Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Shipping services are vitally important to Australia and the wellbeing of our economy. Australia is the fifth largest user of shipping services in the world. Ten per cent of the world's sea trade passes through Australian ports, with international shipping carrying over 99 per cent of Australia's imports and exports by volume. A critical component of Australia's domestic freight task, around 15 per cent, is also carried by coastal shipping.

The environmentally safe use of the seas, including in Australian waters, by that large shipping task is equally important to Australians. We take our responsibilities for safety and environment protection in maritime very seriously.

Over time, the global shipping standards-setting body, the International Maritime Organization, has progressively improved marine environment pollution standards for ships through the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, amongst others.

As Australia is a signatory to both these conventions, we have an obligation to bring our domestic maritime environment protection legislation up to date with globally agreed amendments.

Our domestic implementation of international marine environment protection regulations demonstrates our longstanding commitment to the protection of the marine environment and our active participation in the IMO as the means to achieve that protection.

As an IMO Council member, Australia plays a leadership role in supporting environmentally sound regulations that minimise the associated burden on industry.

The bill before the House will implement three main amendments to the international maritime conventions.

Firstly, it will introduce controls for ship discharges that are known as 'persistent floaters'—substances that can form surface slicks on water, such as some grades of vegetable oil or paraffin-like substances.

These controls, which include cargo tank cleaning, pre-wash and discharge procedures, apply in certain environmentally sensitive areas in Europe, specifically in north-west European waters, the Baltic Sea, western European waters and the Norwegian Sea.

Secondly, the bill will ban the use, and carriage for use, of heavy fuel oil by ships in Arctic waters from 1 July 2024. This mirrors the ban already in place on the use of heavy fuel oil by ships in the Antarctic.

Thirdly, from 1 January 2023, the bill will ban ships from applying anti-fouling systems that contain the chemical biocide cybutryne, which is highly toxic to marine organisms.

The bill will implement these marine environment protection measures by amending:

The bill also includes some minor editorial changes to replace 'orders' with 'marine orders' in both acts to be consistent with the Navigation Act 2012.

It is important to understand that an Australian-flagged ship is an Australian workplace and, therefore, subject to Australian legislation wherever it is in the world.

These amendments are not expected to have any significant impacts on the Australian maritime industry. Currently Australian-flagged ships that undertake international voyages are unlikely to operate in north European and Arctic waters. However, should they do so, they will be treated the same as any other vessel operating in those areas of the world.

The inclusion of cybutryne as a harmful anti-fouling substance has a transition period consistent with a ship's normal dry-docking cycle for inspections and cleaning. Hence, owners will not incur additional costs from having to take their ships out of service sooner than usual.

Furthermore, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has never registered cybutryne or approved its use as an anti-fouling agent for ships in Australia, so relevant Australian industries will not lose business.

The Australian government is committed to protecting our maritime environment from ship pollution.

By strengthening these provisions to reduce pollution from ships and protect the marine environment, we will all benefit from a cleaner ocean, particularly those communities that rely on a healthy ocean for their livelihood and wellbeing.

I commend the bill to the House.

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