The amendment will not change the underlying meaning of the economic efficiency objective. That is, AFMA will still be obliged to manage the effort and catch of a fishery to maximise the difference at a fishery level between total revenue and total costs, taking into account the impact of current catches on future stock levels.

This bill also contains administrative amendments to improve the operation and efficiency of the offshore constitutional settlement (OCS) fisheries arrangements and facilitate cooperative fisheries management between state, Northern Territory (NT) and Australian governments.

The OCS arrangements provide for state/NT laws to apply inside three nautical miles and for Commonwealth laws to apply from three to 200 nautical miles.

The intention of these OCS fisheries arrangements is to provide for the holistic management of fisheries—recognising that fisheries do not align with boundaries drawn on maps. More than 50 active fisheries arrangements have been agreed between the Commonwealth, the states and the NT. The FMA refers to these as ‘arrangements’ but the term ‘OCS’ is used colloquially.

The 2003 Commonwealth fisheries policy review identified inadequacies with the current OCS fisheries arrangements. The review highlighted that there is a general lack of consistency and effective cooperation on the management of some fish stocks straddling Commonwealth, state and NT jurisdictions.

It is important that our fisheries are well managed to ensure they remain productive and sustainable. This is best accomplished when a fishery is managed consistently throughout its constituent species range. If we can achieve this goal then our fisheries and, accordingly, the commercial fishing industry will have a solid base on which to grow and prosper.

The bill contains amendments that enable the government to adapt the OCS fisheries arrangements to reflect improved understanding of fish stocks and their dynamics, contemporary management issues and provide flexibility for cooperative agreements between the state/NT and Australian governments.

Specifically, the bill seeks to address a major concern held by the Commonwealth and state/NT governments, as well as by industry, that the government is unable to amend OCS fisheries arrangements. If we wish to correct any errors, clarify ambiguities or vary jurisdiction in an OCS fisheries arrangement, the original instrument must be terminated and an entirely new agreement created. This process impacts management plans, permits and other instruments which are established under an OCS fisheries arrangement. It is also inefficient, being time and resource intensive, and leads to greater uncertainty for fishers.

This bill also provides a broad, express power in the FMA to change existing and future OCS fisheries arrangements. The bill amends the FMA to give the powers to create and terminate OCS fisheries arrangements, which currently rest with the Governor-General and state/Northern Territory governors, to Commonwealth and state/Northern Territory ministers. Approval through the Governor-General and state/Northern Territory governors is considered to be a formality and creates an additional administrative step.

The bill will also allow for a more flexible application of Commonwealth and/or state/territory law in fisheries managed by joint authorities. Currently, where the fishery involves only one state or the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth, either the Commonwealth or state/territory law must apply to that fishery. Where the fishery involves the Commonwealth and two or more states, or a state and the Northern Territory, only Commonwealth law may apply. The bill will change this by allowing state/territory laws to apply to a fishery which is managed by a joint authority involving the Commonwealth and more than one state/territory.

Australia’s fishing industry will benefit from the amendments to OCS fisheries arrangements as they will provide for better and more flexible management of Australia’s important fisheries resources.

In summary, the bill will clarify the meaning of two important objectives in the fisheries acts and support more cooperative regional fisheries management arrangements between the Australian, state and Northern Territory governments. I thank the Main Committee and present the explanatory memorandum to this bill.

See this speech in context