Status: This Bill was introduced to the House of Representatives on the 4 September 2018 and referred to the Committee on State Development, Natural Resources and Agricultural Industry Development on the same date.
Stated Purpose: This Bill amends the Fisheries Act 1994, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 and the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994. The Bill aims to modernise the objectives of the Fisheries Act 1994, clarify the roles of the Minister responsible for fisheries and the chief executive in the management of the State’s fisheries, and reduce complexities. It also has the objective of implementing stronger compliance powers and penalties to deal with serious fisheries offences.
Native title implications: An aspect of the Bill's purpose is to ‘formally acknowledge the importance of fisheries resources to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland to ensure harvest strategies appropriately consider maintaining their access to fisheries resources’. However the changes outlined in the Bill will not impact indigenous fisher’s access to Queensland’s fisheries.
For further information please see Explanatory Notes.