Australia and New Zealand Agree Maritime Boundaries

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, and his New Zealand counterpart, the Hon Phil Goff, today signed a treaty delimiting the maritime boundaries between Australia and New Zealand.

The Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand establishing Certain Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Boundaries marks the end of four years of negotiations and will settle boundaries in the largest outstanding undelimited ocean area adjacent to Australia in the Tasman Sea and the south-western Pacific and Southern Oceans.

The Treaty will provide certainty of jurisdiction over both the water column and seabed, including over fisheries and petroleum resources, as well as in relation to protecting and preserving the marine environment and undertaking marine scientific research.

The Treaty will benefit our fisheries and extractive industries, and will greatly reduce the potential for future disputes between us. It will also ensure New Zealand's support for Australia's submission later this year of data on the outer limits of its continental shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

The Foreign Ministers' Joint Statement and a background information document on the treaty can be found at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.

Media inquiries: Media inquiries: Chris Kenny (Mr Downer's Office) 02 6277 7500.