Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES LEVY (SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 269

STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 269

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources

Fisheries Levy Act 1984

Fisheries Levy (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 8 of the Fisheries Levy Act 1984 (the Levy Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of sections 5 and 6 of the Act.

Paragraphs 5(bc) and (bd) of the Levy Act impose levy on the allocation and renewal of allocation, respectively, of units of fishing capacity, being units of fishing capacity prescribed for the purposes of those paragraphs.

Subsection 6(1) of the Levy Act provides, so far as is relevant, that the amount of levy imposed on the allocation or renewal of allocation of a unit of fishing capacity is the amount specified in the Regulations.

Subsection 3(2) of the Levy Act provides that a reference in the Levy Act to units of fishing capacity is a reference to the units into which the fishing capacity for a fishery is divided under a plan of management for a fishery determined under the Fisheries Act 1952 (the Fisheries Act).

The Fisheries Act was repealed by subsection 3(2) of the Fisheries Legislation (Consequential Provisions) Act 1991 (the Consequential Provisions Act) and regulation of Commonwealth fisheries came under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act). As a transitional arrangement, Part IVA of the Fisheries Act was perpetuated under the Consequential Provisions Act for a further 2 years and will expire on 3 February 1994. There is a proposal currently before the Parliament to extend this period for a further 12 months. The result is that the fisheries (or parts of fisheries) which are the subject of agreements between the States and the Commonwealth made under Part IVA continue to be managed under the Fisheries Act, instead of being managed under the Management Act, until the sunset provisions of subsection 7(3) of the Consequential Provisions Act take effect. Fisheries that continue to be managed, or partly managed, under the Fisheries Act in this manner are known as "Part IVA fisheries" and include the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (the Fishery).

The Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan (the Plan), determined under the Fisheries Act, provides that the fishing capacity of the Fishery shall be divided into units of fishing capacity, all of which comprise a single class. For a season, each unit entitles the holder of that unit to an equal share in the total allowable catch determined for that season under the Plan. The Plan governs the management of the Fishery except for that part of the Fishery adjacent to New South Wales (the NSW area). In the NSW area, the Fishery is managed by way of fishing permits under the Fisheries Management Act 1991. It is a condition of each of those permits that, to fish for southern bluefin tuna in the NSW area, the holder of the permit must also hold units under the Plan.

The Fisheries Levy (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations (the principal Regulations) prescribe the allocation of units governed under the Plan and the renewal of those allocations to be matters in respect of which an amount of levy is specified and also specify the amount of levy.

The Regulations amend the principal Regulations to implement a new rate of levy of $112.90.

The majority of the new rate of levy, amounting to $86.57, is calculated on the basis of recovering ninety per cent of the estimated costs of managing the Fishery during the 1993-1994 financial year from the holders of units of fishing capacity in the Fishery, in line with the Commonwealth's policy of partial cost recovery in Commonwealth managed fisheries. The remainder of the new rate of levy, amounting to $26.33, is calculated on the basis of recovering from the holders of units in the Fishery, the fishing industry's contribution to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. This contribution by the fishing industry is calculated to be 0.25 per cent of the Gross Value of Product (GVP) of the Fishery.

The new rate of levy is higher than the old rate of levy of $102.61. This results from a reduction in the overall management costs of the Fishery (from $95.04 to $86.57 per unit), offset by a proportionately greater increase in the contribution to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (from $7.56 to $26.33) based on increased estimation of the GVP of the Fishery.

The effect of the Regulations is to require the payment of levy in the amount of $112.90 for the allocation of units governed under the Plan and further amounts of $112.90 for the renewal of allocations of units, that take place after the commencement of the Regulations.

Under section 7 of the Levy Act, the amount of levy continues to be due and payable on the allocation of a unit and the renewal of the allocation of a unit.

Details of the Regulations, which commenced on gazettal, are set out below:

Regulation 1 provides for the amendment of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 6 (Amounts of Levy) of the principal Regulations by omitting the old rate of levy, wherever it appears and replacing it with the new rate of levy.