Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities) Share this | Hansard source

The Shipping Registration Amendment Bill 2018 will make minor amendments to the shipping registration process to modernise the system. The amendments remove the shipping registration certificate from existing regulations and allow them to be directly approved by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Mr Acting Deputy President Sterle, I know that this legislation is of great interest to you. By taking the certificate forms out of the regulations, they can be updated and changed as needed without going through the lengthy process of amending the regulations themselves. The bill includes a suite of other minor associated reforms, including requiring the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to publish forms on its website, clarifying responsible authorities for a variety of existing provisions and creating the ability for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to exempt some ships from ship-marking requirements—for example, heritage ships. It also allows for the authority to specify the forms that must be used in applications for shipping registration. Labor supports these minor reforms.