❓ WA government responds to a question regarding illegal fishing in northern waters, highlighting federal government responsibility and detailing state efforts and expenditure. The response expresses concern over the impact on WA fisheries and seeks clarification on federal resource allocation.
AnsweredQoN 320Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ILLEGAL FISHING
The federal government has increased its funding to assist in combating illegal fishing taking place in Australian waters off our northern coast. What funding and resources are being provided by the Western Australian state government to protect Western Australian marine jurisdiction and help the local fishing industry in our northern waters to survive? Hon JON FORD
The federal government has increased its funding to assist in combating illegal fishing taking place in Australian waters off our northern coast. What funding and resources are being provided by the Western Australian state government to protect Western Australian marine jurisdiction and help the local fishing industry in our northern waters to survive? Hon JON FORD
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
Hon JON FORD replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
Hon JON FORD replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
Responsibility for illegal foreign fishing clearly rests with the federal government. The lack of a satisfactory response from the federal government over a number of years has seen the incidence of illegal fishing escalate markedly, to the extent that more than 13 000 foreign fishing vessels were sighted across northern Australia last year. Only 280 foreign fishing boats were apprehended, and 327 were separately dealt with by administrative forfeiture. This year, to date, 156 boats have been apprehended and 44 have been dealt with by administrative forfeiture. Administrative forfeiture means that the fishing gear is confiscated and the boat is sent back to where it came from. The government is alarmed at the impact this activity is having on the sustainability of Western Australian fisheries, and is firmly committed to ensuring the federal government puts in place the necessary measures to address this significant problem. During 2005-06, I reacted promptly to the increasing problem and provided an additional level of compliance presence in the north of the state. This included basing the patrol vessel Walcott in Broome, manned by fisheries and police officers, basing another patrol vessel at One Arm Point, and establishing joint patrols with the Bardi community to protect their valuable trochus stocks. This required the transfer of state compliance resources from their normal duties protecting our domestic fisheries. Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
Since July last year the government has spent more than $850 000 on foreign fishing compliance activities in the state’s north. This does not include the cost of the Department of Fisheries international operations group, which the commonwealth government has now axed. We have had 36 fisheries officers combating illegal fishing, mainly on board the patrol vessel Walcott, as part of boarding parties when apprehending foreign vessels. Western Australia Police has also had officers on board the Walcott, dedicated to combating illegal fishing. We have had the Bardi patrol at One Arm Point protecting our valuable trochus fishery. The state has caught 12 illegal boats and imprisoned 98 illegal fishermen under our laws, at a cost of more than $2.6 million to the people of Western Australia. As members will be aware, the state is also spending considerably more money incarcerating illegal foreign fishermen prosecuted under commonwealth legislation. If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
If the commonwealth had been protecting our borders and if the commonwealth had stopped these illegal fishermen before they entered our waters, we could have committed all these resources to the delivery of services to the people of Western Australia. WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
WA was also instrumental in the development of a joint strategy with the Northern Territory government that outlines a comprehensive plan to address illegal foreign fishing. The government is pleased that, following intense pressure from the WA and Northern Territory governments, the commonwealth now seems to recognise the significant threat to Western Australia’s northern fish resources, biosecurity, regional communities and security and appears to be implementing a number of components of the WA-NT strategy. I appreciate the efforts of Minister Abetz in regard to this issue. The recent commonwealth budget contains an allocation of resources to address this problem; however, this government is in discussions with the federal government to ascertain the level of resources that will be dedicated to protecting WA’s interests. The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
The state will assess the impact of the commonwealth measures and then tailor the activities of the various state agencies to complement those of the commonwealth. This assessment has not been possible as the commonwealth measures were only recently announced as part of the budget process. At this stage the level of these new resources that will be directed to protecting WA waters is still unclear.
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