Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise to sum up on the Shipping Registration Amendment Bill 2018. Before I get to my overall remarks about the legislation, I just want to pick up on the member for Braddon's criticism of Senator Steve Martin, as I believe those remarks were ill-advised and misdirected. In Senator Steve Martin, a former Devonport mayor and a very good local government member as well, the Nationals have someone who is passionately committed to fighting for Tasmania and is getting things done, achieving outcomes—delivering. He is the sort of regional representative you want in this parliament. I support his endeavours. He's advocating for better logistics for his state and for more infrastructure and improving the freight task, by air, by road or by sea. If it's advancing Tasmanians, Senator Steve Martin will no doubt be pushing it, and I certainly commend him for his efforts.

To the actual bill before the House: the government is committed to ensuring efficient shipping registration continues in this nation. This bill will ensure that this happens by making minor technical amendments to the Shipping Registration Act to allow for the remaking of the Shipping Registration Regulations, prior to their sunsetting date of 1 April '29, and I heard the member for Makin, in his introductory comments, talk about that very thing. These are minor technical amendments. It's important that shipping gets this sort of legislation passed.

The bill maintains the existing shipping registration framework and does not alter the policy intent or substance of the Shipping Registration Act. The bill will reduce the regulatory burden on the Australian industry by ensuring the shipping registration regulations will no longer be required to prescribe the forms for shipping registration certificates. Instead, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, AMSA, will approve forms, providing flexibility to change certificates as needed to suit government and, most importantly, industry. The amendments to the Shipping Registration Act ensure that shipping registration regulations are remade according to modern drafting standards. This is in contrast to the present situation, where any changes to the form of a certificate must be tabled in the parliament.

Currently in some provisions of the act, the head of power needed to give the regulations authority is either missing or unclear in its wording. This bill will correct those errors by clarifying the head of power for those regulations and ensure that the Shipping Registration Act and shipping registration regulations comply with modern standards.

I thank those members who have contributed to the debate on this bill. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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