David Feeney (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Defence Legislation Amendment (Woomera Prohibited Area) Bill 2014. While the content of the bill may be uncontroversial it is nonetheless very important, especially to those in the state of South Australia.

I begin my remarks by reiterating the statement made by former Labor senator Don Farrell, who until recently had custody of this bill. He thanked the government for finally introducing this legislation, which is 'better late than never'.

The Woomera Prohibited Area is Australia's most important military testing range. It is used for the testing of war materiel under the control of the Royal Australian Air Force. The 127,000-kilometre expanse of northern South Australia, known as the Woomera Prohibited Area, is the world's largest overland long-range weapons testing facility and has been operational since 1947. However, from the 1980s onwards, areas of the land were made increasingly available to non-Defence users, including the resources sector. Local Indigenous groups and pastoral leaseholders also have an enduring presence across much of the WPA.

At the same time, the Woomera Prohibited Area overlaps a major part of South Australia's potential for significant mineral and energy resources, including 30 per cent of the Gawler Craton, one of the world's major mineral domains, and the Arckaringa, Officer and Eromanga basins for hydrocarbons and coal. Olympic Dam is adjacent to the Woomera Prohibited Area and is part of the same geological formations. The South Australian government has assessed that over the next decade some $35 billion worth of iron ore, gold and other minerals resources are potentially exploitable from within the Woomera Prohibited Area. So, clearly, we are talking here about a very significant resource indeed.

In order to assess the most effective use of the WPA for both Defence and non-Defence interests, on 17 May 2010 the then Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, called for a review 'to make recommendations about the best use of the WPA in the national interest'. What ensured was the review of the Woomera Prohibited Area, which was led by Dr Allan Hawke. Its final report was published on 4 February 2011, and, critically for our purposes, it made 65 recommendations. Within its numerous recommendations, the Hawke review outlines a 'co-existence model' whereby Defence maintains primacy of the WPA, but non-Defence users have clarity and certainty regarding their access to specified areas of operation, incorporating both the available location and time of use.

In particular, recommendation 14 suggests the division of the WPA into three zones; a red zone for exclusive Defence use, an amber zone for regular Defence use, and a green zone for occasional Defence use. By implementing this zonal time-share arrangement, Defence is allocated exclusion windows throughout the year that limit the non-Defence use of the WPA. This ranges from new non-Defence users' total exclusion within the red zone, to up to 56 exclusion days in the green zone, pending notice. The excluded red zone comprises approximately eight per cent of the WPA, while the vast majority—some 75 per cent of the WPA area—is designated as the most accessible green zone. Importantly, the Hawke review recommended:

… that existing mining operations, environmental organisations, Indigenous groups and pastoralists with an extant presence on the WPA, should continue to operate under their current access arrangements unless they choose to be administered under the proposed coexistence model.

The provisions of the current bill give effect to that recommendation.

The Woomera Prohibited Area is larger than Tasmania and, indeed, larger than many states in Europe. Because it was used for very good, sensible defence purposes, it meant that a large portion of the state of South Australia was not open to mining. The Hawke review considered how to use the Woomera Prohibited Area in a way that ensured both its full national security and economic potential were realised. The review proposed a system to maximise the coexistence between defence and non-defence users of the area. Critically for the purposes of government—indeed, the previous government—the review recommended that Defence remain the primary user of the area but acknowledged that exploitation of the Woomera Prohibited Area's considerable minerals resources would bring significant economic benefit to South Australia in particular and of course the nation in general.

The review proposed that the Woomera Prohibited Area be opened up for resources exploration to the maximum extent possible but within the confines of its primary use for defence purposes. This will allow Australians to take advantage of the resources potential of the area while ensuring its future viability as the most important test and evaluation range that supports the Australian Defence Force remains preserved and intact.

The bill establishes a framework that provides all non-defence users within the Woomera Prohibited Area with a greater level of certainty over defence activity in the area and a 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. The framework maintains the primacy of the Woomera Prohibited Area as a national security and defence asset and sets up a coexistence scheme that allows access by non-defence users, subject to conditions that protect the safety of all users in the Woomera Prohibited Area, and ensures the appropriate national security protections for an area used to test defence capability.

As recommended by the review, Indigenous landholders, pastoralists with an already established presence and existing mining operations in the Woomera Prohibited Area will continue to access and operate under their current arrangements. The coexistence scheme established by the bill will apply to new users of the Woomera Prohibited Area. Existing users of the area have the option of voluntarily joining the coexistence scheme established by these legislative measures if they so choose.

The Woomera Prohibited Area contains recognised traditional owners and significant Indigenous sites. Under the bill, permit holders who gain access to the Woomera Prohibited Area will be required to protect these sites and comply with all relevant native title and Aboriginal heritage laws. Indigenous groups with current statutory and access rights expressly retain these rights. They will not need to apply for permission under this legislation, which does not disturb existing rights.

Extensive consultation was undertaken by the former Labor government during the review process, which has given rise to this legislation and its various predecessor bills. Submissions were received from interested stakeholders, including the resources industry, Indigenous groups, pastoralists and environmental groups. Consultation on the bill included the release of an information paper on the proposed legislative framework for the Woomera Prohibited Area. The paper provided a general overview of the proposed policy framework proposed for implementation in the legislative package.

On 8 May 2013, an exposure draft of the previous bill introduced by Labor was released for stakeholder feedback. The South Australian government hosted a consultation workshop in Adelaide on 10 May 2013, chaired by the Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office, to discuss the bill. Stakeholders provided feedback through the workshop and by written submission. Feedback was considered and, where appropriate, the exposure bill was amended to take concerns into account. Amendments which occurred as a result of stakeholder feedback included express and specific recognition of the existing authorities for existing users, including Indigenous groups.

As the minister touched upon in his remarks, the government of South Australia raised concerns, in its submission to the committee and in the course of consultation, that the bill amendment to regulation 36 of the Defence Force Regulations 1952 will limit an individual's ability to claim compensation for loss or damage caused by defence testing in the Woomera Prohibited Area. The committee report tabled on 13 May 2014 acknowledged the concerns expressed by the South Australian government and noted that the bill amendment to regulation 36:

… appears limited compared to the existing regulation 36 which provides a broader scope of compensation to those persons who 'suffer loss or damage' as a result of the use of regulation 34 and 35.

The committee recommended that schedule 1, part 2, item 5 of the bill be removed from the bill or amended to maintain existing rights to compensation under regulation 36 of the Defence Force Regulations 1952. This amendment addresses the committee's recommendation and confirms that compensation will be available in the event that loss or damage is caused by defence testing, or where there is an acquisition of property.

I congratulate the government on introducing this bill. As Don Farrell said previously: better late than never. Two previous versions of the current bill have been introduced into this parliament. The first was introduced by the former Labor government on 30 May 2013. That bill sadly lapsed when the 43rd Parliament was prorogued on 5 August 2013. Undeterred, however, a second version of the bill was put forward—which was in equivalent terms to the first version—introduced as a private senator's bill on 12 December 2013 by former Labor senator Don Farrell. That bill failed, tragically, because it was a Labor idea, and that excluded it from serious consideration by this government. But the government have now come forward with a bill essentially in precisely the same terms so that they can claim ownership of what is a very fine piece of work and a very important step forward for South Australia. There were a couple of minor changes in the legislation, and they have been spoken of. But, fundamentally, this is a very important bill for Australia.

Given the announcement earlier this year that Holden is going to close and many jobs will be lost in South Australia, I know that former senator Don Farrell was very keen for this bill to pass and for the economic opportunities that it unlocks to be realised in the state of South Australia. As discussed, there is estimated to be some $35 billion worth of resources able to be exploited, and the mining potential of South Australia is a very important part of that state's future. For that reason, I congratulate the government on bringing this idea forward. It is always a welcome thing when the policy vacuum of those opposite is filled with good Labor ideas. So, to have them come into this place and move Labor legislation is a welcome and happy circumstance. Indeed, this must be something that the honourable member for Fadden is getting used to in his Defence portfolio. I note that he is busy implementing Plan Suakin—a very important Labor initiative in the defence space—busy at the moment making sure that the budget settings in Defence that were established by Labor are carefully nurtured by this government; and now of course he is busy making sure that fine Labor legislation passes this House. So to those extents I wish him the very best.

Debate adjourned.

See this speech in context