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FISHING LEVY (SOUTHERN SHARK FISHERY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 342
EXPLANATORY STATEMENTSTATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 342
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources
Fishing Levy Act 1991
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Fishing Levy (Southern Shark Fishery) Regulations (Amendment)
Section 8 of the Fishing Levy Act 1991 (the Levy Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of section 6 of the Levy Act.
Section 5 of the Levy Act imposes levy in respect of a fishing concession. Section 6 of the Levy Act provides that the amount of levy imposed on the fishing concession is the amount prescribed by the Regulations.
Section 168 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Management Act. Section 110 of the Management Act provides that the levy imposed by the Levy Act is due and payable at a time or times ascertained as a consequence of regulations made under the Management Act.
"Fishing concession" is defined under the Levy Act and the Management Act to mean, among other things, a fishing permit.
The Fishing Levy (Southern Shark Fishery) Regulations (the principal Regulations) specify the amount of levy imposed in respect of fishing permits granted for sectors in the Southern Shark Fishery (the fishery). The fishery is divided into 2 sectors, based on the method of fishing permitted to be used. In the Hook Sector, levy is calculated on the basis of how many hooks attached to other fishing apparatus can be used on a boat under a fishing permit. One of 2 limits will be set on the number of hooks that can be used, being either 1000 hooks or 2,000 hooks. In the Gillnet Sector, levy is calculated on the basis of a "net unit", a measure of the total size of the nets that can be used under a fishing permit.
The previous effect of the principal Regulations was to require the payment of levy in the amounts of:
• $645 on the grant of a fishing permit for the Gillnet Sector granted during the period from 30 March 1994 to 10 June 1994 inclusive; and
• differential rates on the grant of a fishing permit for the Hook Sector granted during the period from 30 March 1994 to 10 June 1994 inclusive, of either
- $1,765 if the condition allows use of not more than 1,000 hooks, or
- $3,130 if the condition allows use of more than 1,000 but not more than 2,000 hooks.
These amounts all comprised the levy for management costs of the fishery and the contribution required to be made by industry in the fishery to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (the FRDC). This contribution is recovered from each of the holders of fishing permits in the fishery and is calculated to be 0.25 per cent of the Gross Value of Product of the fishery as determined by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
The Fishing Levy (Southern Shark Fishery) Regulations (Amendment) (the Regulations) would amend the principal Regulations to:
• apply the following new rates of levy to grants of fishing permits in the fishery, that would be made during the period 11 June 1994 to 10 June 1995 inclusive:
* for fishing permits in the Gillnet Sector, $700 per net unit (an increase of $55) specified in a condition of a fishing permit; and
* for fishing permits in the Hook Sector that allow the use of up to:
- 1000 hooks - $1,370 (a decrease of $395);
- 2000 hooks - $2,740 (a decrease of $790); and
• implement new payment dates for the levies for both the Gillnet Sector and the Hook Sector.
For the Gillnet Sector, the increase in the rate of levy from $645 per net unit to $700 per net unit results from a combination of 2 factors:
(a) the collection of levy in the amount of $100 per net unit that was scheduled for collection in the 1993/1994 fiscal year. The amount was intended to be part of the levy to recover the costs of managing the Gillnet Sector in the 1993/94 fiscal year. The amount could not be collected in that year because, due to the timing of the making of the last amendment of the principal Regulations, any attempt to collect the amount would have been rendered ineffective by subsection 48 (2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority, which manages the fishery, and the Management Advisory Committee for the fishery agreed that this amount would be collected in the 199411995 fiscal year, in addition to the amount required to meet the 1994/1995 management costs for the fishery; and
(b) savings of $45 per net unit, resulting from economies in the management of the fishery during the 1993/1994 fiscal year.
For the Hook Sector, the decreases in the amounts of levy from the amounts of levy previously specified in the principal Regulations results from economies in the management of the fishery during the 1993/1994 fiscal year. Differentiating the amount of levy by reference to limits on the number of hooks serves to apportion the levy among permit holders who are active in the Hook Sector, in proportion to their level of participation in that sector.
The Attorney-General's Department has provided oral advice that the application of the Regulations to cover fishing permits that are issued on or after 11 June 1994 is not rendered ineffective by subsection 48 (2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, because the liability to pay levy was imposed at the time of the grant of each fishing permit under the Levy Act and the principal Regulations did not at that time prescribe a rate of levy. The Regulation merely sets the quantum of the liability to pay levy in circumstances where the quantum was not previously specified. All applicants for fishing permits were advised at the time that they applied for their fishing permits that levy would become payable during the currency of their fishing permits and the approximate amount of the levy.
A similar approach was used during 1993 in relation to each of the Fishing Levy (North East Demersal Line Fishery) Regulations, the Fishing Levy (Northern Shark Fishery) Regulations, the Fishing Levy (Northern Fish Trawl Fishery) Regulations, the Fishing Levy (Western Deep Water Trawl Fishery) Regulations, and the Fishing Levy (North West Slope Trawl Fishery) Regulations.
Details of the Regulations, which commenced on gazettal, are set out below:
Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations amend the principal Regulations.
Regulation 2 amends regulation 3 of the principal Regulations to implement the new rates of levy for the Gillnet Sector and the Hook Sector and apply the new rates of levy in respect of all fishing concessions that are granted for each Sector during the period from 11 June 1994 to the end of 10 June 1995.
Regulation 3 amends regulation 4 of the principal Regulations to provide for when the levies are due and payable:
• levy on fishing permits for the Gillnet Sector granted before 2 April 1995 may be paid in 2 instalments, one of $100 per net unit specified as a condition of the fishing permit and the other of the remainder of the levy, The instalments must be paid as follows:
* the $100 per net unit instalment must be paid within 28 days of the commencement of the Regulation (anticipated to be on 12 October 1994) or within 28 days of the grant of the fishing permit, whichever is the later; and
* the balance must be paid by 30 April 1995;
• levy on fishing permits for the Gillnet Sector granted in the period 2 April 1995 to 10 June 1995 (inclusive) must all be paid within 28 days of the grant of the fishing permit;
• levy on fishing permits for the Hook Sector granted:
* before 2 April 1995 must be paid by 30 April 1995; and
* in the period 2 April 1995 to 10 June 1995 (inclusive) must be paid within 28 days of the grant of the fishing permit.