Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I think that is a good question, and there will be more work to do on this matter, clearly, as we seek to understand more in relation to the details of the memorandum of understanding between those organisations and the Papua New Guinea government. But I would advise the chamber that the Australian Border Force has an ongoing presence in the Torres Strait. It has a very close working relationship with law enforcement agencies and with our Papua New Guinea counterparts.

Commercial scale fisheries would not be considered a traditional activity under the Torres Strait treaty and would not be permitted. Only residents of the protected zone are able to undertake such activities, which is intended to protect the air, the sea, the land of the Torres Strait, including the native plant and animal life included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, the CITES, such as dugongs and turtles.