Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill 2024, and I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (3) as circulated together.

Leave granted.

I move government amendments (1) to (3) together:

(1) Schedule 2, item 6, page 61 (line 9), omit "If", substitute "Subject to paragraph (1C)(b) and subsection (6), if".

(2) Schedule 2, item 6, page 61 (after line 22), after subsection 790E(1), insert:

Consultation with Environment Minister etc.

(1A) Before the Governor-General makes regulations (the designatedregulations) that amend or replace regulations (the prescribed regulations) that are prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), the Minister must:

(a) be satisfied that the designated regulations would not be inconsistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development set out in section 3A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; and

(b) consult with the Environment Minister about the designated regulations; and

(c) have received notice from the Environment Minister that:

(i) the Environment Minister is satisfied that the designated regulations would not be inconsistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development set out in section 3A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; or

(ii) the Environment Minister is not satisfied that the designated regulations would not be inconsistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development set out in section 3A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

(1B) If subparagraph (1A)(c)(ii) applies in relation to the designated regulations, the designated regulations, and any subsequent compilation (within the meaning of the Legislation Act 2003) of the prescribed regulations, must:

(a) specify that subparagraph (1A)(c)(ii) applies in relation to the designated regulations; and

(b) contain a statement setting out the effect of paragraph (1C)(b).

(1C) If subparagraph (1A)(c)(ii) applies in relation to the designated regulations, then:

(a) if a provision of the designated regulations would, apart from this paragraph, commence earlier than 28 days after the day the designated regulations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation—the provision commences at the start of that 28th day; and

(b) subsection (1) does not apply in relation to conduct engaged in in relation to a relevant action on or after the earliest day on which any of the provisions of the designated regulations commence.

(1D) None of the following affect the validity or enforceability of regulations made under this Act:

(a) a failure to comply with paragraph (1A)(a) or (b);

(b) the fact that notice mentioned in paragraph (1A)(c) is not given;

(c) if subparagraph (1A)(c)(ii) applies in relation to particular designated regulations—that fact.

(3) Schedule 2, item 6, page 62 (after line 36), at the end of section 790E, add:

Sunsetting

(6) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to conduct engaged in in accordance with regulations (the designated regulations) if:

(a) other regulations are prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) (the prescribed regulations); and

(b) the designated regulations amended or replaced some or all of the prescribed regulations; and

(c) all of the provisions of the designated regulations commenced after the end of the period of 12 months starting on the day the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Act 2024 receives the Royal Assent.

In response to the misinformation spread in this chamber yesterday, I want to make it clear that the bill does not change one sentence, one word or even one letter of the offshore resources consultation provisions. The bill does not change the legal requirements for offshore consultation in any way, shape or form. Since the moment I introduced this bill, I have made it clear that I am willing to work constructively with those in this chamber to strengthen the bill, but unfortunately some are much more interested in driving a misinformation and fear campaign for their own political ends.

The Senate inquiry in relation to this bill, while recommending the passage of the bill, illustrated that there is scope to introduce additional protections to give the community further confidence that this bill reflects the government's longstanding intention to maintain the integrity of our environmental protection regime. That is why I'm introducing government amendments to further clarify that any future regulatory changes are consistent with and will not diminish our national environmental laws.

The amendments require that any new regulatory changes made by the Minister for Resources must not be inconsistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development that underpin our national environmental laws. The amendments require that the Minister for Resources consult on any proposed regulatory changes with the minister for the environment. The amendments require that the minister for the environment agrees that any proposed regulatory changes are not inconsistent with the principles underpinning Australia's national environmental laws, and the amendments include a sunset provision of 12 months time. While the power to made changes to the offshore consultation provisions will only exist for a 12-month period, any regulatory change made by me as the Minister for Resources will endure beyond 12 months, up until the point where the government's broader nature-positive reforms are legislated.

As has always been the case, this bill is about bringing a greater certainty and clarification to the existing regulatory regime as it stands today. The bill does not, in any way, exempt the offshore resources industry from the government's broader nature-positive reforms or bypass these important reforms into the future.

The bill, importantly, does not silence First Nations voices. I think that is an outrageous claim that has been made in this chamber and outside of this chamber far too often. It is an untrue claim, and I reject it entirely. It's an offensive thing to claim, I think. The bill will enable changes to be made to the consultation process for offshore gas projects. These changes will seek to ensure consultation requirements are better for traditional owners and for the wider community and, of course, for all concerned in such projects. I have absolutely no objection to judicial review of government decisions, but judicial review and the court system should not be the only place where First Nations voices are heard with respect to these projects. They should be consulted properly, and that is what this bill aims to do in concert with the review of consultation provisions we announced in May last year.

This bill does not fast-track any approvals, nor change any approvals processes. To claim otherwise is manifestly untrue. The Greens political party and many of the crossbench have pursued a truly unedifying and hypocritical campaign seeking to misinform their own electorates and the wider Australian public. Any changes to Australia's offshore resources environment regulations will be subject to the full suite of parliamentary scrutiny, including committee scrutiny and disallowance procedures.

This should give the community complete confidence that this bill, with the amendments, reflects the government's longstanding intention to maintain the integrity of our environmental protection regime while providing proper consultation provisions for the whole community in relation to offshore gas projects.

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