Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to take the opportunity to speak to these amendments and also comment on the broader climate change issue. My electorate of Corangamite will be one of the areas most affected by climate change, and that is why I believe so strongly that we need to act now.

I congratulate the Minister for Resources and Energy for his amendments in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2010. The bill will amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006. These amendments are minor policy and technical changes which will pave the way for the National Offshore Petroleum Regulator. This will improve the operations of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority. There is no adverse effect on industry and there are no extra costs to industry.

This bill will also simplify the safety regime for titleholders. It will remove direct responsibility from a titleholder for facilities which it has no control over. It will ensure that offences that have occurred can be more successfully prosecuted by making them offences of strict liability. This bill will cause no adverse impact on any regional people, and this is great news for the people of my electorate and especially those who work in the offshore petroleum industry.

I have spoken in this place on several occasions on climate change related issues. I have done this because I believe we need to act decisively on climate change and we need to act now. There is the likelihood that some greenhouse storage activities will happen in my region. This could be an industry in my region that would provide people with well-paid employment and for those reasons I am hoping that it will be successful. This bill will help to make sure this industry is a success into the future.

This industry is very important to my region’s local economy. The Otway Basin is an important gas production area for the south-eastern gas markets of Australia. As at December 2009 the Otway Basin’s petroleum fields provided approximately 23.4 per cent of eastern Australia’s conventional gas production; proved and probable reserves of 1,197 petajoules, which is 17.8 per cent of Victoria’s conventional gas reserves and 14.8 per cent of eastern Australia’s reserves; 17.1 per cent of eastern Australia’s total gas production of both conventional natural gas and coal seam gas and 3.5 per cent of eastern Australia’s total gas reserves; and some 70,000 tonnes or 3.1 per cent of Australia’s liquefied petroleum gas production. The basin also produces a small amount of condensate—708,000 barrels, or 1.2 per cent of Australian production. This is a significant contribution from my region to a very important industry for Australia.

The Otway Basin has three major gas projects which all transfer offshore gas to onshore treatment plants. The largest development in the Otway Basin is the Otway gas project. It is a $1.1 billion development situated about 70 kilometres south of Port Campbell. We need to encourage these developments so we can act on climate change now. I would not be doing my job for the people of Corangamite if I were not talking about industries that are so important to my region. That is why I regularly speak on all climate related bills, particularly those that can help reduce our carbon footprint.

My electorate will be very severely affected by climate change if we do not take decisive action. I have mentioned before in the House but I think I need to emphasise again the problems in my electorate. The Great Ocean Road, the Surf Coast and parts of the Bellarine Peninsula will all be adversely threatened by rising sea levels. Large parts of my electorate do rely on the tourism economy. The Great Ocean Road is an icon of Australia and a key component of the local tourism industry. This would be devastated if we did not act on climate change and the real prospect of sea level rise came to fruition. Large parts of the Bellarine Peninsula, a key part of my seat, are very low-lying and will be inundated if there is sea level rise. There would be devastation over large inland areas of my electorate caused by drought activity and the like. The small borough of Queenscliff would be very adversely affected by sea level rise. Many jobs will be lost to the local economy if we do not take decisive action. Many parts of Ocean Grove and the Bellarine Peninsula would be affected.

We do need to take very decisive steps to reduce Australia’s carbon footprint. I think offshore production of gas and liquefied assets and, ultimately, storage of greenhouse gases in those fields can provide a very significant opportunity for us to reduce our carbon footprint. This is in many regards a new and emerging industry and we do need to take the necessary steps to support the growth and development of Australia’s very, very significant gas reserves.

Minister Martin Ferguson has been a passionate advocate for Australia to take advantage of all of the opportunities—whether in Western Australia, Queensland or Victoria—to exploit the landscape and gas reserves we have and to store greenhouse gases into the future. That is why I believe that these small but important amendments are very important, particularly in regional economies like mine and in Western Australia and Queensland where we have very significant opportunities to grow a very significant industry and to substantially reduce our greenhouse gas footprint. These small changes are significant and they will pave the way for future growth and development of this industry to ensure that the necessary regulations are in place so that we do undertake these activities in a very safe and sound way. I publicly acknowledge the contribution that Minister Ferguson is making in this area. He certainly is a very thoughtful minister and someone who is prepared to take the necessary steps to help grow this very, very important industry into Australia’s future. I commend these bills to the House.

See this speech in context