Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the important Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Amendment (Maritime Security Guards and Other Measures) Bill 2005 that will help the Howard government go even further to lock in security for the Australian people and to secure our seaborne trade routes and help the Australians who work within them. There can be no doubt that, following the attacks of September 11 and the subsequent shocking terrorist attacks in places such as Bali, London and Madrid, the Australian people expect the Australian government to do everything in its power to protect our way of life.

Our strong and ongoing commitment to border protection and the defence of Australia is reflected in the half-a-billion dollars worth of measures to boost surveillance and interdiction in the north, which is particularly important to my home state of Western Australia, and the Howard government’s commitment to increase the defence budget by three per cent per annum until 2016.

The feedback I get from the people of Stirling tells me that the protection of our borders and the defence of Australia is a high priority. I am a strong advocate for the increased measures that the Howard government continues to take in the area of national security. It is an issue that has become increasingly important, and it has been given greater prominence as we approach the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks with the threats of terrorism and the possibility of failed states on our doorstep.

Australia needs to be prepared for a variety of security threats against a number of facilities, not least of which are our seaports and sea routes. Terrorist attacks around the world have spurred the international community to resolve to implement a system to secure the maritime transport sector. The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, the ISPS Code, developed through the International Maritime Organisation at the end of December 2002, was the result. With about 90 per cent of world trade being moved by sea, including 99.5 per cent of Australia’s overseas trade by volume and 75 per cent by value, the impact of a terrorist attack on Australia’s seaborne trade could have a significant impact on Australia’s economy as well as the lives of those directly affected by an attack.

The Maritime Transport Security Act 2003 sought to strengthen the security in the maritime industry and to implement the ISPS Code in Australia, both of which came into effect on 1 July 2004. Australia’s maritime security regime has been reviewed a number of times since implementation to take into account the international changes to security regimes and our own experience of implementing these protocols. These changes, through legislation and regulation, have better enabled our seaports and sea routes to be protected in the changing security environment. The amendments we are currently debating add to this responsible approach. In June 2005 the act was amended to cover Australia’s offshore oil and gas facilities. These amendments resulted in provisions for new security identity cards for maritime and offshore industry personnel and included the renaming of the act to the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003. Australia’s maritime security regime now covers the security arrangements of nearly 470 members of the maritime industry, including 70 ports, 184 port facilities, 97 port service providers, 59 Australian flagged ships and 58 offshore oil and gas facilities.

Members of the maritime and offshore oil and gas industries are now all being guided by the one act and its related regulations. By standardising the regulations and the responsibilities of the industry participants the left hand now knows what the right hand is doing. This will give clarity to the industry and confidence to people involved in the industry and to people who rely on maritime trade. All participants are now moving in the same direction. The Howard government is implementing a preventative security regime to enhance security at ports, terminals, offshore facilities and on board ships, fulfilling Australia’s international obligations under the International Maritime Organisation’s ISPS Code.

Our economy relies heavily on our ability to trade internationally. Imports, exports and the nation’s energy supply all rely upon secure maritime transport. This bill will enact safeguards for our key strategic assets in the maritime industry, namely a regulatory framework centred on the development of security plans for ships, ports, port facilities and offshore facilities so these areas are better protected.

Maritime, ship and offshore security plans play a crucial role in the maritime transport and offshore facility security regime. This bill will introduce measures regarding the submission and approval of maritime, ship and offshore security plans aimed at slashing the administrative burdens faced by the maritime industry. These amendments will streamline the plan approval process and make it easier for participants to submit changes to security plans.

The measures contained in this bill are an example of the continued and successful cooperation between the Department of Transport and Regional Services and Australia’s key maritime industry representatives. It is a strong relationship based on consultation and cooperation, and I commend the minister for his ongoing and dedicated work in bringing key players together on this important issue.

Peak Australian industry groups representing shipowners and port operators are supportive of the changes contained in the bill aimed at improving the flexibility in the administration of maritime transport security plan development and implementation. Schedule 1 amends the act to ease the plan approval processes and procedures for the establishment of security zones, shorten the time for plan approvals, facilitate changes of contact details for security officers and clarify when the plan approval period begins.

Security plans are submitted to the secretary for approval. A maritime industry participant may also request the secretary to establish port or offshore security zones within or around a port or offshore facility. Currently, participants cannot change a plan without submitting a revised plan. The bill will enable participants to submit a variation to an existing plan. The test for approving the variation will be the same as for a revised plan. As it stands, the act anticipates that security zones will already be established independently of the submission of a maritime security plan or an offshore security plan. However, the secretary generally establishes security zones following proposals made to the secretary in a maritime security plan or an offshore security plan. These conditions are being amended to reflect instances where port and offshore security zones have not yet been established by the secretary.

Currently, security zones are established when the secretary has given the operator written notice establishing the zones. This written notice is separate to the written notice which the secretary gives an operator for approval of security plans. This bill will make amendments to simplify this process so that doubling-up is eliminated. When the secretary gives a notice to the participant approving the maritime or offshore security plan, it will also be taken to mean the secretary has given the port or offshore facility operator a notice establishing the maritime or offshore security zones as proposed in the plans.

It is difficult for the department to know when a plan approval period commences under the act because it is not always possible to know when a participant has given a plan to the secretary. The bill provides that the approval period will commence when the plan is received by the secretary. The bill will reduce the time allowed for the approval of plans from 90 days to 60 days to align with the Aviation Transport Security Act. There is also provision for the 60-day plan approval time to be extended for a maximum of 45 days to allow the secretary to seek further information from the participant.

At present, maritime, ship and offshore security plans must include contact details for the participant’s security officer so that any change to contact details requires an amendment to the security plan. The bill removes this requirement for contact details in the act, requiring instead that the participant designate by name, or reference to a position, all security officers responsible for implementing or maintaining the security plan, thereby removing the need to amend a whole security plan when such a minor alteration as security officers’ contact details change. This will obviously save time and energy in the process.

Schedule 2 of the bill contains technical amendments to acts relating to legislative instruments as a consequence of the enactment of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. These amendments are included in this bill to reduce the size of that act. Schedule 3 of the bill contains an amendment to the Customs Act to reflect the change of name of the Maritime Transport Security Act to the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act.

The bill will streamline the process of maritime, ship and offshore security plans and the establishment of port and offshore security zones. I am confident that the measures introduced in this bill will enable the maritime industry and participants in that industry to focus on implementing and maintaining the security measures outlined in their security plans. That will contribute to the strengthening of Australia’s maritime security arrangements, which is really the whole purpose of this bill. The bill will also make sure that Australia meets its obligations under the ISPS Code, including those regarding the rights, freedoms and welfare of seafarers. It will reduce the vulnerability of Australian ships, ports, other ships within Australia and our offshore facilities to terrorist attack without undue disruption to trade.

The bill makes sensible amendments to our existing arrangements to enable people within the maritime industry to provide a safe and secure environment for those operating within it, without creating an unnecessary and burdensome regulatory environment. They have been brought into force following the changes that have occurred in our security environment in the past five years and the heightened threat of terrorism involving our maritime and offshore facilities. It is important that Australians understand how these regulations guide our operations and that the changes in compliance have resulted in our economic protection because of the security of our operations as well as the safety and security of Australians who work within the industry, who will now be protected further.

The main purpose of the bill is to make procedural changes to streamline processes and to reduce the burden on people involved in the industry. The changes will not cost anything. There are no financial implications to these amendments—although there will be financial implications for the people involved in the industry, because the red-tape burden on them is being reduced. I am confident that the measures introduced in the bill will enable participants within the maritime industry to focus on implementing and maintaining a sensible security regime and will contribute to the strengthening of Australia’s maritime security arrangements. I commend the bill to the House.

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