Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012 makes amendments affecting the operations of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The ATSB is a vital part of our transport regulation in Australia. It operates as an independent Commonwealth statutory agency, separate from transport regulators, policy makers and service providers. Its function is to improve safety in the aviation, marine and rail industries by conducting independent investigations of transport accidents, recording and analysing safety data and fostering safety awareness. Importantly, it is not the role of the ATSB to apportion blame or provide a means for determining liability. That is still the responsibility of the courts and other investigative agencies.

The bill implements two key changes to the operations of the ATSB. Firstly, the bill paves the way for the ATSB to become the national rail transport investigator. In this way the bill complements the introduction of the national transport reforms agreed by the Council of Australian Governments in 2009. These reforms are designed to adopt nationally consistent laws in maritime and rail safety, and for the heavy vehicle industry. The three national transport regulators are designed to reduce the regulatory burden on business. The reforms, once implemented, will consolidate the 23 existing regulators into three national regulators. It has been estimated that these reforms will provide productivity benefits of $30 billion over the next 20 years. This bill, together with the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) Act, which was passed by the South Australian parliament in May 2012, will replace seven separate regulatory bodies and 46 pieces of legislation.

The National Rail Safety Regulator will be operational from 1 January 2013. The bill before the House implements commitments contained in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Rail Safety Regulation and Investigation Reform, signed at the COAG meeting on 19 August 2011, which agreed that the ATSB would become the National Rail Safety Regulator. To achieve this objective, the bill broadens the ATSB's powers to allow them to investigate matters referred to it by state and territory governments.

Since 2003 the ATSB has had rail safety investigation functions and powers under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003. However, these powers have been largely limited to the interstate rail network. The bill proposes to extend the ATSB's investigatory role to allow it to investigate incidents on metropolitan passenger lines and the various state freight rail networks.

The bill gives state and territory government ministers with a responsibility for rail a right to request the ATSB to conduct an investigation in their jurisdiction and clarifies the ATSB's capacity to conduct investigations within a Commonwealth territory. In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement, states will pay the ATSB for investigatory services in their jurisdiction or, if they already have an established investigator, as is the case in New South Wales and Victoria, meet their own costs and contribute their investigation services. The Commonwealth government has already provided $11.2 million in funding to the ATSB to allow it to prepare for this national role.

The second change the bill makes to the operation of the ATSB is more technical.

The bill provides that it is a defence to any prohibition on copying or disclosing restricted information and onboard recording information if it is done by a person performing functions or exercising power under or in connection with the act or regulations. Restricted information includes information obtained or generated through an investigation, as well as information produced as a confidential report. This amendment is intended to clarify the position with respect to regulations made under the act that contain functions or powers. This amendment is a precursor to the establishment of a national confidential reporting scheme through future regulation, as allowed for under section 20A of the act.

This new scheme will replace the existing aviation scheme established under the Air Navigation (Confidential Reporting) Regulations 2006 and the existing maritime scheme established under the Navigation (Confidential Marine Reporting Scheme) Regulations 2008. Importantly, this amendment will mean that for the first time there will be a confidential reporting scheme for safety incidents in the rail industry. Confidential reporting as it operates in the aviation and maritime industries is designed to encourage cooperation from those involved in a safety investigation and allow full disclosure without fear of reprisal. Extending this to the rail industry is an important aspect of the ATSB's role as the no-blame safety investigator.

The ATSB is a vital part of our transport regulatory system. Its no-blame investigations have seen many safety improvements in the rail, maritime and aviation sectors implemented and have helped foster a culture of safety in the transport industry. The ATSB is about examining transport incidents with a view to implementing new procedures or regulations to prevent accidents occurring in the future. It is about delivering a safer future, not apportioning blame for the past. As a result, it is able to dig deep into the causes of an accident without limitations of creating liability or admitting criminality or malpractice. That is for other processes like coroners inquiries, police investigations or court processes.

I have been very impressed with the work of the ATSB. It is painstaking work, putting pieces together. I once visited their warehouse in Canberra and it was quite impressive to see how little pieces coming from an accident were being assembled in a building in the hope of finding out why an engine had failed or why some other critical piece of infrastructure or machinery was not working properly. That is complex work. It frequently involves discussions with manufacturers from overseas and international agencies that have skills that are perhaps not available in Australia. It also involves working painstakingly in the field to identify what has happened where an accident has occurred with a view to making sure as much as we possibly can that the same kind of incident is not repeated in the future. It is Sherlock Holmes stuff—very technical, very detailed, very time-consuming, sometimes involving looking for the tiniest clues which could save many lives in the future. I have no doubt that the ATSB has made our skies safer, it has made our shipping safer and it will do the same in relation to the rail industry.

The coalition has consulted extensively with the rail industry in relation to the measures contained in the bill and no-one has raised any objections. Because of this, the coalition is happy to support the bill.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too speak in support of the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012. The bill supports the creation of a national rail safety regulator by empowering the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to conduct investigations in all jurisdictions, including investigations relating to metropolitan rail lines, which are currently the jurisdiction of the states. To do this, the bill amends the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 to give relevant state and territory government ministers a right to request that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau conduct an investigation in their jurisdiction and clarify the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's capacity to conduct investigations within, to or from a Commonwealth territory. The bill also makes provision for some information related to the investigation to be disclosed in accordance with regulations.

The bill flows from the creation of a national rail safety regulator as one of three national transport regulators, with the intent of having nationally consistent transport laws. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been investigating rail incidents since 2003, when the Transport Safety Investigation Act came into effect. Those investigations have been limited to the defined interstate rail network running from Perth to Brisbane and Adelaide to Darwin. Other investigations were the responsibility of the states and territories. With this legislation that will change from 1 January 2013 and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will carry out all investigations, including those previously under state or territory jurisdictions.

The bill enables the states and territories to request the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to conduct an investigation under the agreement with the states and territories. The costs of the investigation will, however, be met by the states and territories. If the states and territories have an established investigator they can continue to use, at their cost, the services of that investigator, who will in turn report to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The establishment of the National Rail Safety Regulator means that interstate rail operators will no longer have to deal with seven separate regulatory authorities and 46 pieces of state, territory and Commonwealth legislation, including seven rail acts, nine occupational health and safety acts and seven dangerous goods acts.

Consistent with the intergovernmental agreement and the establishment of the National Rail Safety Regulator, I note that the South Australian parliament has already passed the complementary legislation required and that other states and territories are working on it. Whilst it is generally only the major rail accidents that make news headlines, the reality is that rail incidents occur from time to time and often with very serious consequences. In South Australia there have been six accidents in the last decade in which 12 lives have been lost. In addition there have been many other rail accidents and/or incidents in which fatalities fortunately did not occur. Of course, with both population and goods transport likely to increase in the future, we can expect to see an increase in rail transport. That makes it even more important to have uniformity across Australia with respect to rail transport laws and practices.

I raise three specific matters in support of this legislation. Firstly, when a rail incident occurs it is important that a thorough investigation of the incident is carried out so that the causes and contributing factors are clear and in turn necessary action can be implemented to prevent a reoccurrence. Secondly, when an investigation is required it is important that it is carried out by an independent expert who in turn has access to all relevant information. Thirdly, consideration must be given to the impacts on the lives of both the victims of train accidents and the train drivers. For both parties the accidents will leave lifelong scars and expectations that remedial measures will be taken to prevent similar events in the future.

On 27 October 2002, I was Mayor of Salisbury when the Ghan interstate train crashed into a car and a bus at the Park Terrace level rail crossing in the heart of Salisbury. Four people were killed in the accident, and many more, mainly school children in the bus at the time, were injured. I well recall the horrific scenes at the accident site, the commendable work of the emergency response crews, the reaction from the local community, in particular, from the families of those killed, my subsequent discussions with local train drivers about the accident and meeting with Vince Graham, who was brought in from New South Wales by the South Australian government to carry out the accident investigation. His investigation was thorough and the recommendations he made were important in improving future safety at the Salisbury level crossing and other level crossings in South Australia. Following Vince Graham's report the South Australian government also announced that no new level crossings would be approved in South Australia, and to my knowledge none have been opened since that time.

A separate investigation was also carried out at the time by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau because the accident did involve an interstate train, the Ghan.

Importantly, neither investigation placed any blame on the train drivers. Nevertheless, they have to live with the memory of the accident and their inability, despite their best efforts, to prevent the accident from occurring. Many train drivers are often the forgotten victims of rail accidents. Graeme Parslow, the driver of the Ghan at the time of the Salisbury tragedy, has spoken publicly about his life and understandably about the trauma he has endured in being a train driver and the effects that has had on his personal and family life. Other train drivers I have spoken to over the years have echoed Graeme's sentiments. For them, the trains and the rail tracks are their workplace and making their workplace safer is as important as making any other workplace safe.

That process begins by understanding the contributing factors to accidents when they occur and that in turn depends on thorough investigation being carried out. I read both the report of Vince Graham at the time and that of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. I concur with the comments made by the Leader of the Nationals that those reports require painstaking effort in order to get to the detail of all the factors that are relevant in their findings. I can well recall the effort that both investigators went to ensure that their report covered every aspect of the accident.

So I go back to the point I was making earlier: it is important that, whenever an accident occurs and wherever it occurs, investigation is carried out by a truly independent authority that has access to every detail of information that is required. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, in my view, is the appropriate body to ensure that the necessary investigation takes place wherever a rail accident occurs in Australia. The purpose of this bill is to do exactly that. For those reasons I commend the bill to the House.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this important legislation, the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012. Rail safety in terms of passenger and freight movements attracts a high level of attention in my electorate of Paterson as well as for the residents of the Hunter as a whole. Exactly one century before Federation, in 1801, Governor King sent out an expedition to the region after facing food, fuel and material shortages at Sydney Cove. The expedition was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Paterson, after whom my electorate is named. He sailed 40 miles up the Hunter River and confirmed reports of coal resources urgently required by the Sydney Cove settlement. From then on convicts shouldered the heavy burdens of coalmining and the safety risks associated with its transport. Their legacy is the hard-earned reputation of today's Novocastrians and Hunter residents, people made of sterner stuff. After almost 100 years, the Australian Agricultural Company based in Newcastle opened the first railroad in any of our colonies by constructing the first of three gravitational railways to service pit coalmines.

Today the New South Wales government receives about $1.25 billion in mining royalties and coal accounts for over 95 per cent of this revenue. As Australia has grown, so has our dependence on this fuel. We are ever more reliant on trains to bring to bring the coal into Kooragang Island so that it can be shipped from the world's largest coal export port of Newcastle. Transporters access a range of risk variables in determining safe load limits and operating speeds. BHP Billiton, for example, holds the record for the largest minerals transport in one run. One train comprised 682 wagons, with a total length of 7.353 kilometres. The route for this delivery of 99,734 tonnes was the flat and straight 275-kilometre iron ore railway from Port Hedland in Western Australia.

It is not unusual to see heavy-laden coal trains traverse the Hunter Valley with carriages numbering 60 or more. The route network features variable gradients and snakes around the hills and valleys, farms and townships and intersects with our road network level crossings throughout the valley. Coal train drivers and controllers have further complicating factors to consider in addition to curves and gradients. Train length and loads on electrified railways, especially low-voltage 3,000 DC volts and 1,500 DC volts, are limited by traction power considerations.

Drawgear and couplings can be a limiting factor as can be crossing loop lengths. Freight trains with a total length of three or four times that average are possible with the advent of distributed power units—DPUs—or additional locomotive engines between or behind long chains of freight cars, referred to as a 'consist'. These DPUs enable much longer, heavier loads without the increased risks of derailing that stem from the stress of pulling very long chains of train cars around curves. Finally, the burgeoning demand for Australian coal from India and China exerts pressure to supply enormous volumes. All the while this is timed to match mine site extraction rates and shift times at collection and the efficiency of port operators loading cargo ships.

The transport safety investigation amendment is another logical step from the decision by the Council of Australian Governments to establish the Australian Rail Track Corporation as set in 1997 under the Howard government. The ARTC was set up both to help 'plug the gaps' in national rail infrastructure caused by a significant underfunding by individual state governments while ensuring there was a one-stop shop for all operators seeking access to the our nation's interstate network.

The natural corollary to this was to have a national authority responsible for rail safety on that network and in July 1999 the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was duly established. Modelled on the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States, the ATSB seeks to ensure that safety standards are constantly monitored and improved upon from thorough and detailed investigations into transport accidents and incidents, rail included. It also records and analyses safety data to foster general safety awareness. The cornerstone of the ATSB is that it is independent of transport regulators, policymakers and service providers. It works not by seeking to cast blame or by seeking to determine blame but by ensuring that lessons are learnt and world's best practice is followed and enhanced. However in relation to the ATSB, rail investigations were only conducted on the interstate network leaving different safety laws for the interstate ARTC-owned and leased corridors and for other intrastate networks, and there were similar situations in relation to maritime and heavy goods vehicle industries. In order to improve efficiency, COAG decided in 2009 to work towards national transport safety standards and to change the burden on businesses facing 23 often-disparate regulators with differing regulations. By consolidating these 23 regulators into three national ones, productivity benefits equivalent to $30 billion over 20 years are expected to be achieved.

This bill, when combined with the rail safety national law which was passed by the South Australian parliament in May 2012, will therefore be the culmination of these efforts and replace seven separate regulatory bodies and 46 pieces of legislation. It will see the ATSB becoming the national rail safety regulator from 1 January next year. This will mean that the ATSB, at the behest of state and territory ministers, will be able to investigate accidents and incidents on our various rail networks. Not only will this include our freight networks; but it will also include our urban railway rail lines whether they be the Newcastle or the Central Coast line, Melbourne's City Loop, more regional lines such as the Hunter line and Countrylink or, indeed, Trans WA's Australind services.

I also think the bill provides a flexible and more efficient model of federalism in our Commonwealth that could be adopted more widely. At its core the bill's provisions seek to build on the existing framework by giving states and territories the ability to pay for the investigations that their ministers have asked the ATSB to carry out within their jurisdictions or they can choose to use their own established investigators, which is the case in New South Wales and Victoria, and meet their own costs. The $11.2 million of Commonwealth funding should enable the ATSB to prepare for its larger role in national transportation safety.

This side of the House also welcomes the clarification in regards to confidential reporting encouraging cooperation from those involved in a safety investigation, allowing for disclosure without fear of reprisal. It is vital that fear of reprisal does not prevent our safety regulators from learning lessons that help prevent injuries and loss of lives going into the future.

Earlier in this speech I alluded to my home region of the Hunter and the importance of the coal industry. The coal industry brings undoubted prosperity to our region and the state of New South Wales, which receives about $1¼ billion in mining royalties, 95 per cent of which is accounted for by coal. Our coal companies are amongst the world's best and have been good corporate citizens. I particularly welcome the work they have done in dust suppression sites around mines and roads as part of their $15 million annual funding of the Australian Coal Association Research program.

All the rail wagons on their way from the Hunter Valley to the port of Newcastle pass through my electorate and there is growing community concern regarding air quality and the impact of coaldust emanating from these trains as they travel through, concerns that have been growing with each additional train hauling coal to Newcastle as the mining boom has picked up steam. The extent of this can be seen from the proposed fourth coal loading terminal, which would double the volume of coal being transported through my electorate, leading to an extra 80 train movements every day of the year.

It is a concern that I myself understand. I live near the railway line that runs from Maitland to Newcastle, and one only needs to take a look at the dust sitting on my roof or the roofs in my region to see there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Whilst I do not hold fears for the structural integrity of our family home, I do think about the potential health impacts on my community.

I have to acknowledge the efforts by the Newcastle Herald to bring this issue to public attention through their Great Cover Up campaign. Their campaign encourages Herald readers to sign a petition which calls for the introduction of mandatory coal wagon covers. This is not just an issue engendered by the local media. Community grassroots organisations have also been very active. There is an alliance of 14 Hunter community and environmental groups who have taken it upon themselves to conduct an independent study into the impact of coaldust on the region's air quality.

Bringing us to back the bill, it is the Australian Rail Track Corporation that is investigating the level of particulate matter generated by Hunter coal trains. I hope this work includes monitoring air quality along rail corridors and in surrounding suburbs, for this is every bit as important a safety issue as the investigations into derailments. Dr Peter Lewis, Area Director of Public Health for the Northern Sydney Central Coast, has indicated:

… any increased particulate exposure is associated with increased adverse health outcomes, even if the levels are below the current guidelines.

Therefore evidence of increased coaldust fallout on clothes, roofs and vehicles increases the prospects of greater inhalation by the public.

I think it irresponsible for any MP or senator without medical expertise in respiratory health to draw conclusions about the dose-response relationship between inhaled particulate matter and the level of associated risk for developing a lung infection, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or a cancer of some sort. I would also counsel any colleagues about jumping to conclusions about causes of dust, which we know from recent research will come from a variety of sources. I remind the Australian Greens in particular of the outgoing New South Wales Labor government's investigation of a cancer cluster in my region. When properly investigated, it was determined by the Population Health Division that the cases of ill health amongst this group of neighbours was coincidental.

Not long ago people similarly jumped the gun and blamed mining for high dust particulate readings in Toowoomba, only to learn other much more significant contributions were made by vehicle exhaust, ploughing, dry weather and winds. The federal coalition supports, therefore, the Prime Minister's process, and lends its encouragement to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in running a thorough investigation. We look forward to his tabling of the facts once they are properly investigated.

When the Prime Minister visited the Hunter last week she called for more scientific investigation of coaldust's impact on Hunter communities. This is aligned with the New South Wales government's establishment of the Upper Hunter Air Quality Monitoring Network. This dust monitoring system is managed by the New South Wales department of agriculture, funded by the minerals extractors in the region, and under the coordination of the New South Wales Minerals Council. Impacts of dust from open top coal carriages are being investigated by the ARTC in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency. It should be allowed to report and should not be pressured to cut corners in its work. It is in everyone's interest to resolve this issue.

The coal industry, other businesses and Hunter residents need to be able to live in harmony for everyone's benefit. So too do the people who live alongside or work on the rail tracks carrying the coal have the right to enjoy an air quality that does not exceed nationally acceptable levels of particulates. Although not related to coaldust from coal trains, it is particularly concerning that acceptable air quality standards may have already been exceeded in the Hunter at Stockton and Muswellbrook several times in the past 12 months.

I am encouraged, though, that there are solutions at hand, either through the covering of individual wagon covers or through the chemistry of agglomeration and binding dust particles through spray techniques. The solution needs to be effective, affordable and deliverable. If it is to be wagon covers, they should only require minimum additional infrastructure. If the chosen solution is a spray, it should be quick to apply.

I know of one Hunter company at Kooragang called Hammersley Products. It believes it has found an alternative solution. It has developed a product which, according to the NewcastleHerald:

… agglomerates fine particulate matter and provides an elastic protection for the surface and top-layer areas of the coal.

Its strong wetting properties apparently maintain the de-dusting effect and inhibit the treated surfaces from drying out.

Whilst this amendment bill seeks to deliver a safer national transport framework by learning from past incidents and ensuring the provision of the world's best practice in terms of safety, I hope that an innovative solution will also be found, so that those who live near or work on the coal trains can also be reassured that they too are safe—safe from possible increased health risks, such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema, that may be caused by exposure to coal dust alongside other risk factors. In tandem with this, there should be continued health studies to ensure that the cause of adverse health effects are determined by evidence based science and not erroneously attributed to exposure to coalmining or coal-fired power generation activities. I accept that further investigation is necessary to determine the impact of pollutant exposures. Therefore, I look forward to reading the report from the New South Wales Environment Protection Agency, due at the end of this month, to further my understanding of this issue. I commend the bill to the house.

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012. This bill is an important piece of legislation in terms of consolidating the amount of regulators into a national system which, of course, is a worthy objective for us to be pursuing as a House. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, as we know, is an independent Commonwealth statutory agency separate from transport regulators, policymakers and service providers. Its function is to improve safety in the aviation, marine and rail industries by conducting independent investigations of transport accidents, recording and analysing safety data and fostering safety awareness. Importantly, it is not a function of the ATSB to apportion blame or provide a means for determining liability.

Recently, in my own area of Mitchell and in North West Sydney we have had something that has been of concern in relation to an ATSB investigation, which is the Zig Zag Railway closure, about which I have had representation from constituents in my electorate, who have, over many years, spent time using the rail line and understanding its role in Australian history. The Zig Zag Railway was built in the 1860s. It was an engineering masterpiece of the 19th century and was originally used to transport people and produce from the Western Plains of New South Wales to Sydney. Currently, it was run by the Zig Zag Railway Co-op, a volunteer not-for-profit co-operative, and relied heavily on ticket sales and donations to continue to function. The Zig Zag Railway has brought, for many years, a part of Australia's cultural history and colonial past to people, and it is quite a good experience and offers the opportunity to people of all ages and different cultures to experience this bustling railway line that was so important to Australia's development. The Zig Zag Railway was a major tourism attraction and a premier tourist attraction in the Blue Mountains. It helped to stimulate jobs and business opportunities within the accommodation, food and retail sectors.

It is a shame to see a piece of history such as this fall by the wayside. I think it will impact local businesses and tourism in the region greatly and it would be a great detriment to see this railway close. That is why I welcome some of the provisions of this bill which look at a more truly national system but also reduce regulation and burden, and which have a more realistic approach. I think it is important that, from a legislative perspective, we have a common-sense approach to this kind of voluntary co-op. Of course, safety is critical and must be taken into account and, at all times, enhanced. But Australia has a very good record of rail safety compared with other countries in the world and, indeed, Australia has a good record when you compare tourism rail lines in other parts of the world as well. The message can only be one of confidence and safety that we project to the world in terms of our rail safety record.

There must be a common-sense outcome on the zigzag railway that can be put together, given that this is a serious piece of infrastructure. It has been very important in Australia's history and internal development as a colony, and now it seems to be unsatisfactory that the zigzag rail line has been shut as a result of an ATSB investigation. There may be a better way of approaching this that would produce the right outcome for the community and continue to maintain high standards of safety.

In this bill for the first time the ATSB will have an investigatory role over incidents on metropolitan passenger lines and state freight rail networks, which is a good development. The concept of states and territories working together to have a referral system to a national body, and paying for it, is a common-sense approach which will reduce cost and consolidate 46 pieces of legislation and seven separate regulatory bodies. That can only be a good thing, and it can only make sense.

My hope is that when you have one umpire and one arbiter there are mechanisms for institutions such as the zigzag rail line to have avenues to follow up outcomes that may be undesirable or that can be fixed with a realistic and common-sense approach—not law for law's sake but continuing to allow voluntary activity and good-quality tourism attractions to function. Of course, that relies on other levels of government funding and the availability of other interested investors and parties to pull the thing together to make sure it is completely and utterly coherent. But the outcome that has occurred is, I think, less than satisfactory and something that could be reconsidered in the new framework put together by this legislation.

I welcome the very important provisions on confidential reporting in rail. In particular, the amendment to clarify the position to allow for a national confidential reporting scheme to be established under section 28 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act is vital and will allow for a confidential reporting scheme for safety incidents in the rail industry. A fundamental plank in allowing better safety outcomes is to allow confidential reporting.

Today, I welcome this legislation for its removal of regulation, red tape and regulatory bodies that are duplicated, and for reducing cost and simplifying a safety system. I also make it clear that there is a great potential in the zigzag rail line near my electorate, which affects some of my constituents, for a better outcome to be produced similar to train projects in South Australia or Tasmania, which have been great tourism wins and which have fantastic safety records that allow for the continued functioning of voluntary activity and good-quality tourism and business outcomes for local communities.

While endorsing this bill, I express a hope that a national system will produce good outcomes for local communities and maintain safe rail lines in Australia.

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012. The amendments that are proposed to the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 give relevant state and territory government ministers the capacity to request that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau conduct an investigation in their jurisdiction. The amendments also propose to clarify the ATSB's capacity to conduct investigations within, to or from a Commonwealth territory, and to facilitate access to on-board reporting and restricted information in accordance with these regulations.

The first two proposed amendments relate to the implementation of commitments contained in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Rail Safety Regulation and Investigation Reform, or the IGA. The IGA was signed by COAG back in August 2011. In addition to the separate establishment of a national rail safety regulator, the IGA commits to the ATSB becoming the National Rail Safety Investigator, which is, as my colleague has said, something that we are looking forward to.

The ATSB has been investigating rail occurrences under the TSI Act since July 2003.

The ATSB, as an independent Commonwealth statutory agency, is separate from the transport regulators, policy makers and service providers. We think that independence is a good thing. The ATSB's brief is to improve safety in the aviation, marine and rail industries through its independent investigations of transport accidents, the recording and analysis of safety data and by fostering safety awareness. It is important to note it is not a function of the ATSB to apportion blame or to provide a means for determining liability.

Under the provisions of the Transport Safety Investigations Bill, it supplements the introduction of the national transport reforms agreed by COAG back in 2009. These national transport reforms will see a national regulator for heavy vehicles, rail safety and maritime safety, therefore reducing the regulatory burden on businesses and consolidating the 23 existing regulators into three national regulators. These national transport reforms are anticipated to provide productivity gains over the next 20 years of around $30 billion. The bill implements commitments contained in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Rail Safety Regulation and Investigation Reform which was signed, as I said, by COAG on 19 August last year. As part of the intergovernmental agreement, the ATSB will become the national rail safety investigator.

This bill, together with the rail safety national law which was passed by the South Australian parliament in May 2012, will replace seven regulatory bodies and 46 pieces of legislation. The national rail safety regulator will be operational from 1 January 2013. To fulfil its role as the national rail safety investigator, this bill gives the ATSB the power to investigate matters referred to it by the state and territory governments. This means for the first time the ATSB will have an investigatory role over incidents on metropolitan passenger lines and various state and territory freight rail networks. However, this will only be available for incidents referred to it for investigation by the relevant state or territory government.

The Northern Territory spans across 20 per cent of Australia's landmass, a vast and remote space with hundreds of kilometres of land separating townships. While the Northern Territory's strong and reliable transport systems are required primarily for economic development, most of the Territory's population resides in Darwin but many choose to live in rural and remote communities across the region. Therefore Territorians rely on the major transport services, such as the AustralAsia railway which links Darwin to Adelaide, for fast and efficient transport of passengers and freight. Thousands of people travel to the Northern Territory each year on board the Ghan which boosts tourism and provides critical links to the continued development of the Northern Territory, given its remoteness to the rest of Australia. The transcontinental railway, which was completed in January 2004, established this vital link between Adelaide and Darwin. In 2010, Genesee and Wyoming started operating their Tarcoola to Darwin line, which allows for regular train services each week.

For the decade ended December 2011, the Northern Territory had 24 train derailments. This total is quite minor compared with New South Wales, which encountered the most in the country with 497, followed by Queensland with 370 and Western Australia with 213. However, for the Northern Territory with only one rail line, any derailment has a significant impact on the Territory. For the same period, the Northern Territory had 1.95 derailments per million kilometres travelled, significantly fewer than Tasmania which had 10.93 derailments per million kilometres travelled—an interesting fact. These derailments in the Northern Territory occurred during the construction period of the Alice Springs to Darwin railway, at a time when it was not part of the defined interstate rail network, which was prior to January 2004.

There were five rail safety investigations carried out in the Northern Territory during 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2011.

As I said, given the remote location of the Northern Territory, train derailments have a major impact on food and produce supply. They also threaten the environment, particularly if a train derails carrying toxic substances, such as in December 2011 when a freight train derailed in flood waters just near Katherine, at Edith River. Extreme weather weakened a bridge and caused the freight train to derail. This disaster saw about 12,000 tonnes of toxic copper concentrate, which was being carried in tarpaulin covered carriages, spill into the Edith River. The derailment was the second to happen in just over a year on the same line and the clean-up was time-consuming. At the time the track operator Genesee and Wyoming were not able to access the site safely and, as a result, water testing was carried out for some time. A similar derailment occurred near Tennant Creek on the Darwin to Adelaide railway in June this year. The derailment occurred when one set of wheels came off the loaded minerals wagon. It was the third derailment in 19 months and the incident left around 240 passengers on the Ghan, headed for Darwin, in limbo.

Concerns have since been raised about the safety of transporting radioactive material and toxic chemicals. It can only be a matter of time before an environmental disaster occurs. Territorians rely heavily on the transport of goods from south to north in the Northern Territory. When a derailment occurs, signs go up in local supermarkets warning shoppers of delays in getting fresh food and produce. Investigations and work-safe guidelines into derailments are therefore crucial in preventing and safeguarding against similar disasters occurring in the future.

I welcome that the bill gives state and territory government ministers responsibility for rail and the right to request that the ATSB conduct an investigation in their jurisdiction, and it clarifies the ATSB's capacity to conduct investigations within a Commonwealth territory. In accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement, states will pay the ATSB for investigatory services in their jurisdiction, or, if they already have an established investigator, as is the case in New South Wales and Victoria, they will meet their own costs and contribute their investigation services.

The amendment clears the way for a national confidential reporting scheme to the established through future regulation under section 20A of the Transport Safety Investigation Act. This new scheme will replace the existing aviation scheme established under the Air Navigation (Confidential Reporting) Regulations 2006 and the existing maritime scheme established under the Navigation (Confidential Marine Reporting Scheme) Regulations 2008. Importantly, it will mean that, for the first time, there will be a confidential reporting scheme for safety incidents in the rail industry. As my colleagues have said, we welcome this legislation. Reliable and appropriate transport is critical to the development of the Northern Territory now and into the future. Given our proximity from major markets in Australia, our industries like mining and tourism rely heavily on the transport of passengers and freight to continue to contribute to the growth of our region.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank members for their comments and their contribution to the debate on the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment Bill 2012. This bill is the second piece of legislation considered by this parliament that creates a single national regulatory framework for Australia's transport industry. We have already considered a bill that creates a national maritime safety regulator to be conducted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. This bill supports the creation of a national rail safety regulator by empowering the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to conduct investigations in all jurisdictions.

Right now the Queensland parliament is considering a bill that will establish the national heavy vehicle regulator.

This means that, from 2013, maritime safety, rail safety and heavy vehicles will for the first time have nationally consistent laws. This will cut the number of transport regulators operating across Australia from 23 down to three, producing a benefit for the Australian economy of some $30 billion over 20 years. This reform will also improve safety, simplify the compliance task for transport operators and boost national income. Along with the productivity gains, the safety outcomes should also be at the forefront of our minds. Common sense tells you that a single system across jurisdictions is easier to understand and, therefore, easier to comply with than a complex series of often contradictory and conflicting rules.

It is certainly in the public's interest to know that risks to safety will be identified and rectified. From January 2013, the ATSB will expand its rail jurisdiction from the interstate networks to also cover metropolitan rail travel. The ATSB's investigation jurisdiction will match that of the new National Rail Safety Regulator that will be based in Adelaide. This bill and the broader national transport regulator reforms finally fix the history of inconsistent regulatory and investigation practices between the states and territories that have constrained productivity in road, rail and shipping freight transportation.

This reform continues this government's steadfast commitment to ensuring Australia's future economic productivity. I thank all members of the House who have participated in this debate, and I thank the House for the support of this important legislation. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.