EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
REGULATION UNDER HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS ACT 1976:
STATUTORY RULES NO. 24 1983:
HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS ACT 1976 - AMENDMENT OF REGULATIONS
(Issued under the authority of the Minister of State for Home Affairs and Environment)
The Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 provides that an area may be declared a protected zone for the purpose of protecting an historic shipwreck. Sub-section 14(1) of the Act provides for regulations to be made to prohibit certain activities in protected zones. Regulation 4, contained in Statutory Rules 1978 No. 93, states that the activities listed in Section 14 of the Act are prohibited. These activities include the mooring or use of ships, trawling, diving or other underwater activity.
The Queensland Government has requested the declaration of a protected zone around the historic shipwreck ‘Yongala’ which will allow access to the wrecksite by divers without a permit, but will prohibit certain activities. These include salvage or recovery operations, the use of explosives or tools, trawling or fishing, spearfishing or collecting of corals and other marine life associated with the wreck, and mooring over the wreck in such a manner that anchor damage is likely to be caused to the historic shipwreck ‘Yongala’. The Statutory Rules amend the Historic Shipwreck Regulations so that these activities are prohibited in respect of the protected zone declared under Section 7 of the Act within which the ‘Yongala’ is situated.