Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Education and Employment References Committee for inquiry and report by 14 August 2018:

Work health and safety of workers in the offshore petroleum industry, with particular reference to:

(a) the scope and necessity for amending and updating any legislative inconsistencies in the relevant work health and safety scheme, including:

  (i) any provisions in the legislation which need to be updated,

  (ii) providing for appropriate consistency between the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act) and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act),

  (iii) legislative changes required to the OPGGS Act to provide for appropriate consistency with the model work health and safety laws (as revised in June 2011), and

  (iv) legislative changes which recognise that the work is undertaken in remote locations;

(b) the effectiveness of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and equivalent state and territory offshore petroleum regulators (the regulators) in promoting the work health and safety of persons engaged in offshore petroleum operations;

(c) the accountability framework to which NOPSEMA is subject with respect to work health and safety matters, and whether this needs to be strengthened;

(d) the role and structure of the NOPSEMA Board and options for improving the effectiveness of their stakeholder engagement;

(e) the workings of NOPSEMA's collaboration, and working relationships, with other work health and safety regulators and bodies, including Safe Work Australia;

(f) challenges in attracting and retaining health and safety representatives;

(g) the adequacy of the protections afforded to health and safety representatives performing their functions under the relevant legislation;

(h) policies and practices which could be adopted by NOPSEMA to better support health and safety representatives;

(i) factors impacting on the work health and safety of workers in the offshore petroleum industry;

(j) Government policies at the state, territory and Commonwealth level which have a significant impact on the work health and safety of workers in the offshore petroleum industry;

(k) relevant parallels or strategies in an international context;

(l) the role of Government in providing a coordinated strategic approach to health and safety outcomes in the offshore petroleum industry; and

(m) any other related matters.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government does not support this inquiry, as it is unnecessary. Australia's offshore petroleum industry is one of the safest in the world, with some of the lowest injury rates. Australia's independent, expertise based regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, regulates health and safety in the industry. While broadly consistent with the national Work Health and Safety Act, this regime has additional specific requirements to address the high-hazard, high-risk nature of offshore activities and applies duties of care to a more specific set of persons in more detail. Last year Labor senators Chisholm and Urquhart stated that the Australian offshore oil and gas industry is subject to one of the most rigorous environmental safety and regulatory regimes in the world.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If what the government says is true, they should support this inquiry to reaffirm those claims.

Question agreed to.