Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I am being very polite—and little regard for their crews. They often take on crews who have very little or no understanding of local laws or they crew vessels that are very poorly maintained. It is interesting that many of these operators actually register their foreign-flagged ships in jurisdictions where is no control or oversight of what they are doing. When you add that to the mix here, you can understand why our concerns about an ocean environment and the destruction of it are very real and need to be managed as well as they can be.

The Arctic and Antarctic areas are indeed some of the most pristine areas still left in this world. They are critical ocean areas for a whole range of matters. My view is that the world and the environment that is within it are interrelated. If you damage one part, there is a flow-on effect to other parts. The Arctic and Antarctic are also now coming under increased pressure and increased risk of damage. The increased risk comes because, as we know, more people want to visit both those areas and are doing so. As other speakers have suggested, there is more shipping traffic flowing through the waters that surround them. There is increased risk because we know that there is more and more interest in the minerals and gas that lie within the oceans at that part of the world as well. There are countries that want to explore and get that gas and oil out of the ground. Again, every time that happens, even if it is not within the immediate Arctic or Antarctic areas but close by, there are risks pertaining to that as we have seen elsewhere as well.

This kind of legislation is a step in the right direction, as far as I am concerned, in trying to ensure that the vessels that go into that area are at least obliged to meet a particular standard. The standard known as the Polar Code, as has been pointed out, is not perfect. In fact, one could say that it could be much better. But it is better than what perhaps currently exists and it is a standard that people will have to meet if they are going to go into those areas. Australia, in particular—having a very direct interest in the Antarctic area, which this legislation also covers—has an obligation to ensure that, at the very minimum, the Polar Code is applied to those ships that are registered here in Australia or operated from Australian bases and want to go into the Antarctic and Arctic areas.

For all of those reasons, I support this legislation. I do believe it is a step in the right direction. Of course, just how well we monitor what happens after is another matter, but at least we can be seen to be taking steps to protect what I believe is an invaluable resource in this world, and that is the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the planet.

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