Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation) 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—

COASTAL TRADING (REVITALISING AUSTRALIAN SHIPPING) AMENDMENT BILL 2017

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring safe, secure and efficient coastal shipping as a part of Australia's national transport system.

As part of this commitment, the Government has introduced the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Amendment Bill 2017.

Between 2010 and 2030, Australia's overall freight task is expected to grow by 80 per cent, but coastal shipping is only forecast to increase by 15 per cent.

With Australia's extensive coastline and broad network of ports, there is scope for this figure to be much greater.

However, it is clear that the current regulatory system does not fully support that potential being realised.

Following the Minister's appointment, he has engaged with stakeholders in the coastal shipping sector – Australian operators, users of coastal shipping and Australian seafarers.

The stakeholders he has spoken to all agree that there are aspects of the current Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 (Coastal Trading Act) that are unreasonably limiting, inflexible or onerous.

These restrictions are limiting or preventing the use of shipping to move domestic freight. They are pushing costs up for business.

It is an important part of the Government's red tape reduction work to ensure legislation in place is being effectively implemented and not imposing excessive administrative burden.

This Bill makes amendments to the existing regulatory regime, rather than fundamentally restructuring it.

These amendments were set out in a discussion paper that Minister Chester released for industry consultation in March this year and received significant support from stakeholders.

The Australian Aluminium Council, in its submission in response to the discussion paper, said:

'These amendments would reduce the regulatory burden for shipping users and increase the efficiency of the coastal shipping regime'.

Manufacturing Australia, in its submission, said:

'The proposed amendments are pragmatic, achievable and likely to deliver a material benefit in lower costs for Australian manufacturers'.

Turning to the amendments in detail, under the Coastal Trading Act applicants must specify a minimum of five voyages they intend to undertake in order to secure a Temporary Licence.

The Minister is aware of one instance where a shipper was unable to obtain a Temporary Licence to move a piece of heavy machinery between two ports as it required only a single voyage and was therefore ineligible for a Temporary Licence.

The machinery was instead moved by road, which required a police escort due to the size of the machinery, and overhead utilities had to be moved.

This was far more complicated and more costly than a voyage by ship would have been, but it was the only option available.

This Bill removes the five-voyage requirement, increasing flexibility for industry.

The Coastal Trading Act contains strict tolerance provisions for voyages under Temporary Licence that do not reflect the daily realities of how the shipping industry and supply chains in Australia operate.

The tolerance restrictions mean that a shipper has to apply for a variation to their Temporary Licence if they are going to move their cargo more than 5 days before or after the approved loading date or if they need to load 20 per cent more or less than the approved amount of cargo.

Such strict limits fail to reflect the fast-paced nature of the shipping industry.

For example, the Minister is aware of an Australian company who received a last minute request from a customer for 2,000 tonnes of cargo to meet a customer shortage.

Despite already holding a Temporary Licence to carry 8,000 tonnes of cargo on a similar route, the ship it had chartered had to wait an extra day in port for a variation to come through, at a cost of $15,000 US dollars in port costs.

Every time delays and costs like these are incurred by business, it impacts on profits and puts Australian jobs at risk.

The amendments in this Bill relax the tolerance provisions to provide businesses with the flexibility and certainty they need to operate profitably.

This bill will also simplify the consultation provisions of the Act, while not removing the protections that all General License (Australian) vessels currently exist.

All General Licence holders must be consulted for a minimum period of either one or two days before any temporary licence is granted, or approval for any new voyage is granted.

That is mandatory even where there is no General Licence (Australian) vessel capable of carrying the cargo or passengers the applicant wants to move.

For example, there have been no crude oil or petroleum tankers operating under General Licence conditions since June 2016. However, the consultation requirements have resulted in the absurd situation where industry has spent 446 cumulative business days since 1 June 2016 waiting for consultation with a General Licence holder that does not exist!

This Bill will streamline the application by removing the requirement to consult when there is no General Licence vessel that is able to carry the cargo or passengers.

The changes Minister Chester has introduced will also extend the geographical reach of the Coastal Trading Act, to support the Australian energy sector.

The current coastal trading regime is hindering the use of Australian crude oil and condensate products in Australian refineries.

The Australian Institute of Petroleum told Minister Chester earlier this year that uncertainty over the status of oil tankers moving between floating production storage and offloading units and floating storage units and mainland Australian actively discourages the use of Australian crude oil and condensate in Australian refineries.

This Bill will enable voyages occurring between a floating production storage and offloading unit, or a floating storage unit, and the mainland to be covered by a coastal trading licence.

This Bill will also allow vessels undergoing dry-docking to be covered by the coastal trading licensing system.

Under current arrangements, vessels undertaking scheduled maintenance in dry docking facilities are subject to importation under the Customs Act 1901.

Covering vessels undergoing dry-docking in the coastal trading licensing system will provide certainty to operators and potentially increase the use of Australian facilities.

The amendments also change the voyage notification requirements by removing the need for industry to submit a notification when none of the voyage details have changed.

The Bill will require ships to provide their International Maritime Organization number rather than their name as an identifier.

Ships are able to change their name – having the IMO number of vessels operating in our waters will improve the Government's ability to verify that operators are complying with the requirements of this and other Australian legislation.

The Turnbull-Joyce Government has a vision for a simpler and more flexible costal shipping industry that is positioned to carries meet an increased share of Australia's freight task.

This Bill removes some of the red tape and unnecessary administrative burden that the current legislation has imposed on the coastal shipping sector.

MIGRATION (VALIDATION OF PORT APPOINTMENT) BILL 2018

As a government, we are committed to upholding the integrity of our borders and deterring dangerous and unauthorised maritime ventures to Australia.

The Migration (Validation of Port Appointment) Bill 2018 (the Bill) confirms the validity of the appointment of a proclaimed port in the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands contained in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. GN 3, 23 January 2002 (the Appointment).

The measures in the Bill are in response to a small number of ongoing proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court and the Federal Court, in which the validity of the Appointment is being challenged.

The impugned Appointment was gazetted in 2002 by the then Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Philip Ruddock MP.

The Appointment was designed to ensure that unauthorised boat arrivals who entered certain waters of the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, an 'excised offshore place' for the purposes of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act), would thereby become 'offshore entry persons', now 'unauthorised maritime arrivals', under the Act. The Appointment was critical to determining the status of persons as unauthorised maritime arrivals under the Act who entered Australia via this proclaimed port between 23 January 2002 and 1 June 2013 (from which time unauthorised maritime arrival status extended to persons entering Australia by sea at any place on the mainland without a visa). In addition, unauthorised boat arrivals who became unauthorised maritime arrivals by reason of having entered the proclaimed port at Ashmore and Cartier Islands between 13 August 2012 and 1 June 2013 (and were not taken to a regional processing country) also became 'fast track applicants' under the Act.

A successful challenge to the Appointment could mean, subject to any appeal, that affected persons did not enter Australia at an excised offshore place and are therefore not unauthorised maritime arrivals under the Act. It could also mean that some affected persons are not fast track applicants under the Act.

The Bill addresses these risks by confirming the validity of the Appointment to:

The effect of the Bill will simply maintain the status quo for unauthorised maritime arrivals and, where relevant, fast track applicants, under the Act who entered Australia via this proclaimed port between 23 January 2002 and 1 June 2013.

The Bill reiterates the government's original intention that the Appointment is, and has always been, valid. However, due to ongoing proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court and Federal Court which are currently challenging the validity of the Appointment, the Bill will not apply to cases where judgment has been delivered by a court before these provisions commence, if:

Government policy around management of unauthorised maritime arrivals has been highly effective in responding to the enduring threat of maritime people smuggling. It is unacceptable for individuals to seek to rely on minor and inadvertent omissions in the wording of the Appointment in an attempt to undermine this policy.

It is imperative that we uphold the intent of the Appointment to protect the integrity of Australia's migration framework and maintain public confidence in our border protection arrangements.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that the bills be listed on the Notice Paper as separate orders of the day.