Fisheries, marine safety and taxation

THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties  last week tabled two reports, with the first focussing on treaty activity regarding fisheries, marine safety and taxation, while the second summarised material from the recent seminar marking 20 years of the Committee’s work.

Committee Chair Luke Hartsuyker MP said the first report recommended ratification of an agreement designed to strengthen the Niue Treaty on fisheries surveillance and law enforcement in the South Pacific.

“The treaty will provide another avenue for preventing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region, which depletes fish stocks through overfishing and poses a serious threat to food security in our region,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

“Australia plays a key role in maritime surveillance in the region and is committed to supporting regional cooperation on maritime security. This agreement will help us to maximise our operational reach and effectiveness in monitoring illegal activity, such as IUU fishing.”

Mr Hartsuyker said the report also included two new International Maritime Organization codes which will improve ship safety and protect the marine environment.

“The Polar Water Code will ensure that ships operating in polar waters are built to withstand the conditions, while the IGF Code will provide an international standard for ships using low-flashpoint fuels,” he said.

Mr Hartsuyker said the final treaty in the report is a new taxation agreement with Germany aimed at curtailing tax evasion.

“Australia and Germany have taken the opportunity to update and modernise an existing treaty by incorporating the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) /The Group of Twenty (G20) recommendations to prevent base erosion and profit shifting,” he said.

“By including these provisions in the treaty we hope to promote the work of the OECD and create a precedent for future treaties.”

Mr Hartsuyker said the Committee also presented a second report, which summarised material from the recent seminar held to mark 20 years of the Committee’s work.

“The report contains a full transcript of the presentations delivered at the seminar, reflections on the Committee’s work, an assessment of its performance and useful statistical data,” he said.

“The seminar provided some thought provoking ideas on the Committee’s future direction and I am confident that the information included in this report will prove useful to experts, academics and students of the treaty making process in Australia.”

The reports are available on the committee’s website: http://www.aph.gov.au/jsct or by contacting the committee secretariat on (02) 6277 4002.  

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