Fisheries Levy (Northern Prawn Fishery) Regulations (Amendment) 1994 No. 405
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 405
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources
Fisheries Levy Act 1984
Fisheries Levy (Northern Prawn 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).
Most of the Fisheries Act was repealed on 3 February 1992 by subsection 3(2) of the Fisheries Legislation (Consequential Provisions) Act 1991 (the Consequential Provisions Act). On that date, most of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) came into force. The Management Act is now the primary legislation under which Commonwealth fisheries are managed.
Section 7 of Consequential Provisions Act also provides for a transitional arrangement to take account of fisheries which are the subject of agreements made under Part IVA of the Fisheries Act. These agreements are made between the States and the Commonwealth and are about jurisdiction over these fisheries The transitional arrangement provides, in effect, that these fisheries continue to be managed under the Fisheries Act until 3 February 1995, when Part IVA expires. On that date, Part 5 of the Management Act (the equivalent of Part IVA of the Fisheries Act) commences and these fisheries become managed under the Management Act. The Northern Prawn Fishery (the fishery) is one of these fisheries.
The fishery is a limited entry fishery. Fishing takes place in the fishery during two seasons each year.
The Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan (the Plan), determined under the Fisheries Act, provides that the fishing capacity of the fishery is divided into units of fishing capacity. These units are allocated on a seasonal basis to persons who hold licences for the fishery, under the Fisheries Act. A person is entitled to operate a boat in the fishery during a season if a Class B unit and a particular number of Class A units (as prescribed by the Plan) are allocated to that or another person for that season and those persons then assign those units to the boat.
The Class A units are classified under the Plan as active, surplus or suspense, depending on their history and whether or not they are presently assigned to a boat. An Active Class A unit is a Class A unit currently assigned to a boat under the Plan. A surplus Class A unit is a Class A unit that is not currently assigned to a boat. A suspense Class A unit is a Class A unit that (among other requirements set out in the Plan) has never been assigned to a boat.
The Fisheries Levy (Northern Prawn Fishery) Regulations (the principal Regulations) prescribe that allocations under the Plan of active Class A units and surplus Class A units (collectively known as leviable units) and the renewal of those allocations are matters in respect of which an amount of levy is specified and also specify the amount of levy.
The levy paid on the leviable units is paid twice each year, on 14 July and 14 December, the dates when units are allocated or those allocations are renewed. Each payment comprises different components:
On 14 July each year, levy is collected solely to cover the costs of repaying the next 6monthly Voluntary Adjustment Scheme (VAS) loan instalment. The VAS was implemented under the Plan. The VAS reduced fishing effort by encouraging unit holders to surrender some of their Class A units in return for being paid a set value for their units. These values were paid from the proceeds of a loan taken out on behalf of the unit holders. A Commonwealth subsidy was granted to assist the unit holders to repay the loan. The subsidy was used up by the end of 1993.
On 14 December each year, levy is collected to cover annual management costs and research costs, as well as costs of the next 6-monthly VAS loan instalment.
Management costs are the costs that, under Government policy, are recoverable from unit holders in the fishery on the basis of management cost estimates for the relevant financial year. The research costs are the contribution of the Northern Prawn trawl fishing industry to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. This contribution is recovered pro rata basis from each of the unit holders in the fishery and is calculated to be 0.25 per cent of the Gross Value of Product (GVP) of the fishery.
It is therefore necessary to prescribe a different levy amount for the commencement of each season. An adequate review of changes in the levy rate for the fishery requires a comparison between the last 2 previous levy rates and the new levy rate:
the principal Regulations previously prescribed the levy at a rate of $44.75 per unit allocated or renewed for the period 14 July in a year to 13 December in that year, inclusive;
the principal Regulations previously prescribed the levy at a rate of $34.40 per unit, for the period 14 July 1994 to 13 December 1994 inclusive; and
the Regulations amended the principal Regulations so as to require the payment of levy in the increased sum of $52.45 per unit, for the period 14 December 1994 to 2 February 1995 inclusive.
The 2 February date in the Regulations corresponds with the expiry of Part IVA and the consequent expiry of the Plan. The Plan will be replaced by a new plan of management under the Management Act and new levy regulations under the Fishing Levy Act 1991 will be made for the collection of future levies.
A comparative calculation of the 2 previous levy rates in the principal Regulations and the new levy rate in the Regulations is set out in the following Table:
Table
Item | Previous rate: December 1993 ($000's) | Current rate: July 1994 ($000's) | New rate: December 1994 ($000's) |
Management Costs | 1,067 | nil | 727 |
Research Contribution | 253 | nil | 241 |
VAS Costs | 1,066 | 1,840 | 1,840 |
Total levy payable ($000's) | 2,386 | 1,840 | 2,808 |
Total number of leviable units | 53,355 units | 53,496 units | 53,561 units |
Levy per unit (nearest cent) | $44.75 | $34.40 | $52,45 |
The management component has decreased since December 1993, due to economies achieved in the management of the fishery and a recent reassessment of the Government policy on the recoverable costs. The reassessment was carried out by the Cost Recovery Taskforce and was approved by the Government.
As the GVP has fallen since 1993, the research component has decreased accordingly since December 1993.
Repayments on the VAS loan are now made at a fixed rate, which is why the July 1994 and the December 1994 VAS costs are the same. The December 1993 VAS cost was lower because the remainder of the Commonwealth subsidy accounted for part of the relevant VAS loan repayment.
The number of leviable units has been steadily increasing as unit holders convert (non-leviable) suspense Class A units to leviable units by assigning them to boats.
Under section 7 of the Levy Act, the amount of levy would continue to be due and payable on the allocation of a unit and the renewal of the allocation of a unit. As provided by the Plan, these activities next occur on 14 December 1994.
Details of the Regulations, which commenced on gazettal, are set out below:
Regulation 1 provides for the amendment of the principal Regulations.
Regulation 2 specifies the new amount of levy payable in respect of the next allocation-and renewal of allocation of units of fishing capacity in the fishery.