Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The first half of your contribution went to motivation and why the government might be taking the steps that we're taking in introducing this bill. I will reiterate the proposition that I put in the second reading speeches. This bill seeks to implement amendments that have been made to the London protocol, to which Australia is a signatory. The London Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter was amended in 2009 and then again in 2013, to make provision for transborder movement of carbon dioxide and to create a framework to manage the placement of wastes or other matter for legitimate marine geoengineering scientific research activities. As parties to the protocol, we are seeking to implement the legislative arrangements that would allow us to respond to these amendments that have been made to the protocol. This is a longstanding process. It has been under consideration within the formal processes of the government and the parliament for some time. I understand it was considered by JSCOT in 2020. It is a longstanding piece of work that is consistent with our international contributions to a shared approach to managing marine environments. As I said in my second reading speech, if the bill were not introduced, there would be no regulatory framework to deal with these kinds of issues at all.

The consequence of that is that operators, researchers and proponents could start looking for loopholes and create their own initiatives and their own frameworks without government oversight, and that is the motivation for the government bringing the bill forward.

You asked about representations from the Japanese government—no, my apologies. I apologise, Senator Whish-Wilson; could you repeat the second half of your question?