James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The government does not support this inquiry, as it is unnecessary. Australia's offshore petroleum industry is one of the safest in the world, with some of the lowest injury rates. Australia's independent, expertise based regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, regulates health and safety in the industry. While broadly consistent with the national Work Health and Safety Act, this regime has additional specific requirements to address the high-hazard, high-risk nature of offshore activities and applies duties of care to a more specific set of persons in more detail. Last year Labor senators Chisholm and Urquhart stated that the Australian offshore oil and gas industry is subject to one of the most rigorous environmental safety and regulatory regimes in the world.