Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I would seek the government's assurance with respect to the named particular groups. I understand what the minister has just said in terms of it being open to anybody. We have also included 'any other interested groups' and 'the general community' to cover that, but I think there are some specific organisations and groups—state and territory governments, local governments, Aboriginal organisations or Indigenous groups, industry groups and conservation organisations—that we should fundamentally acknowledge, in the legislation, should be consulted, which is why we came up with that list. Yes, it is more prescriptive than government obviously prefers, but it does include the catch-all that other interested groups can be consulted. Again, I do not think it is adequate to keep it broad. This would mean that if the government has not consulted a particular group, or the process has not consulted a particular group, it does not matter that that they have not been consulted, even where their views may be particularly important—for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over whose land decisions may be taken, and whose cultural practices may come into play here as well.

The CHAIRMAN: The question is that Australian Greens amendment (3) on sheet 7676 be agreed to.

Question negatived.

by leave—I move Greens amendments (4), (5) and (13) together:

(4) Clause 7, page 6 (lines 25 to 32), omit the clause, substitute:

7 Extension of Act to external Territories

(1) This Act extends to every external Territory other than the Australian Antarctic Territory.

(2) The regulations may extend this Act or any provisions of this Act, other than Chapter 5 (ballast water), to the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Note: Chapter 5 extends to all the external Territories (see section 259).

(5) Clause 9, page 9 (after line 27), after the definition of associate, insert:

  Australia when used in a geographical sense, includes all the external Territories other than the Australian Antarctic Territory.

(13) Clause 12, page 30 (lines 5 to 18), omit the clause, substitute:

12 Meaning of Australian territory

     A reference in a provision of this Act to Australianterritory is a reference to:

  (a) Australia and any external Territory to which that provision extends; and

  (b) the airspace over an area covered by paragraph (a); and

  (c) the coastal sea of Australia and of any other external Territory to which that provision extends.

Note 1: Under subsection 7(2), the regulations may extend this Act, or any provisions of this Act, to the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Note 2: The definition of coastalsea of Australia or an external Territory in subsection 15B(4) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 includes the airspace over Australia or the external Territory.

These amendments relate to the extension of the act to external territories. It is an area of reform. I know that the government made comment about some of the amendments they would not be supporting because they change the way they have chosen to implement this particular legislation and those amendments are not consistent with their administration of the process. I understand that this is in fact a structural reform issue. We understand that the government has already addressed some of the elements here in terms of applying this legislation to external territories. We agree that there has been some progress here, but we do not think it goes far enough in terms of the ability to apply this law to make sure we have proper control of biosecurity, both from an industry and an environmental perspective, in external territories. That is why we have proposed these amendments. As I said, I understand that it is a more structural reform, but the Greens do think it is important that this legislation is able to be applied, particularly in an environmental context. We do not think that, from an environmental perspective, the legislation does have enough application for external territories.