Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This b ill will ensure the effective commencement of important amendments to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGSA) to strengthen the offshore petroleum regulatory regime in respect of compliance, safety, integrity and environmental management objectives.

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures) Act 2013 and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures No. 2) Act 2013 received royal assent on 14 March 2013 and 28 May 2013 , respectively. These a cts include amendments to the OPGGSA that seek to clarify and strengthen the compliance, monitoring, investigation and enforcement powers of the national offshore petroleum regulator, and ensure that enforcement measures for contraventions of the a ct are appropriate in application and severity in the context of a high-hazard industry.

Unfortunately, the relevant s chedules to those compliance measures acts have not been able to commence. Commencement of those s chedules was linked to commencement of the proposed Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2013 , as provisions in the s chedules would have triggered provisions in that a ct; however , the b ill for that a ct did not pass p arliament before it was prorogued prior to last year ' s f ederal election.

On 20 March 2014, the g overnment introduced the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Bill 2014, which provides a framework of powers for general application across regulatory schemes for monitoring compliance with, investigating breaches of, and enforcing Commonwealth laws.

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment Bill includes amendments that will link commencement of the compliance measures acts to the commencement of the proposed Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 . The g overnment is committed to ensuring that the important amendments to the OPGGSA to be made by the compliance measures acts can properly commence. Incidents such as the blowout at the Montara wellhead platform on 21 August 2009 off the northern coast of Western Australia, and the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, highlight the need for a strong, effective and properly resourced offshore petroleum regulatory regime to safeguard both human health and safety as well as the Australian marine environment.

The amendments made by this b ill will also continue to ensure that the relevant standard provisions, now contained in the proposed Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 which is currently being considered by the p arliament, are triggered for use within the offshore petroleum regulatory regime. Use of the standard provisions in that a ct will prevent unnecessary lengthening of the statute book and duplication within Commonwealth legislation by negating the need to include those provisions in the OPGGSA itself. This demonstrates the g overnment ' s continuing commitment to reduce regulation and make Commonwealth laws clear and accessible.

The b ill also includes consequential amendments to the OPGGSA to support amendments that I am introducing today to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003 (the regulatory levies act). The amendments to that a ct would adjust the application of annual titles administration levies to ensure that the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator is able to fully cost-recover its activities undertaken in relation to titles under the OPGGSA. The consequential amendments made by this b ill will insert a regulation-making power into the OPGGSA to provide for regulations to be made to enable amounts of annual titles administration levy to be remitted or refunded in the event that the whole or part of a title is not force for a full year. Providing for refund or remittal in these circumstances will ensure that the Titles Administrator receives sufficient levy to cover its functions in relation to titles while a title is in force, but also that titleholders are not required to pay levy in relation to periods during which the title is not in force.

Other minor policy and technical amendments in this b ill will:

In summary, through a range of measures, this bill underscores the government's commitment to the maintenance and continuing improvement of a strong, effective framework for the regulation of offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage activities.

Debate adjourned.