Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science, Technology and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to lend the opposition's comment on the Defence Legislation Amendment (Woomera Prohibited Area) Bill 2013. A bit of history is always instructive. The Woomera Prohibited Area is our most important military testing range, established in 1947 as a long-range weapons testing facility by the UK and Australia under the Anglo-Australian Joint Project, which wound down in the seventies.

By way of geography, the Woomera Prohibited Area is located in South Australia, 450 kilometres north-north-west of Adelaide. It is 127,000 square kilometres in size—just under half the size of New Zealand, to give some scope. It is the largest land range in the world. It has a centre-line of about 600 kilometres. Its centre-line is comparable to that of England. It is remote, as I know from having been there in 1993 with the 3rd Battalion, dealing with a particular demonstration as part of Operation Easter of Peace—I remember it well. It is unequalled in size globally.

The Woomera Prohibited Area has a very quiet electromagnetic environment. It is an ideal test and evaluation site for Australia, its allies and its partners. It is still utilised extensively by Defence. Yet, in the eighties and nineties, it is fair to say its relative use declined and it was opened up to non-Defence users, introducing the resources sector. The majority of it is South Australian crown land. It is covered by pastoral leases and mining tenements granted by the South Australian government. The Woomera Prohibited Area overlaps a major part of South Australia’s potential for significant minerals and energy resources. It includes 30 per cent of the Gawler Craton, one of the world’s major minerals domains, and the Arckaringa, Officer and Eromanga basins for hydrocarbons and coal. Olympic Dam is adjacent to the prohibited area and of course is part of the same geological formation. Some estimates are that in the next decade $35 billion worth of iron ore, gold and other mineral resources are potentially exploitable from within the Woomera Prohibited Area, noting of course BHP’s reticence to move forward in terms of Olympic Dam; however, let us take it as read that there is a potential.

In 2010 the government announced the Hawke review, to make recommendations on the best use of the Woomera Prohibited Area in the national interest. Dr Allan Hawke AC did the review, released in May 2011. The significant judgement underpinning the framework is that the South Australian government and Defence are key stakeholders. The review investigated how to use the Woomera Prohibited Area in a way that ensured that its full national security and economic potential was realised. It recommended that Defence remain the primary user of the area, quite rightly. It also acknowledged that exploitation of the Woomera Prohibited Area's considerable natural resources would likely bring significant economic benefit to South Australia and the nation more broadly. I do not have a problem with that, although if BHP is not moving on Olympic Dam it is a fair stretch to say that the Woomera Prohibited Area is going to save the South Australian economy. However, the review proposed that the Woomera Prohibited Area be opened up for resource exploration and mining to the maximum extent possible within the primary use of defence for Australia’s purpose. It is an important distinction the coalition wishes to make that the primary purpose of this area is for defence of Australia and its interests. The government has noted that implementation of the review and operation of the new legislative scheme require continuing close cooperation between the Defence and Resources portfolios, a statement of the bleedingly obvious. It also requires cooperation between Commonwealth agencies and of course South Australian government entities and broader stakeholders.

It is important to note that once you give up Defence land, you never get it back again. This is the world's largest weapons test range. In terms of long-range missiles, it has a straight centre-line of 600 kilometres. There is nowhere else in the world where Australia, its allies and partners can, over land, test modern weapons over that range. If Defence's capacity to achieve that level of technology is given up, Australia and its allies will never get that type of land back again. Defence's use remains of the primacy.

This bill is designed to provide a framework—coathanger legislation, if you will—which provides certainty for all users of the Woomera Prohibited Area, Defence and non-Defence alike. It is designed to provide greater certainty over access arrangements. It allows users to make commercial decisions with some assurance as to when they will be required to leave the area because of defence activity. Importantly, the legislation will ensure the Woomera Prohibited Area remains first and foremost a national security and defence asset. I am pleased to see that is front and centre in the legislation. Ensuring that defence and national security remain a priority of the highest order is appropriate, sensible and welcome.

The fact that there will now be, to use the government's term, a 'coexistence scheme' which will allow other non-Defence users to access the Woomera Prohibited Area may be acceptable if the appropriate steps are taken to ensure the area remains available and suitable for testing of defence capability. This is a unique capability that we possess and it is of the highest priority that we retain that capability. At this point, it is important to note that the bill will not alter the current arrangements as they apply to Indigenous landholders or pastoralists with an established presence or to existing mining operations. The provisions of the bill and new coexistence scheme will apply to new users—a line in the sand, if you will. Existing users will have the option of voluntarily joining the coexistence scheme established by these measures.

Given the Woomera Prohibited Area contains recognised traditional owners and significant Indigenous sites, it is appropriate the bill regulate how non-Defence users who gain access to it treat and protect those sites and comply with all relevant native title and Aboriginal heritage laws. The coalition is very comfortable with that. The bill ensures that Indigenous groups with current statutory and access rights expressly retain these rights and will not need to re-apply for permission under the bill. We support that; it is sensible. These are important points which we expect the Senate to examine in some detail when the bill is referred to have committee. But, on the surface, we accept it.

It is also important to note that the bill sets out the broad framework for the new coexistence scheme within the Woomera Prohibited Area. It enables the creation of new security provisions and powers, general rules, offences, penalties et cetera. It details how the new scheme will operate. This is contained within the rules which are currently open for public consultation. The rules will be jointly agreed by the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Resources and Energy. They will, I gather, be amended by regulation as required—and such regulation will be disallowable by parliament, I understand.

We are not opposed in principle to the new management framework for the Woomera Prohibited Area. Given it is highly prospective, given that there is an estimated $35 billion worth of mining development possible over the next decade, it would be churlish at best for us not to welcome it in principle. A draft of the Prohibited Area Rules has been published and written submissions were invited up until 12 July. Due to the ongoing process and following consultation with stakeholders, further scrutiny of the bill would be prudent and there is time to do that—so we should take that time. We do not oppose it. We will certainly seek to refer it to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee to allow stakeholders—including Defence and the national security community—to put forward their views.

This is a one-off area. There is nothing like this in the world. It is a phenomenal piece of Defence real estate. We should not rush into folly. We should take our time if we have it—and we do. Clearly we reserve our right to amend the bill post the Senate committee review. We are supportive of the government establishing an independent advisory board to monitor and report on the Woomera Prohibited Area and to oversee the implementation of the coexistence arrangements. This is important because the area may be utilised by the resources sector but will still be utilised as a strategic asset by Australia and its allies. As such, all care must be taken to ensure we do not do ourselves significant harm for short-term gain—with a longer term lack of gain.

The bill enjoys the coalition's guarded support. We will push it to the relevant committee and the Senate to further explore any unintended consequences or known unknowns. From there the coalition will make its decision and reserves its right in the Senate.

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