Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to start by thanking all the members in the House who have made a contribution to this debate this afternoon. From 1 January 2020 ships worldwide must use fuel that does not exceed 0.5 per cent sulphur by weight. This global sulphur standard has been adopted by the International Maritime Organization and is prescribed in the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, also referred to as MARPOL, to which Australia is a signatory. This is a substantial reduction from the current 3.5 per cent limit on sulphur emissions for shipping globally and will have major environmental and health benefits. Sulphur dioxides are one of the major contributors to respiratory illnesses and increased rates of lung cancer. They also result in acid rain, which damages crops, livestock and infrastructure and contributes to ocean acidification.

The growth prospects for maritime global trade continue to be strong, so sulphur dioxide pollution from ships will continue to increase if no action is taken to restrict these emissions. The cumulative impacts of air pollution even away from the coast and ships add up and have economic costs. The Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 already legislates for new sulphur limits in 2020. However, further provisions are required to ensure consistency with global implementation of that sulphur cap. The Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment (Air Pollution) Bill 2019 amends the act to ensure that Australia has appropriate legislation arrangements in place to implement a new global sulphur standard on ship fuel from the year 2020.

The bill will primarily (1) allow ships to use high-sulphur fuel oil with sulphur content above 0.5 per cent by weight from 1 January 2020 if they are fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system or equivalent compliance method to reduce those sulphur emissions below the prescribed limits and (2) implement a global carriage ban on high-sulphur fuel oil from 1 March 2020. These amendments are necessary to meet Australia's international obligations under MARPOL.

The bill also seeks to make other minor administrative amendments to the POTS act. They are to exempt naval and foreign government vessels from the provisions of the POTS act, in alignment with MARPOL, which is current practice, and to clarify obligations of fuel oil suppliers to provide greater certainty to the shipping industry.

The Australian government has consulted widely with the Australian maritime industry, fuel oil suppliers and ports over the last 18 months in preparation for the new sulphur regulatory regime. The majority of the Australian domestic fleet already uses fuel that meets the 2020 sulphur standards. The industry is supportive of Australia's legislation and consistently enforcing implementation of the 2020 sulphur cap to ensure a global level playing field. I add that five or 10 ships currently run on LNG and are refuelled at the liquefaction projects off the coast of Western Australia. I believe another 10 orders for LNG ships have been placed. Ship manufacturers are busy getting those ships underway.

A consistent global standard reduces inefficiencies for the international shipping industry in potentially having to comply with multiple local regulatory regimes. The Australian government remains committed to ensuring that the Australian maritime regulatory framework remains up-to-date and fit for purpose to protect our maritime environment, coastal communities and trade. I commend this bill to the House.

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