Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

CUSTOMS AMENDMENT (NEW ZEALAND RULES OF ORIGIN) BILL 2011

The Customs Amendment (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Bill 2011 implements changes to Article 3 of the Australia – New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, commonly referred to as the ANZCERTA.

The ANZCERTA has been a remarkable success. It is Australia’s longest standing bilateral free trade agreement, having been in force since 1983. It is a wide ranging agreement that provides Australia and New Zealand with liberal access to each other’s goods and services markets. The World Trade Organization recognised it as “one of the world’s most comprehensive, effective and multilaterally-compatible free trade agreements”.

Australia and New Zealand provide duty free access to each other’s goods that meet the rules of origin requirements in the ANZCERTA. On 1 January 2007, the ANZCERTA rules of origin provisions underwent significant change to allow both the ‘change in tariff classification’ and the ‘regional value content’ methods to determine origin of goods. As part of the 2007 amendments to the ANZCERTA, both countries also agreed to conduct a review of the new rules of origin within three years of these new rules taking effect. This review, commenced in late 2008 and completed in March 2010, resulted in changes to the text of ANZCERTA Article 3 ‘Rules of Origin’ and the related Product Specific Rules in Annex G to the ANZCERTA. Amendments to the Customs (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Regulations 2006 will implement the changes to Annex G.

The changes to the ANZCERTA, implemented domestically through this Bill and amendments to the Customs (New Zealand Rules of Origin) Regulations 2006, will reduce the administrative burden on businesses, facilitate the eligibility for duty free entry of goods into both markets, and provide greater consistency between the ANZCERTA Rules of Origin and those of other trade agreements negotiated by Australia.

INDIGENOUS EDUCATION (TARGETED ASSISTANCE) AMENDMENT BILL 2011

The Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2011 makes amendments to the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000.

The Bill amends the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to extend the existing funding arrangements, including indexation arrangements, for the 2013 calendar year.

The Government is conducting a Review of Funding for Schooling due to report in 2011. While the Review is focused on the mainstream, there may be implications for the design and operation of the closely complementary programs run under the Act. This extension will allow sufficient time for the Government to implement any changes arising from the Review, while also meeting its responsibilities around proper planning, engagement, consultation and change management with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and funded organisations.

The Bill confirms the Australian Govern­ment’s commitment to review all funding arrangements for schooling, including in relation to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-education-focused programs which are run under the Act.

The Australian Government is committed to Closing the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage, this extension will facilitate consideration of the findings of the Review and the best way to utilise the funding under the Act to support improved educational achievement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Bill will also formalise a number of previous decisions of Government, in relation to the mechanisms for the delivery of a number of initiatives related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.

OFFSHORE PETROLEUM AND GREENHOUSE GAS STORAGE (REGISTRATION FEES) AMENDMENT BILL 2001

This Bill amends the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Registration Fees) Act 2006 (the Registration Fees Act).

The amendments are consequential to the amendments in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (National Regulator) Bill 2011 (National Regulator Bill).

The National Regulator Bill establishes a National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) to administer titles and to advise the Joint Authorities on key petroleum title decisions. NOPTA will replace the seven Designated Authorities as the titles administrator for Commonwealth waters.

This Bill will replace references to the Designated Authority in the Registration Fees Act with references to the Titles Administrator.

The National Regulator Bill makes provision for the registration fees collected under this Act to be retained to recover the costs of establishing NOPTA and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). Following the recovery of these establishment costs, expected in 2013, the 1.5 per cent registration fee will be scrapped and replaced with a cost recovery fee which reflects the actual cost of administration with the required expertise. This will create significant savings for the industry.

OFFSHORE RESOURCES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (PERSONAL PROPERTY SECURITIES) BILL 2011

This Bill excludes application of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 and the Offshore Minerals Act 1994.

The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 establishes a single national Personal Property Security Register which, while yet to commence operation, is to become the primary register of personal property security interests throughout Australia. Commonwealth legislation, including the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 and the Offshore Minerals Act 1994, is not automatically affected by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009. However, it is stated Commonwealth policy that, in order to remove duplication and increase clarity, existing approval and registration requirements for personal property securities, and dealings in these securities, are either removed from Commonwealth Acts so that Personal Property Securities Act 2009 registration requirements only will apply, or that the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 is expressly excluded from application to personal property under relevant Commonwealth Acts dealing with personal property and interests in personal property.

Chapters 4 and 5 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 relate to registration of transfers of, and dealings in, petroleum titles and greenhouse gas titles respectively. Chapter 3 of the Offshore Minerals Act 1994 relates to registration and dealings for offshore minerals titles.

Under these registration requirements in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006, the regulator has the ability to refuse to approve a dealing in relation to a petroleum title, and the responsible Commonwealth Minister has the ability to refuse to approve a dealing in relation to a greenhouse gas title. This ability to refuse approval and registration of an interest underpins the purpose of the registration requirement, to enable the Australian Government to ensure the suitability of the entities that potentially are able to exercise control over the exploitation of Australia’s offshore petroleum resources. There is no such approval mechanism contained in the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 as a precursor to registering an interest on the Personal Property Security Register. By not excluding the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 from the Personal Property Securities Act 2009, the situation could conceivably arise whereby a dealing refused under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 could in fact be registered in the Personal Property Security Register – which could lead to legal confusion over the standing of the security interest.

Further to this, State and Northern Territory governments have advised the Commonwealth that they are electing to opt out of or exclude the operation of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 for their onshore mining schemes.

Therefore excluding application of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 and the Offshore Minerals Act 1994 is important to ensure consistency between the onshore and offshore mining regimes, and minimise a potential regulatory burden and costs to the mining industry and its investors in complying with different registration requirements, potentially skewing investment between onshore and offshore, and having to keep abreast of developments.

OFFSHORE PETROLEUM AND GREENHOUSE GAS STORAGE REGULATORY LEVIES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (2011 MEASURES NO. 2) BILL 2011

This Bill will ensure that the Australian community does not bear the cost of regulating the offshore oil and gas activities while reducing unnecessary regulatory burden and cost on industry.

This Bill amends the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003 to provide for the imposition of two new types of levies:

Through these levies the new National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) and the expanded National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) will recover their operating costs from industry respectively.

This Bill is complementary to National Regulator Bill which I spoke to earlier, and is also consistent with the first Regulatory Levies Measures No.1 Bill of 2011 which enabled NOPSA to recover the costs of regulating offshore wells and well operations.

NOPSEMA and NOPTA are to be funded on a full cost recovery basis with levies raised from the offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage industries. The level of these fees will be subject to a full cost recovery impact statement, to ensure they are consistent with the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines and provide increased transparency and the true cost of regulating the offshore oil and gas industry.

The fees to recover the establishment and expansion costs for NOPTA and NOPSEMA have already undergone a cost recovery impact statement process including stakeholder consultation in April and May 2011. A further cost recovery impact statement process will be undertaken in the second half of 2011 to determine NOPTA’s and NOPSEMA’s ongoing operating costs in regulating after 1 January 2012.

This reform will ensure that relevant regulatory expertise is available in offshore areas on a cost recovery basis from industry. In addition, industry will have transparency in how its cost recovery fees and levies are calculated and used.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of these bills be adjourned to the first sitting day of the next period of sittings, in accordance with standing order 111.

Ordered that the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Registration Fees) Amendment Bill 2011, the Offshore Resources Legislation Amendment (Personal Property Securities) Bill 2011 and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Regulatory Levies Legislation Amendment (2011 Measures No. 2) Bill 2011 be listed on the Notice Paper as one order of the day and that remaining bills be listed as separate orders of the day.