Mr McGAURAN (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) (4:42 PM) —I move:

There is an urgent need to implement long-term land based arrangements for detaining the increasing number of suspected illegal foreign fishermen who are being apprehended in our northern waters. This is a problem that is not going to go away and is one that requires firm and decisive action on the part of the parliament to support the government’s strong policy of deterrence—a message that will be delivered very forcefully to foreign fishermen who think that in both a commercial and environmental sense they can damage, and even devastate, our local fisheries and industry.

As I said in my earlier speech on other Senate amendments to the Border Protection Legislation Amendment (Deterrence of Illegal Foreign Fishing) Bill 2005, the bill is essential to establish the framework to allow us to make the necessary changes to fisheries detention arrangements. It will allow for suspected illegal foreign fishermen to be safely housed in a land based detention facility whilst they await prosecution or repatriation. It will also provide for a smooth transition between fisheries and immigration detention.

The majority of the amendments discussed today would have detracted from Australia’s ability to efficiently and effectively implement land based detention arrangements for suspected illegal foreign fishermen. To reiterate my earlier contribution, the government supports only Senate amendments (3), (5) and (8). They will, firstly, guarantee that authorised officers have undertaken appropriate training and, secondly, slightly amend the provisions to provide a person in fisheries detention with access to facilities for obtaining legal advice. I am confident that, if the House adopts the legislative framework submitted to it by the government and created by this bill, we will have the best way of implementing better arrangements for the detention of suspected illegal foreign fishermen.