Senator LUDWIG (Queensland—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Minister Assisting the Attorney-General on Queensland Floods Recovery) (14:49): I thank Senator Siewert for her question about the Offshore Constitutional Settlement arrangements with WA. In the time available anything I do not quite get to I might take on notice. To date there has been improved data which enables better definition of the Offshore Constitutional Settlement arrangements in WA. It is important, as I think Senator Siewert has outlined, to resolve the issue using the best available scientific information, and the Commonwealth remains committed to resolving the issue. It can only be resolved, however, through the agreement by both governments—that is, the Commonwealth and the Western Australian governments. The Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Dr Kelly, has been working on this specific issue to gain agreement from the WA government. They are in discussions, which are ongoing at this juncture, but an overlay is that there have been concerns expressed by some stakeholders about the future presence of Commonwealth managed trawlers in shallow waters. I just need to correct some of the underlying assumptions around the question. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority closed the area of the fishery shallower than 200 metres. That closure was maintained until December 2010 when the area was subject to a voluntary closure, which is due to end on 30 September 2011. At the time the original closure was implemented there were no management measures in place to ensure the sustainable harvest of species found in waters shallower than 200 metres. Since that time the process has provided for complementary management arrangements for the key targeted species. There has been work between both WA and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. (Time expired)