Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsPreamble
WHEREAS a belt of sea adjacent to the coast of Australia , known as the territorial sea, and the airspace over the territorial sea and the bed and subsoil of the territorial sea, are within the sovereignty of Australia :
AND WHEREAS Australia as a coastal state has:
(a) sovereign rights in respect of the waters, the sea - bed and the subsoil that constitute the exclusive economic zone of Australia for the purposes of:
(i) exploring the zone; and
(ii) exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources of the zone; and
(b) sovereign rights with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the exclusive economic zone of Australia , such as the production of energy from water, currents and winds; and
(c) jurisdiction in accordance with international law in relation to:
(i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone; and
(ii) marine scientific research in the exclusive economic zone; and
(iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment in the exclusive economic zone; and
(d) other rights and duties in relation to the exclusive economic zone provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea:
AND WHEREAS Australia as a coastal state has sovereign rights in respect of the continental shelf (that is to say, the sea - bed and subsoil of certain submarine areas adjacent to its coast but outside the area of the territorial sea) for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources:
AND WHEREAS Australia as a coastal state has the right under international law to exercise control within a contiguous zone to:
(a) prevent infringements of customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws within Australia or the territorial sea of Australia ;
(b) to punish infringements of those laws:
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows: