Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

This report by the Australian National Audit Office looks into what has been one of the most successful programs the Australian government has ever been involved in in relation to protection of its borders and its marine assets. I am delighted that the Audit Office has taken the time to do a fairly intensive investigation into all aspects of the Southern Ocean Maritime Patrol and Response Program that has, since 1997, been administered by the Australian Customs Service.

By way of background, when the Howard government came to power there was indeed a lot of illegal pirate activity in Australia’s EEZ in the Southern Ocean, particularly around Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which are part of the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australian concessions had received licences to fish for the very valuable but very rare Patagonian toothfish, which lives deep in the icy Southern Ocean and attracts a premium price, particularly for the restaurant trade in Japan and North America. That toothfish, which can live for up to 100 years, is a very fine eating fish and attracts very high prices. But it is of course, like all our marine ecology, under some threat.

Over the years the relevant authorities—mainly those associated with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, referred to as CCAMLR—had set a total catch limit and divided it amongst responsible nations, and Australia had a share of that overall catch limit. The allowable catch was worked out by scientists and fisheries managers to ensure the continuation of the species. But unfortunately, because of the value of the fish and the money to be made, many pirate vessels started taking a real interest in the Southern Ocean and in catching Patagonian toothfish, without any permits or licences whatsoever, and real pressure was put on the sustainability of that species. In response to that, the Australia government commenced patrols and also did a lot of diplomatic work with the French government, which also has a very significant interest in the Southern Ocean and the Patagonian toothfish. That resulted in a treaty between France and Australia which has led to joint patrols, joint enforcement and sharing of intelligence obtained from a wide range of sources to fight the presence of these illegal fishing boats.

Many of the pirate boats became household names over a series of years. The Aliza Glacial, as some might remember, was a very valuable boat that was arrested by Australia back in 1997. Some very tricky international law was employed there. A bank claimed it had a mortgage over the vessel and, under the old English admiralty law, the Australian government were unable to hold it—the mortgagees were successful in court and claimed possession. After that, the Australian laws were changed quite substantially to ensure that that sort of legal trickery could not result in pirates escaping.

There was the South Tomi, a vessel flagged to Togo, which was involved in a long chase across the Southern Ocean; the Lena and the Volga, two Russian vessels; and the Viarsa I, a Uruguayan flagged vessel that, as senators might recall, was involved in the longest maritime chase in Australia’s maritime history. The vessel, found fishing illegally around the Heard and McDonald Islands, was chased by the Australian Customs and Fisheries patrol vessel the Southern Supporter for 21 days across some of the wildest seas known to mankind. Eventually the vessel was apprehended halfway between South Africa and Montevideo—the home port of the vessel—in Uruguay, by a combined international effort involving the South Africans, the British out of the Falklands and the Australians, with the vessel the Southern Supporter. Not many people knew at the time—although it is history now—that the Southern Supporter, whilst following this vessel and continually threatening to board it unless it stopped, was unarmed. I suspect there was not even so much as a cap gun on board. Certainly it was not an armed vessel in any way. But the crew of that vessel and those involved at the time did a magnificent job.

It was as a result of that that the current vessel, the Oceanic Viking, was acquired by the then government to patrol the Southern Ocean. It was a vessel specifically appropriate for the quite horrendous seas that occur in the Southern Ocean and was substantially armed, so for the first time Australia had a real capacity to apprehend pirate vessels down in the Southern Ocean. The Australian Navy had done a lot of work in apprehending some of the vessels. The Lena and the Volga were both apprehended by the Navy, as was the Maya V, in 2004. But, whilst very capably and bravely manned by Australian sailors, the Navy vessels are not really equipped for the sorts of seas you get in the Southern Ocean—hence the acquisition of the Oceanic Viking.

This is a very good report of the ANAO. It gives a big tick, as I read it, to Customs and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, who are very much involved in this. I do want to speak more about this report, and will do so in the future. Suffice it to say at this time that this report does go into, in some detail, the work done by Customs and Fisheries in relation to the Southern Ocean Maritime Patrol and Response Program. I want to pay tribute to the men and women of Customs, and the mainly men—perhaps there are some support staff who are women—in the Australian Fisheries Management Authority who have over many years ensured that our interests are protected and that our assets remain our assets and are not subject to piracy from vessels running flags of convenience. Those people do a magnificent job, to such an extent that, since the Oceanic Viking began to be so visible in these areas and perform such good work, no pirate vessels have been sighted in the Southern Ocean for a considerable time. It is a great credit to the work of Customs and Fisheries that their efforts have saved Australia and chased from our waters these illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.