Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures No. 2) Bill 2013. I commend the member for Groom for the first two-fifths of his speech and the last one-fifth of his speech. There were two-fifths there during which I drifted off, but I commend him for his contribution and for the bipartisan support that the opposition has given this legislation.

Obviously, as an island nation we have always taken a particular interest in our immediate surrounds. We have a troubled and a proud history as a federal government in being a little bit adventurous. I will particularly mention my predecessor as the member for Moreton, the Hon. James Killen, who did so much back in his time in the 1970s in terms of looking at federal responsibilities. He had a barney or two with the states working out those federal responsibilities. We can also look at the PRRT and some of the debates that went on in this place about that. Obviously, it is now well established that the PRRT is a good tax. We have a sustainable industry there that is also giving a responsible return to Australia. If you look at the Hansard debates at the time that that legislation was introduced by the Hawke government, you could swear that it was going to be the end of that industry. But we have obviously seen a significant offshore petroleum industry since, and it continues to have a healthy outlook—despite what the member for Groom said about the tax avoidance manoeuvres undertaken by some large multinational companies that work in this area.

I particularly commend the Labor government in both the 42nd and 43rd parliaments for the work we have done in declaring parts of our surrounding waters marine parks. As a Queenslander, I am very proud of the Great Barrier Reef, as all Australians are. We have declared some of the other marine park areas in recognition of the important contribution that our oceans make, as a source of food but also in terms of their impact on global climate change and maintaining temperatures. If you go north-west of Australia, you are getting into an area called the Amazon of the oceans. We are only just exploring some of the scientific and health benefits associated with the marine flora and fauna. I would like to commend the work of the famous Australian writer Tim Winton, who has done much to focus Australia's view on the south-western part of Australia. And on cue a Western Australian walks in! I commend Minister Gray for the work that he has done in recognising that important interplay between industry and the environment.

Sadly, over recent years we have seen a number of tragic accidents due to serious risk within the offshore petroleum industry. I first encountered this industry when I was on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Primary Industry and Resources under the member for Lyons, Dick Adams. We did a review of the draft Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Bill. We were looking at productive fields changing to be more useful in a carbon constrained world. This is offshore and sadly it is dangerous. There have been incidents. We have all read about the Montara incident in the papers. I also recall the two deaths in the Otway Basin. These can be dangerous environments and it is important to get the health and safety legislation and support well established and controlled. Those two incidents indicate that there is a need to develop strong, effective regulations of our offshore petroleum regime to ensure the health and safety of our workers as well as protecting the Australian marine environment.

The compliance measures contained in the amended bill will include a range of alternative enforcement mechanisms, such as infringement notices and adverse publicity orders, and continuing penalties. It is a stepped-up scheme of common sense and it allows for a bigger stick to be hauled out slowly. The agreed recommendations from the whole-of-government polluter-pays report include: an express polluter-pays obligation and an associated third-party cost-recovery mechanism; clarifying the insurance requirements to ensure that maintenance of sufficient financial insurance is compulsory without a direction being given and to clarify the compliance role of the regulator; enabling NOPSEMA inspectors to issue environmental prohibition and improvement notices to require petroleum titleholders to take action on removing significant threats to the environment; and requiring the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to publish occupational health and safety and environment improvement notices and prohibition notices on its website—the naming and shaming side of things.

The upstream oil and gas sector is a significant industry for Australia, generating around $35.6 billion in the 2008-09 financial year. It employs over 10,000 people. Australia is in danger of marine damage and risk to worker safety within the oil and gas industry, but unless new oil discoveries are made in Australia there is legitimate concern about the long-term fall in production as ageing oilfields decline. As a Queenslander, I know that there are significant developments onshore, but offshore we look forward to new exploration and development leading to new production. The petroleum industry has been acutely aware of the environmental issues for many decades. Geologists, geophysicists and production engineers have been taught to protect and conserve the natural phenomena which surround them every time they venture into the field to initiate and build a project. As a consequence, through their work the petroleum industry has been taking steps to minimise its disturbance to flora and fauna both onshore and offshore for a number of years prior to the media hysteria about the Montara incident.

With this in mind, the government has maintained a regulatory body to ensure this protection is upheld and in some cases improved. That is why we introduced the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to police the petroleum industry's safety and environmental standards. The regulatory body was set up as a direct response to the 2009 oil and gas spill into the Timor Sea. As a result of the inquiry it was recommended that a single independent regulator look after safety, well integrity and environmental management of the Australian offshore petroleum industry. It effectively consolidates the current state, territory and national regulation for health and safety, structural integrity, environmental plans and day-to-day operations associated with petroleum activity in Commonwealth waters. As I mentioned, it will be supported by the opposition.

The bill under debate today has been introduced as a necessary action to further maintain the safety of offshore petroleum workers and to enforce those further environmental standards on the industry, so that all Australians can be assured about the sustainability of our environment which is a big asset for our tourism industry as well as the enjoyment of the nearly 90 per cent of Australians who live within 100 kilometres of the ocean. Our marine environment is worth protecting by strengthening the application of polluters-pay standards. By forcing industry to stop, contain, control and clean up spills that occur we are giving our fragile environment a chance to survive and grow for future generations.

Environmental protection and the conservation of biodiversity are exceptionally important for Australians, and the international community is watching us to make sure we get it right. Every Australian wants to see our economy grow and prosper. As the Labor Party we are all about jobs, but we need to get the balance right and ensure we do not do so at the expense of our environment. Stringent environmental controls must be in place across the petroleum industry. Greenhouse gas storage is significant in reducing environmental impacts, but there are also a number of measures that must be monitored to ensure maximum protection is upheld, including drilling fluids. Drilling muds must be ecologically tested to ensure there are no toxic effects on the surrounding environment. Disposal of the chemical and heavy metal content of waste material should strictly adhere to government regulations, particularly in offshore locations. Land clearing, including clearance of vegetation for tracks and drilling sites, should be further controlled to ensure any disturbance is kept to a minimum. Oil spill control is hopefully not something that the minister will ever have to worry about, but obviously this would be detrimental to our environment. The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures No. 2) Bill is focused on implementing improved industry standards for clean-up and reduced environmental impact.

The bill is also a reflection of our commitment to our Clean Energy Future. Obviously the Australian Labor Party is moving Australia to a low-emissions economy while upholding our commitment to protecting jobs and growth. Despite the doom and gloom and the relentless jeremiad coming for those opposite, the reality is that since 1 July and the introduction of the carbon price, the emissions in the national electricity market have fallen by about 10 million tonnes and renewable energy generated in the NEM has increased by almost 30 per cent over the same period. This is while the economy has continued to grow close to trend and we have created around 160,000 new jobs. I particularly commend the government for the Carbon Farming Initiative by allowing additional land-based abatement projects to generate credits. Despite those opposite, we have got a multi-pronged attack, which is what a price does. Obviously their mechanism will be a complete disaster. Heaven forbid if they do get a chance to implement it. I commend the legislation to the House.

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