The Budget: a quick guide

The Budget is an opportunity for the Government to inform the Parliament, and therefore the broader public, about matters including: the expected performance of the international and Australian economy the Government’s economic and fiscal strategy specific policy decisions the Government has made. Budget Night is typically the most important annual policy statement by the Government

Redistribution and Transformation in the South African Fishing Industry: The Case of the Squid Fishery

This is a summary paper on the redistribution and restructuring of the South African squid industry. Political normalisation in South Africa during 1994, and the drafting of the new Marine Living Resources Act 1998, led to the imperative to transform the fishing sector to more equitably reflect the racial demographics of the country. The current approach to redistribution in the squid industry is a command and control instrument. It takes access rights, in the form of fisher permits, away from existing boat owners and redistributes them to new entrants from historically disadvantaged communities. The lack of human skills and capital - which is a persistent legacy of apartheid - of the new entrants, coupled with one year tenure of permits, has resulted in a market for paper permits. This system also results in income, rather than wealth, redistribution. An incentive market based process of transformation is proposed. It is argued that long term access rights on vessels can be used as a behavioral incentive for boat owners to internally transform their own ownership structures to reflect the demographic distribution of the country

Towards Equity, Sustainability and Stability: A Sector Planning Approach to Fishing and Mariculture Development in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa

A development mandate is explicit in South Africa’s new fisheries legislation, the Marine Living Resources Act, which is based on the principles of equity, sustainability and stability. The new policy represents a significant departure from that of the previous Government, which largely confined its role to resource management. This presents a challenge in terms of the development of institutional strategies and capacity to promote socio-economic goals. A case study of a sector planning approach to fishing and mariculture development in the Northern Cape Province is described, as well as lessons learned from the experience. The economy of the Namaqualand coastal region of the Northern Cape Province is dominated by mining which is in decline, however fishing and mariculture offer a significant opportunity for sustainable economic development provided appropriate interventions are made. Specific initiatives have included the establishment of a representative community based Fishing and Mariculture Development Association (FAMDA), mentor support for emerging fishing and mariculture entrepreneurs, a socio-economic baseline and impact assessment of the potential of mariculture and fishery development, research support to promote fishery and aquaculture development, and the development of new projects and investments. It is concluded that the single biggest constraint to fishing and mariculture development remains institutional, and that well coordinated planning and institutional arrangements will be required if development goals of South Africa’s new Marine Living Resources Act are to be realised.Keywords: South Africa, fishing, mariculture, equity, sector plannin