Bills Digest No. 23 2002-03
Torres Strait Fisheries Amendment Bill 2002
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Torres Strait Fisheries Amendment
Bill 2002
Date Introduced:
19 June 2002
House: Senate
Portfolio: Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry
Commencement:
The day after Royal
Assent
To amend the
Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 to allow for the
appointment of the Chair of the Torres Strait Regional Authority as
a full member of the Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint
Authority.
The Torres Strait
Treaty was entered into by Australia and Papua New Guinea on 15
February 1985. It is concerned with sovereignty and maritime
boundaries in the area between the two countries and the protection
of the way of life and livelihood of traditional inhabitants and
the marine environment. The Treaty also establishes the Torres
Strait Protected Zone in which each country exercises sovereign
jurisdiction for swimming fish and sedentary species on the
respective sides of the agreed jurisdiction lines.(1)
The Commonwealth Parliament passed the Torres Strait Fisheries Act
in 1984 and it came into force on the same day as the Treaty. The
purpose of this Act is to give effect, in Australian law, to the
fisheries elements of the Treaty. Significantly, section 8 of the
Act specifies that in the administration of the Act,
'regard shall be had to the rights and obligations
conferred on Australia by the Torres Strait Treaty and in
particular to the traditional way of life and livelihood of
traditional inhabitants, including their rights in relation to
traditional fishing'.
The Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) is
established under the Torres Strait Fisheries Act and is
responsible for management of commercial and traditional fishing in
the Australian area of the Torres Strait Protected Zone and
designated adjacent Torres Strait waters. In this role, the PZJA
must have regard to the rights and obligations conferred on
Australia by the Torres Strait Treaty, in particular the protection
of the traditional way of life and livelihood of the traditional
inhabitants, including their traditional fishing.(2)
Currently, the PZJA is made up of the
Commonwealth Minister for Forestry and Conservation, acting as
Chair, and the Queensland Minister for Primary Industries and Rural
Communities. The Chair of the Torres Strait Regional Authority
(TSRA), Mr Terry Waia, has been representing Torres Strait Islander
interests at recent meetings, although this has been in an advisory
capacity rather than as a full member.(3)
The Bill will change this arrangement and will
allow the Chairman of the TSRA to become a full member of PZJA. The
TSRA is a Commonwealth statutory authority established in 1994
under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act
1989. TSRA has functions akin to ATSIC in discharging its
responsibilities for indigenous people living in the Torres Strait
area. Its stated objectives are to: 'strengthen the economic,
social and cultural development of the Torres Strait to improve the
lifestyle and wellbeing of the Torres Strait Islanders and
Aboriginal people living in the region'(4).
Main
Provisions
Schedule 1 of the Bill proposes
amendments to the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (the
Act).
Items 1 and 2 insert relevant
definitions into subsection 28(1) of the Torres Strait Fisheries
Act. The Chairperson of the Torres Strait Regional Authority
(TSRA) is defined as either:
-
- the person holding that office according to section 143L of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989,
or
-
- the person acting as Chairperson of the TSRA.
The acronym TSRA is defined as the Torres Strait
Regional Authority established by section 142 of the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989.
Section 30 of the Act sets out the membership
and functions of the Protected Zone Joint Authority. Item
3 repeals and replaces subsection 30(2) in order to
reflect the proposed membership change of the Authority. Under
proposed subsection 30(2) the Authority is to
consist of the Commonwealth Minister, the Queensland Minister and
the Chairperson of the TSRA.
Item 4 inserts proposed
subsection 30(5A) through to proposed subsection
30(5D). Proposed subsection 30(5A) gives the Chairperson
of the TSRA the power to formally appoint by writing a deputy or
deputies to represent him at PZJA meetings. This power is identical
to that provided to the other PZJA members (subsections 30(4) and
30(5)).
Proposed subsections 30(5B) and
(5C) attempt to clarify the status of deputies when acting
as Chairperson. A deputy who is acting Chairperson can not perform
the duties of a deputy, however he or she may appoint a deputy
providing such an appointment is only for the period of acting.
Proposed subsection 30(5D)
provides that instruments appointing deputies may specify the
conditions as to when a particular person/s appointed are to
perform the duties of the deputy.
Section 40 of the Act deals with the procedure
for PZJA meetings. Item 5 repeals and replaces
paragraphs 40(1)(a), (b) and (c) to set out who will preside over
meetings of the PZJA under the new arrangements. If the
Commonwealth Minister is present he or she is to preside; if the
Commonwealth Minister is not present then responsibility will pass
first to the Queensland Minister, then to the Chairperson of the
TSRA and finally the deputy of the Commonwealth Minister
(proposed paragraphs 40(1)(a)-d)).
Items 6-9 make minor
consequential amendments to section 40 to reflect the new
membership of the PZJA.
Note: There appears to be a typing error in the
Explanatory Memorandum in relation to Schedule 1. It refers to all
item or clause numbers as clause 1.
Over the past 18 months indigenous groups have
expressed increasing concern about the depletion of the dwindling
sea resources in the Torres Strait with calls for an end to
non-indigenous fishing in the region.(5) TSRA
chairperson Terry Waia has played an active role in representing
indigenous interests, calling for a review of the Torres Strait
Fisheries Act(6) and participating in negotiations
between interested groups to change the current arrangements
regarding the crayfish industry in the sea.(7)
Presumably the Bill will assist in facilitating further dialogue
between the TSRA, and the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments
about these matters.
While the stated purpose of the Bill is to give
full membership status to the Chairperson of the TSRA, it is of
note that the Minister in his second reading speech, emphasised
that the Chair of the PZJA, (ie the Commonwealth Minister), will
retain certain select roles and responsibilities that will be
distinct from the other two members. The Minister goes on:
as the joint authority is established by an
arrangement entered into by the Commonwealth and Queensland
Governments, the TSRA Chairperson will not be empowered by the Act
to terminate the PZJA arrangement.(8)
-
- Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint Authority, Annual report
1999-00, p. 1.
- ibid., p. 4.
- Joint Statement by the Federal Minister for Forestry and
Conservation, and Minister responsible for Commonwealth Fisheries,
Wilson Tuckey Queensland Minister for Primary Industries and Rural
Communities, Henry Palaszczuk, 3 October 2001:
http://www.affa.gov.au/ministers/tuckey/releases/01/01_61tu.html
- Torres Strait Regional Authority, Facts about the
TSRA: http://www.tsra.gov.au/AboutTSRA.htm
- 'Rising tide of fear leads Torres fishermen to take up arms',
Sydney Morning Herald, 12 March 2002; 'Straits of
strife', Courier Mail, 31 March 2001.
- Torres Strait Regional Authority, 'TSRA urges Fisheries
Ministers to visit Torres Strait to address fisheries issues',
Press release, 28 March 2001:
http://www.tsra.gov.au/PR%20Fisheries%20Issues.pdf
- Joint Statement, Torres Strait Regional Authority, Australian
Fisheries Management Authority, Torres Strait Fisheries Taskforce,
'Torres Strait Cray Industry to be protected',
9 October 2001:
http://www.tsra.gov.au/PR%20Fisheries%20Joint%20Statement.pdf
- Senate, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 19 June 2002,
p. 2099.
Mary Anne Neilsen
19 August 2002
Bills Digest Service
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ISSN 1328-8091
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